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A Totally Bound Publication

Reluctance
ISBN # 978-0-85715-660-0
©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2014
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright March 2014
Edited by Rebecca Douglas
Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination
and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or
places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form,
whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of
the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound
Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil
proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs
and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator
of the artwork.

Published in 2014 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road,
Lincoln, LN6 3QN

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This
story has a heat rating of Totally Burning and a Sexometer of 3.

0#-#. 8 ), '), '' ))%-

Book nine in the Southwestern Shifters series

What starts out as a simple assignment becomes everything Keegan ever feared, and everything he ever
wanted.

Keegan has served Marcus, his Alpha Anax, to the best of his abilities. After the deaths of
several guards a year ago, however, Keegan is afraid he’s going to unravel at the seams. His
worry over keeping everyone safe robs him of sleep and any hope of peace.

And people are noticing. Members of the guards he is captain of think he needs to get laid, or
at least remember how to laugh. Keegan thinks they need to learn that there are boundaries
they shouldn’t cross with him. When he learns of a security breach by Marcus’ brother
Aidan, exposing a flaw in the safety measures Keegan has set in place, Keegan is desperate to
find someone to make sure the electronics at the shifter compound are break-in proof.

Marcus and Nathan are worried about Keegan. When they find someone to do the job
Keegan needs done, they make sure Keegan is the one to take a short trip to Brazil to pick up
the security expert, Olin. But when Olin and Keegan meet, they snap and snarl at each other
while fighting the mating bond that keeps flaring between them.

Then something happens that forces them both to depend on each other, and if they’re lucky
enough, they might even survive the ordeal. But first they’ll have to escape their would-be
captors, and make it through the rainforest, where strange things are bound to happen.

Dedication

For everyone who asked for more of these guys, I hope y’all enjoy.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following
wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Hummer: General Motors
Jeep: Chrysler Group LLC.
Taser: Taser International Inc.
Viagra: Pfizer Inc
Google: Google Inc.
WebMD: WebMD LLC
Xanax: Pharmacia & Upjohn

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Chapter One

The guards moved in almost perfect synchronicity, limbs flowing like waves, smooth,

steady, strong. If one didn’t know better, it could be assumed they were dancing.

Of course, in their camo cargo pants and khaki shirts, they made for an impressive

sight. Dancing soldiers.

Marcus snorted and Nathan jabbed him in the belly. “Be nice. I don’t see you out there

doing all that stuff.”

“I don’t think I have the rhythm—” Marcus began, but Nathan was already pushing

him towards the back of the troops. “Nathan, you know how I dance.”

Nathan kept pushing him. “And I know how you fuck or, rather, how you move for me

when I’m fucking you. Like a dream, Marcus,” Nathan purred, so low Marcus almost

couldn’t hear him. “Like every man’s fantasy lover moves, so sweet and fluid and giving…”

Marcus hissed, Nathan’s words going straight to his dick. “You think I can do anything

like that”—he gestured to the men and women practising Tai Chi—“with a hard-on?”

When that didn’t get him a reprieve, Marcus was reduced to whining. “Nathan, come

on. They’ve been practising for almost a month and I’m going to look like a fool trying to

jump in now.”

“I’ll be looking like just as much a fool, right there beside you,” Nathan promised.

“That hardly makes me feel better.” But Marcus let himself be poked and prodded

along until he was standing beside Nathan, both of them behind their guards. “You’re going

to make this worth embarrassing myself.”

It wasn’t a question.

Nathan grinned at him and waggled his eyebrows. Then he flipped his long, red braid

over his shoulder so that it hung down his back, the tail of the red strands brushing his pert

bubble butt. “Pay attention,” Nathan said.

“I am.” Marcus could stare at Nathan all day.

“To the instructor.” Nathan turned his pert nose up and slid into a position as easily as

the guards did.

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Marcus was so screwed. He wasn’t surprised that Nathan seemed like a pro in a matter

of minutes. The man was all kinds of flexible, being a gymnastics pro. Once he’d had his own

gym and students and—

Well, he still had students, and a gym of sorts, although now it was on the pack

property, in the compound. Nathan had shifter kids doing flips all over the place.

Nathan growled and Marcus considered ignoring him, but really, if his guards were

doing it…

Once he’d loosened up and quit worrying about looking foolish, Marcus didn’t do half

bad. He didn’t think so, anyway.

But Nathan… He was pure beauty and elegance and whatever the hell the spirit of Tai

Chi was supposed to be. Marcus had never wanted him as badly as he did while watching

the way Nathan flowed into every move. Marcus might not have been half bad, but Nathan

was perfection.

It wasn’t just lust Marcus was feeling, though. Every time Marcus thought he couldn’t

possibly love Nathan any more, he was proven wrong. It was, he supposed, the nature of

mates. They grew closer over time, and never reached a place where that levelled out. At

least, he didn’t think they did.

“You did good,” Nathan said when the practice was over.

Several of the guards acknowledged them both, and Marcus noticed that they all

seemed to be puffed up with a bit of pride. He should have been out here practising with

them sooner, but he’d been too busy thinking he’d look like an idiot. Sometimes being the

Alpha Anax and ruling over all the packs in North America could make a guy self-conscious.

Keegan Austin, the captain of Marcus’ guards, stopped in front of Marcus. “Thanks for

this. It makes a difference to the guards.”

Marcus waved at Keegan as he studied him. Since the attack that had left several of the

guards under Keegan’s—and Marcus’—command dead almost a year ago, Keegan had lost

that merry part of his personality. Marcus was close to giving up on ever seeing it return.

“If nothing else, it’ll give them something to laugh about,” Marcus teased, but Keegan

shook his head vehemently.

“No, sir. Not one of our guards would be so haughty,” Keegan vowed.

Marcus sighed and rested a hand on Keegan’s left shoulder. “I was teasing, Keegan.”

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“Yes, sir.” Keegan averted his gaze. “I need to go check the perimeter.”

Marcus considered cracking a joke about Keegan dismissing him, but had enough

forethought to realise that Keegan would only apologise profusely. “Go on then.”

“Alpha Anax, Nathan.” Keegan bobbed his head and jogged off, a dozen guards

quickly falling in behind him.

“I think if we got Sissy Dee back here, he’d maybe not be so miserable,” Nathan

murmured.

Marcus dismissed the idea in a kind tone. “No, she’s happy serving the South American

Alpha Anax. No use in trying to convince Ryder to let us have her back here. Plus her mate

would probably be pissed.”

“Probably,” Nathan agreed. “But Sissy and Keegan were pretty close. Seems like he

doesn’t have any friends. Did he have friends before? How do we not know that?”

“Not really. Being the captain of the guards means not being friends with any of them.

Friendly, sure, but not friends. There has to be a line between him and those he leads.”

“That’s stupid,” Nathan groused. “You’re friends with people who aren’t Alpha

Anaxes.”

“My brother and his mate, Gabe and Mika,” Marcus said, thinking it over. “There aren’t

many people that I’d consider close friends. Gabe and Mika, well, they weren’t even part of

our pack for a good while.”

“It’s difficult being friend and leader,” Nathan murmured, knowing it but hating that it

was true.

“Too many people expect favouritism, and too many more are quick to make

accusations of such if they aren’t the ones I’m close to,” Marcus confirmed. “I learned that

quickly when I first became Alpha Anax. You find out quickly who your true friends are in

times of power, and times of loss.”

Nathan was out and out indignant on his mate’s behalf. “Fuck anyone too stupid to

appreciate you. I hope their liver falls out their butt.”

Marcus snorted then laughed so loudly several of the guards turned to give him a

startled look. Nathan arched a brow at them and they went back to minding their own

business. Well, he couldn’t blame them for looking. Marcus was gorgeous and he had a

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laugh that made you want to join in with him. Nathan realised he’d heard it far too rarely in

the past several months. But being the Alpha Anax was serious business.

Still, he wanted Marcus to be happier than he had been lately.

“It’s been a rough year,” Marcus said, picking up on Nathan’s thoughts as he usually

did. “I am happy, Nathan. Don’t think that I’m not.”

“Happier,” Nathan informed him. “I want you to be happier. I miss hearing you laugh

like that, Marcus. I miss us being able to forget about the worries and bad things in the

world, and just…just be together.” Oh, and he was being a whiny bitch!

“Nathan, honey,” Marcus began, cupping Nathan’s chin.

Nathan raised his head and let his gaze rest on Marcus’ dark brown eyes. “I’m sorry. I

sound like a selfish little shit.”

Marcus smiled the kind of smile that lit those almost-black eyes right up. “Now, if I

were to call you a little anything, you’d make me regret it.”

Nathan huffed as a gentle breeze wicked away some of the heat making him sweat.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” He rubbed his temples, not because there was any

pain but simply to try to wipe away the greedy thoughts he had. Still, he must have done it

wrong and instead pushed the words right out of his mouth.

“You mentioned that you had considered quitting, handing the position you hold over

to someone else. I said no at the time, but I keep thinking…” Nathan forced his lips closed,

unwilling to go there. He wouldn’t even think the thoughts since Marcus would pick up on

them.

Marcus gave him a troubled look and pulled him into his arms. Neither man spoke,

Nathan because he wouldn’t give voice to the fears that plagued him more and more, and

Marcus because he was Marcus—patient, loving, loyal and wise enough to know that

eventually, Nathan would cave and tell him what was preying on his peace.

Feeling Marcus’ arms around him wasn’t unusual, but this time there was something

more to it. Emotion probably, with an almost desperate edge to it all. Nathan closed his eyes

tightly and wondered why he felt like he was on the verge of tears. He wasn’t a man who

cried easily, if at all. Yet at that moment, everything inside him was a jumbled, fucked-up

mess.

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Everything except his love for his mate. That grew stronger, and was the one constant

Nathan relied on, emotionally. His fears and imagined horror stories couldn’t dim that love

one single bit.

“Nathan, honey,” Marcus said again, quietly, his breath wafting over Nathan’s ear a

second before warm lips did.

Nathan shivered despite the heat, need beginning to coil in his belly.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Marcus urged. He kissed the top of Nathan’s ear then licked it

before dipping his head low enough to nibble at Nathan’s earlobe.

“Oh sweet Jesus,” Nathan mumbled, wrapping his arms around Marcus. The man was

broad and thickly muscled, having added more bulk since he’d almost died in a challenge for

his position almost a year ago. He was possibly bigger than he’d ever been, something

Nathan had heard other shifters discussing. Plus, Marcus had gained muscle on his twin

brother, Aidan.

Which made Aidan irritated and Nathan happy. He did like to pick on Aidan more

often than not, even though Aiden was a damned good guy.

Marcus sucked on the spot high on Nathan’s neck that always made Nathan all quivery

and horny.

“Marcus,” he growled, curling his hands into fists around the stretchy material of

Marcus’ shirt.

“Hmm?” Marcus murmured as he licked over that spot.

Nathan’s eyes crossed and he tried to remember what he’d been about to say. Scolding

Marcus—that’s what he’d been about to do, hadn’t he?

But Marcus began sucking up a mark on him. Nathan decided to bite his tongue for

now. Fuck it. Who cares who sees? There weren’t any of the pack kids around, as it was time for

them to be in school. Marcus insisted on every child getting an education, and Nathan would

bet they got a better one than most human kids in their public schools.

“Get your mind in the gutter, honey,” Marcus silently shared with him. At the same time,

he ran his hands down to clutch at Nathan’s butt.

Nathan clenched his cheeks, working his flesh against those strong hands. He got the

sensation in his belly like he used to before a big competition, all nerves and excitement and

hope.

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He nipped at Marcus’ chest through his shirt, scraping his teeth over one taut nipple.

“Oh,” Marcus gasped, leaving off marking Nathan’s neck. “Fuck yeah. Again.”

Marcus dragged one hand back up to cup Nathan’s head. He put a little pressure into

the hold, urging Nathan on. Nathan rewarded him with a sharp bite to that hard nipple.

The sound Marcus made wasn’t a word, more of a grunt, but the meaning was clear.

Nathan grazed that tip as Marcus squeezed his ass, digging his fingers against the seam of

Nathan’s jeans.

Nathan’s mind skittered away from that. He’d bottomed precisely once, back when he

and Marcus had first found each other. But lately… Lately he’d been thinking. He could lose

Marcus at any time, given the fact that shifters could challenge him for his position. And they

did, periodically. None since the last one a few months ago, and Marcus had won easily.

But… What if he doesn’t win the next time? Nathan forced that thought down, sending a

flare of need up to the forefront of his mind instead. Marcus was smart, brilliant even. Sex

wouldn’t distract him from picking up on Nathan’s worries if Nathan was careless. He

wouldn’t burden Marcus with them. Marcus had enough on his plate already.

Nathan let go of his worries. Right now he had the most gorgeous, sexy man in his

arms, and he wasn’t going to waste a moment of their time together. He gave Marcus’ tit one

last nip, then he pulled back.

“Nathan,” Marcus began, but Nathan quirked his lips into a grin and took Marcus’

hand.

“Come on. I happen to know an outbuilding that’s out of range of the cameras.” He

gave Marcus a filthy look and ogled the erection pressing against Marcus’ jeans. Did he really

want to have that big thing up his butt again? Nathan had been sore for days after the one

time they’d done it.

Since he felt like he had swallowed a whole net full of butterflies, Nathan was kind of

thinking that yeah, he might want to try it again. They’d been together for years, and maybe

he shouldn’t be so…so rigid about certain things. And maybe Marcus shouldn’t, either.

But later, when they were in their rooms and there was lots and lots—and lots—of lube.

Maybe Nathan would even drink a twelve-pack or something first, see if it loosened him up.

Literally.

“What are you thinking?” Marcus asked, raising both brows at him.

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Nathan decided he would surprise Marcus with that when he was ready to follow

through on it. For now, though, he was thinking of plenty of things.

“I’m thinking I’ll be fucking you with nothing but spit,” Nathan told him, enjoying the

way Marcus’ cheeks went ruddy. “I’m not going to be stretching you first either. Think you

can take it?”

“Fuck,” Marcus rasped. He practically dragged Nathan to the right outbuilding. Nathan

wasn’t reluctant at all, but Marcus was taller, longer-legged, and he was striding close to a

sprint. Nathan almost had to jog to keep up.

“Fuck me just like that,” Marcus demanded as he pinned Nathan against the wall of the

building. “Hard and desperate, like you can’t wait to be in me.”

“I can’t,” Nathan told him, and immediately he flipped them around, putting a spin on

Marcus’ step so that he was pressed chest to the wall. “I seriously can’t.”

But the position wasn’t going to work. Marcus was too tall, damn it.

Nathan cursed and considered putting Marcus on his knees right there, but someone

could see. People with their fucked-up ideas about tops and bottoms, Nathan fumed. There were

shifters who detested having a gay Alpha Anax. Then there were those who were okay with

it only because they assumed that Marcus topped.

He didn’t. Nathan was several inches shorter than Marcus, smaller for the most part

except when it came to dick size. There he surpassed Marcus just a bit. Yet if it became

known that he was the one putting his dick in a hole—well, unfortunately some would think

a lot less of Marcus. That, in turn, would mean more challenges and more risk for Marcus.

Nathan grabbed Marcus by the arm and began walking. “Inside,” he ordered. Marcus

followed, stopping beside Nathan at the door to the building. Nathan punched in the

security code before opening the door. He stepped inside then moved so Marcus could enter.

“What’s this shit?” Marcus asked, glaring at the messy stacks of crates. “This place

needs to be organised.”

“It does,” Nathan agreed. “Later.” He shut the door and pushed Marcus forward,

palming one firm ass cheek. “There’s more pressing matters at hand.”

Marcus arched into the squeeze. “Yeah, fuck the mess.”

Nathan snorted. “That’s leaving me a cheesier line than I can take, Marcus.”

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“Must take quite a bit of willpower to pass up an easy one like that,” Marcus said. “But

you can fuck me, since I’m easy.”

Nathan groaned and closed his eyes. “It’s a good thing I love you so much and you’re

such a stud, otherwise I’d have to muzzle you.”

“Mm,” Marcus hummed. “Maybe, if you think you’d get off using a gag on me.

Although I think you’d look—”

“Don’t even,” Nathan warned, popping Marcus’ ass hard. “And the only thing I’d want

you gagging on is right here.” Nathan pressed up against Marcus’ side. With their height

discrepancy, Nathan’s cock only hit Marcus mid-thigh, but that was okay.

Marcus gasped and those dark eyes went even darker. “Nathan…” he dragged out.

“Right here,” Nathan promised, reaching for the button on Marcus’ jeans. “Right here,

and fixing to fuck you stupid.”

Marcus almost giggled, something that happened on very rare occasions “Shouldn’t

take much. I’m all kinds of brain-fried just from feeling that cock of yours against my thigh.”

Nathan humped a little, as much as he could trust himself to. Honestly, he would come

if he rutted for more than a few seconds. This afternoon secretive fucking was turning him on

to the nth degree.

Nathan bit at Marcus’ shoulder, letting his teeth sink in enough to leave a mark. Marcus

shuddered and shoved his jeans down. Nathan had lost track of that—hadn’t he been

working Marcus’ pants open?

No matter. Marcus’ pants were down around his ankles. Nathan squatted and pulled

them off one leg, glad that he and Marcus had both been barefoot when they’d gone out for

their stroll.

“So fine,” he murmured as he began kissing his way up Marcus’ legs. He loved the

blond-white hair, so crisp and springy. It lightly coated Marcus’ body, and in the sunlight? It

glistened like a hidden treasure or a beacon calling out to Nathan.

Some of those beautiful little tufts Nathan caught with his teeth. Others he lapped over,

blew on, until by the time he reached the sweet underside of Marcus’ ass, Marcus was almost

mewling with the force of his need.

Nathan let that need roll over him, the feel of it nearly a palpable thing. He licked the

fold beneath one butt cheek then the other as Marcus spread his legs. That opened the man

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up beautifully, and Nathan dipped his head right between those thickly muscled thighs,

pushing his nose against the heavy balls hanging down.

“Na-than,” Marcus muttered, breaking the name into two separate words. “Please!”

Nathan sucked one nut into his mouth and hummed, pleased with the taste and scent of

his mate. He flicked his tongue and Marcus rumbled. Nathan could feel his thighs begin to

quake. He moved back, licking up just that little bit to Marcus’ pucker.

Marcus bent over like his spine just gave out. Nathan heard him thump against the

shelving unit in front of him, followed by clattering noises. He glanced to make sure there

was no damage done to his mate, but no. Marcus had just lowered his chest down to the

cluttered surface. Not so cluttered after all, since Marcus had shoved some of the shit out of

the way.

“Spread ’em,” Nathan said once he’d leant back a little. He waited while Marcus did

just that, opening those long legs as far apart as he could manage. Sometimes it sucked being

short, especially with Marcus being so much taller, but they both dealt with the height

difference just fine.

Nathan grabbed onto Marcus’ ass and went after it, licking his hole and pushing right

in with his tongue.

“Fuck,” Marcus uttered, tipping his butt up and out. He reached back and spread

himself wide for Nathan.

That deserved a reward. Nathan thrust his tongue in deep and at the same time,

reached around for Marcus’ fat dick. He flicked a thumb over the slit and Marcus’

unintelligible cry sent bolts of lust spiralling through Nathan.

He worked as much spit as he could into Marcus, then stood up on shaky legs. Rather

than try to fuck standing up, he reached for Marcus, grabbing him at the nape. “Come down

here.”

Even in a lust-induced stupor, Marcus was graceful, going to his knees on the floor so

smoothly it was beautiful to see. Nathan shoved down his sweats and spat into his hand a

few times, then rubbed the saliva over his shaft.

Marcus glanced over his shoulder, his golden skin flushed and sweat-coated, as if he

were wearing proof of his desire. “Hurry,” he urged.

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Nathan didn’t answer. He knelt and scooted up behind Marcus. With one hand on

Marcus’ hip and the other holding his cock steady, Nathan lined up and began pressing into

the silky heat awaiting him.

“Oh,” Marcus moaned, back bowing, ass opening for him. “More, honey. Give it to

me!”

They’d been fucking daily for years. They knew each other’s limits—though, to be fair,

Nathan was reconsidering at least one of his—and Nathan wouldn’t hurt Marcus for the

world. Not more than either of them wanted him to, at least.

So Nathan thrust, his eyes rolling as he sank his cock into the most intense grip he’d

ever experienced. Every time with Marcus was like that, so hot and perfect it seemed unreal.

But it was real, and Nathan’s control was shredded by how amazing it felt to be fucking

Marcus.

Nathan’s canines dropped, the need to mark his mate as strong, if not stronger than it’d

ever been. He shoved his cock in the rest of the way with one sharp cant of his hips.

“Yes!” Marcus snarled, ramming his butt back to meet that thrust.

Nathan just about lost his mind. He clamped a hand to Marcus’ shoulder, held him still

at the hip, and began pounding away at his ass. “Touch yourself,” Nathan demanded, unable

to do it, and needing to feel Marcus come beneath him.

Marcus got a hand on his own cock. The way his inner walls clenched around Nathan’s

cock was sheer wonder and exquisite torture all at once.

Nathan fucked him harder, and Marcus’ breath was driven from him with every jarring

penetration. The sound of their bodies meeting, flesh smacking together, was as loud as their

panted breaths.

It was a fierce, possessive mating. Nathan bent over Marcus. He wanted to bite the

tender join of neck and shoulder, but unless he miraculously grew about six inches, it wasn’t

happening in their current position. Luckily, Marcus was good with any mark Nathan could

give him.

So Nathan sank his teeth into the densely muscled back, below Marcus’ right shoulder

blade. He didn’t bite as deep as he would have in other places, but it was good and right,

tasting his mate’s blood on his tongue.

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Marcus bellowed loud enough that plenty of shifters must have heard. They wouldn’t

know anything more than that Marcus and Nathan were fucking, and there was no need for

them to.

The scent of Marcus’ cum hit the air right after the rhythmic rippling of his ass pushed

Nathan over the edge. Nathan managed one more drive into that tightness, then he was

coming too, his entire being going supernova on him, heat filling him even as he emptied his

seed into his mate.

They remained there, on the floor, for several minutes, Nathan draped over Marcus’

back, his teeth still embedded in that sweet, sweet flesh, cock softening partially but never

fully as Nathan debated whether or not to move.

Then he did, getting a second wind, deciding that yes, they had responsibilities,

duties—all the stressful and wonderful shit that was part and parcel of being the Alpha

Anax, or his mate. But it could wait, just a little while longer.

Just a little while longer…

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Chapter Two

Keegan Mallory stood not a dozen feet away from the building where his Alpha Anax

and Nathan were having sex. His glare fended off any nosy shifters who thought to get a

thrill from listening in to the goings-on in the shed, although there were a few times when

nothing short of earplugs for everyone in a mile radius would help. At least the people in the

main part of the compound wouldn’t be hearing any sex noises.

And no one would get a chance to spy on Marcus and Nathan. Keegan would punch

anyone who tried to get past him. Protecting the Alpha Anax and Nathan was the goal in

Keegan’s life. There was a reason he was captain of the guards. Keegan would rip apart

anyone or anything that tried to harm the two men he served.

That fierce loyalty came at a steep price. Keegan rarely had time to spend doing

anything else, but he didn’t mind. After losing seven of his guards a year ago, Keegan had

become even more focused on his responsibilities. He’d learned he couldn’t save everyone,

but he would damn sure save the two people he was supposed to if there was ever a need for

it.

As he stood guard, Keegan held his body in an almost aggressive position, shoulders

back, chest wide, arms crossed over it, legs a little more than shoulder width apart. He’d

have preferred to loosen up a little, but there were too many people out and about. Shifters

were human to a point, certainly, but Keegan believed they were nosier than those who were

confined to only one form.

Maybe it was their enhanced senses. God knew Keegan could smell the sex being had,

and he was a good dozen feet away. The wind wasn’t blowing his way, either, when it blew

at all. Still, he caught the heavy, musky odour of fucking, and he could certainly hear the

grunting and bodies slapping together.

It wasn’t the first time. Keegan tipped his chin up slightly when one shifter dared to

glower at him. “Problem, Kinsey?”

She looked like she wanted a tussle, but finally decided not to do anything foolish.

Kinsey turned and strode towards the main building. Keegan watched the sway of her

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buttocks encased in tight stretchy material. He supposed she had a nice ass, but she did

nothing for him. Maybe it was her attitude.

Sweat beaded on Keegan’s forehead. He wiped it away, knowing it was a futile move. It

was only eleven in the morning, and already the New Mexico sun was working to bake

everything beneath it. There was little grass on the compound grounds, mostly sand and dirt

and rock. Keegan missed seeing more green, and the feel of cool grass beneath his bare feet.

He’d been born and raised in Colorado, for the most part. Weird how the environment can be so

different one state over.

At least there were trees and forest not too far away, and the mountains—Keegan got

why people called them majestic. There was nothing quite like being up on a mountain,

watching the sun rise or set.

There was one final, loud moan from Marcus and Nathan each. Keegan hoped they’d

had as much fun as it sounded like they had. He waited until he heard them opening the

door, then he slipped around the corner. No need for them to know how close by he’d been.

Once they’d rounded the building, Keegan approached them. “Alpha Anax, Nathan.”

Marcus grunted at him. He’d told Keegan to call him by name rather than title, and

Keegan tried to in private, like when they were in Marcus’ quarters. It just felt wrong to call

Marcus by his name around others.

“Will you both be joining us for Tai Chi from now on?” Keegan asked.

“Want to pencil it in?” Marcus replied, sounding mildly annoyed.

Keegan knew it got on Marcus’ nerves, but he needed to keep track of the man, and

Nathan too. Of course, where there was one, the other wasn’t far behind. “Actually, I use this

app on my phone. Works better since I never have to worry about not having a pen or

paper.”

“Until your phone gets broken,” Marcus muttered.

Keegan took his other phone from his pocket. “That’s why I have the backup.”

“You should have known that was coming, Marcus,” Nathan chided. “He has the

phone for us, and the phone for everyone else.”

Marcus snorted. “I’m surprised you don’t have a third one strictly for family.”

Keegan shrugged. “Thought about it, but Mom and Dad aren’t home often enough for

me to call them.” At Marcus’ inquisitive look, Keegan explained. “They’re always going

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places, hiking and boating, skiing, stuff like that. A lot of times, they’ll take off for the

mountains and stay in wolf form until they feel like being human again. I don’t ask them

why. Figure they’ve earned their freedom after raising me.”

Nathan glanced at him and smirked. “Now, Keegan, don’t tell me you were a trouble

child.”

Keegan hoped his smile was more casual than it felt. “I won’t, then.” And it was time

for a subject change. “So, about the Tai Chi? I think it is good for the guards’ morale seeing

you both out there.”

Marcus groaned and Nathan still had that smirk in place. Marcus squinched his eyes

closed then opened them right before he would have walked into the doorframe.

“Good call, babe,” Nathan said. “You can thank me for giving you the heads-up on

possible impact later.”

“I will,” Marcus rumbled, and Keegan could hear the smutty promise in those two

words. “As for the Tai Chi, yes, I think we will start participating. I felt like a clumsy oaf out

there, but it’s not unusual for guys built like me to be less graceful than leaner men.”

“That almost doesn’t sound smug,” Nathan informed Marcus. “Almost. But besides

that, you were fine once you got over being self-conscious about it. You got some moves,

stud.”

Marcus laughed and hooked an arm around Nathan’s shoulders. “I’ll show you

moves.”

Listening to Marcus and Nathan tease each other was always fun. Keegan had seen lots

of lovers, and mates, but few had the bond that Marcus and Nathan did. Or maybe all mates

had such a bond, and it was just that Keegan wasn’t around them like he was the Alpha

Anax.

Well, it didn’t matter when it came down to brass tacks.

Keegan saw Marcus and Nathan to their door, and after making sure they didn’t need

him, he headed for his office. Dana, Nero and Skip, three of his best guards, joined him along

the way, exchanging greetings with him and one another.

The pang of loss would never go away. Keegan felt it acutely at times, other times it

was more of a dull ache, but the loss of the guards still hurt. Especially Bon, the happy,

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smart-as-could-be second in command. Keegan knew he needed to appoint another guard to

Bon’s position, but he just hadn’t been able to do so.

Skip bounced up onto his toes—he’d been nicknamed Skip since he tended to get

excited and do that. “It was great to have the Alpha Anax and Nathan joining us today. Man,

I wish I could bulk up as much as Marcus, but noooo. I got all the twig genes in the family.”

Dana chuckled and patted Skip’s arm. “I don’t know, a twig might have a few pounds

on you.”

Keegan silently agreed with her. Skip was thinner than anyone Keegan had ever seen,

at least in shifters. Usually they tended to carry some muscle on them.

“He just has a super-fast metabolism,” Nero said, adding his two cents into the

conversation. “And he’s young. Give Skip a few more years and he could be bigger.”

“God, I hope so.” Skip made an attempt to flex his biceps. “Ugh. That’s just pathetic.”

“You’re stronger than you look,” Keegan informed him before Skip could get any more

dramatic about his build. “I’ve seen you heft guards up and carry them in our practice drills.

You’ll do fine.”

Skip preened a little and the conversation lagged for the rest of the walk. At his office

door, Keegan paused and glanced at his three guards. “Is there any particular reason you

three are following me?” He frowned, running over the schedule in his mind. “Y’all are off

duty until two.”

“We are,” Dana agreed before swallowing nervously. She was the boldest of the three.

Skip was exuberant, Nero tended to listen more than speak, but Dana generally said what

was on her mind. “Thought maybe we’d keep you company for a while.”

Keegan frowned at them and wondered what they were up to. He hadn’t considered

that any of them were the kind to play pranks, and he sure as hell hadn’t believed any of the

guards would have the balls to play a prank on him. Something was up, though.

“Don’t look so suspicious,” Skip huffed, crossing his thin arms over his chest. “Geez.

We’ve just noticed you’re always alone since—”

“Skip,” Dana snapped, whacking him on the shoulder. “Shut. Up.”

Keegan stood up a little taller. He didn’t need anyone’s pity. “I see. What are your

orders for today?”

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Dana, Nero and Skip looked at each other nervously before Dana answered for them all.

“I’m supposed to be on the monitors. Nero has outside patrol for the first half of his shift,

while Skip is on inside duty. They swap after their lunch breaks. I keep watching the cameras

until my shift is up.”

Keegan narrowed his eyes at the three. “I think maybe your time would be better

utilised digging the new fence line.”

Skip groaned, Nero averted his gaze, but Dana tipped her chin up and her lips thinned

as she grimaced. “You don’t have to be a jerk just because we’re worried about you,” she

finally said, surprising them all. Her eyes went wide, no doubt with shock at her brazenness.

Keegan was shocked by it too, but he kept an impassive expression in place. Part of him

wanted to lash out and call Dana out for insubordination. However, she wasn’t on duty.

“You told us we could come to you with anything,” Nero added quietly. “Granted, that

was before we lost our brethren.”

Keegan winced internally and just kept from rubbing at his forehead. Showing any

signs of weakness wasn’t allowed, not from him. “Right. I meant in regards to you and your

problems, not some wrongly perceived ones you three seem to think I have.”

“You just told us we have to dig trenches for expressing concern about you,” Dana

pointed out. “Keegan, you used to sit at the table with some of us, and we could talk to you

and joke with you. Now you seem more like a dictator than anything else.”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Keegan said coolly. Damn it, when had he crossed his arms

over his chest? The defensive gesture was a clear giveaway that he was feeling, well, defensive.

“If there’s any issues pertaining to you that I can help with, then by all means, feel free to

approach me.” Keegan put an edge of steel into his voice. “But if you think to throw your

pity my way, or that I need sympathy and babying because I lost several guards, you’re all

wrong. There is a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and you three are teetering right on the edge

of it.”

Dana curled her lip at him. “I’d rather dig ditches.” She turned and strode off, her heels

coming down hard on the tile floor. The sound of their impact conveyed her anger at Keegan,

drumming it into his head until his temples throbbed.

Nero and Skip looked at him with expressions he couldn’t read, then they both left him

there and followed Dana.

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Keegan finally gave in to the need and rubbed at his head, pushing back at the pain

throbbing along with his pulse. “Jesus.” He closed his eyes briefly then opened them and

turned to enter his office. “Damn it.” Keegan called himself a fool as he punched in the code

for the security lock. He was pretty spaced out if he hadn’t even remembered to unlock his

own door before trying to enter.

Once inside his office, Keegan closed the door and walked over to his chair. It, like his

desk, wasn’t anything fancy. Keegan hadn’t wanted a plush office and fine furniture, though

he knew Marcus would have let him decorate however he wanted. Keegan didn’t believe his

job should be cushy in any way. He glanced around the office. The walls were stark white,

with no pictures or anything else, save a half-dozen monitors showing him different areas of

the compound.

This was a workspace, and as such, it was clear of anything not having to do with

Keegan’s position as captain of the guards. Keegan had been appointed to the position after

Marcus’ prior captain had been seriously injured in an attack on the former pack home. Not

quite two years as captain, yet some days it felt like he’d been doing this job forever. It was a

part of him, plain and simple.

Keegan put away thoughts of everything else but his duty. Later, when he was lying in

bed trying to sleep, there’d be plenty of thinking about what had transpired outside his office

door earlier.

A quick message to Bowie, and Keegan knew Dana, Nero and Skip would be informed

that they were to take their originally assigned orders. Admitting when you were wrong was

part of being a good leader. The first chance he got, Keegan would tell those three that he’d

snapped when he shouldn’t have. But he’d also reiterate that their concern for him on a

personal level was unwarranted and improper. While other captains might have had friendly

relations with their troops, Keegan had learned there needed to be some lines drawn for him

to be an effective leader.

There’d even been captains who used guards for their own personal fuck fest. Keegan

had heard horror stories about shitty captains, and he was determined that he would never

be one of those cautionary tales.

A tap at his door had him swearing silently. He should have heard someone

approaching, scented them—or seen them on the monitors. Where was his head today?

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That kind of carelessness could cost someone their life. Keegan would have ripped a

guard a new asshole for being so lackadaisical. He was furious with himself as he stood up.

Three strides had him at the door, and one sniff told him who was on the other side.

Keegan opened the door and arched a brow at Aidan, Marcus’ twin brother. “How is it

I knew nothing of your arrival? Or Zane’s?”

Aidan smirked at him and backed him into the office. Zane was mere steps behind.

“You are entirely too tightly wound, bud.” Aidan poked him in the chest and Keegan fought

back the urge to slap his hand. Aidan was, after all, a former Alpha Anax, having taken over

for Marcus when Marcus had been held captive for months. So Aidan deserved respect.

“I’m doing my job, and I somehow think being not tightly wound would be foolish,”

Keegan pointed out. “If people will come sneaking into the compound then—”

Aidan held up one hand in a gesture that silenced Keegan. “Part of the reason you

didn’t know we were coming was because we needed to see if we could get here undetected,

which we did. The guards at the west fence are lazy, and they were too busy talking about

who they fucked or who they want to fuck to pay attention. All it took was a slingshot and

good aim to knock the camera askew. Then Zane rerouted some wires and you got that.”

Aidan pointed at the monitors. “Right, Zane?”

Keegan turned to look at the monitors and frowned. “I’ve got what?”

Zane moved to stand beside him. “You’ve got two monitors that are playing on loops,

and I didn’t touch any wires. These cameras and your security system are easily accessed by

anyone with a little knowledge and a computer, or even a smartphone.”

“God damn it.” Keegan’s temples started throbbing again. “Benny said this was a good

system.”

Zane shrugged. “I’m not all that great hacking and shit, but I did it. Seems like lots of

other people could, too. Maybe Benny’s not as knowledgeable as you need someone to be.”

“Suggestions?” Keegan gritted out, staring at those two offending monitors. No wonder

he hadn’t seen anything suspicious.

“I’ll ask around,” Aidan offered. “Gabe might know more about this kind of thing, but I

doubt it. He designs websites, not security systems. The problem is, shifters tend to not go

high-tech. They just fight and kill if there’s a problem. So there’s not a lot of us with the kind

of knowledge you need here.”

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“But there might be some shifters who are skilled with computers in a way that would

benefit us,” Keegan insisted. “Or humans who have become mates of one of our kind. We

can’t all be incompetent morons.”

“Speak for yourself,” Aidan retorted with a dangerous edge to his voice. “We are what

we’ve needed to be for centuries. Things change, and we’re going to catch up. I’m going to go

discuss this with Marcus, and you might want to be there, too.”

Keegan needed to be there, and Aidan knew it. “Yes sir,” he said through gritted teeth.

Aidan had got under skin, mainly because he was right. “Lead the way.”

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Chapter Three

“I can give you something to help with the anxiety,” Shania offered as Keegan scowled

at her. “I know how much you hate to fly.”

“I think most of us hate flying. It goes against what we are—wolves who like to keep

their feet on the ground for the most part.” Keegan hefted his duffle bag up a little higher on

his shoulder. “It’s not that long a flight since Marcus is sending the jet. Who knows, maybe

I’ll sleep through the flight.”

Shania laughed at him. Evil woman. “Sure, you’ll sleep. From the bags under your eyes,

I’d say you haven’t got a good night’s sleep in a long time. I’m surprised Marcus hasn’t

demanded that you see me about it.”

Keegan swiped a hand over his face. He was aware that he looked haggard. “It’ll pass.”

Maybe it would, someday. “It’s not affecting my job performance.”

“Did it ever occur to you that there’s more to life than your job?” Shania asked him, her

brown eyes full of sympathy. “There are people who care for you, and I’d dare to say Marcus

and Nathan consider you a friend.”

“I’m the captain of the guard, not their friend. They’d cut me loose in a heartbeat if need

be.” And he wouldn’t blame them.

“Don’t be so sure.” Shania parked the Hummer by the hangar. “All right. You sure you

don’t want anything to help you relax a little?”

“Nah. I’d rather be alert if the plane goes down. Better chance of surviving afterwards if

I’m not a puddle of guts.”

Shania wrinkled her nose at him. “That’s disgusting.”

Keegan saluted her with two fingers to his brow. “Thank you, ma’am, I try.”

“Dork.” She got out with him and walked him to the stairs leading to the jet’s entryway.

“Okay. Maybe you can have a little fun while you’re gone.”

“I should be back early tomorrow morning,” Keegan pointed out. “Not much time to do

anything other than grab the guy and come back, if I catch a little sleep and eat. Ryder and

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Maarten will more than likely make sleep impossible. They’re already talking about touring

the mountains and shit I don’t see how we’ll have time to do.”

Shania averted her gaze and a niggling seed of suspicion started to blossom in Keegan.

“Oh look, the steward is waiting for you,” Shania said, pushing at his back. “Go on. You

don’t want to be late.”

Something was definitely up. Keegan considered digging in his heels and grilling

Shania but he was on the verge of being late. That would never do. Besides, he could just be

paranoid. It seemed to be happening more and more lately. Too much time to think, and too

little sleep.

“Take care. I’ll call and check in when I get there.” Keegan set off for the plane. His

stomach was already trying to turn inside out at the idea of boarding. Keegan took several

deep breaths as he approached, and by the time he was up the stairs, he at least knew he

looked calm.

The steward greeted him with a warm smile. “Keegan. It’s a pleasure to be your

steward on this trip.”

Keegan checked the man’s name tag just to be certain, but he needn’t have bothered. He

knew everyone on Marcus’ flight crew. They all had other duties elsewhere, either at the

Alpha Anax’s pack centre or other packs around the nation. “Dallas, good to see you again.”

Dallas beamed at him and something kicked on in Keegan’s brain. Dallas was interested

in him. It surprised Keegan. Dallas was handsome—well, more along the lines of very cute.

Young, sexy, flirty, with his dark hair in a faux-hawk and a light amount of eyeliner, Dallas

could have been stereotyped as a twink. Keegan didn’t like labels, so he preferred to think of

Dallas as simply too much energy to tackle. The man skips more than walks, for Christ’s sake!

“I’m surprised you’re taking time off,” Dallas said as he led Keegan to the seating area.

Keegan dropped his duffle on the couch and sat beside it. “I’m not taking time off. This

is business, not a vacation.”

Dallas pursed his lips and moved Keegan’s bag to a storage area beneath a padded

bench. “Why can’t it be both?”

“Won’t be in Brazil long, then it’s back here to do my job.” Keegan stretched out a little,

trying to appear calm when his nerves were pinging. The jet was very nice, but it was still a

plane, and it seemed to be shrinking in size with every breath Keegan took.

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“You don’t do well on planes,” Dallas noted.

Keegan barely kept from growling at him.

Dallas reached for the buckles on either side of Keegan.

“I can do that,” Keegan gritted out as he started to buckle himself in. “I’m not

incapacitated.”

“I was only trying to help,” Dallas said with a sniff. “No need to get your panties in a

wad.”

Keegan quit fussing with the straps and glared at Dallas. “Did you really just say that to

me?”

Dallas took a step back and tipped his chin up. “Yes, because you’re too handsome to

be so…” He waved a hand in the air. “Miserable. And all that frowning will make you

wrinkle up like an old prune in no time at all.”

Keegan barely kept his jaw from hitting his chest. People just didn’t talk to him like

that. First, Dana and the other two had accosted Keegan and given him grief over his private

life, and now this pipsqueak of a shifter was babbling about Keegan getting wrinkles?

Keegan was floored.

“See?” Dallas asked, pointing at Keegan. “That right there’s what I’m talking about.

Your eyes are getting lines at the outer edges and—”

“Enough,” Keegan managed to snap. “Do your job and don’t worry about my rapid

ageing issues.” That he most certainly did not have. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing the

emergency exit strategy dance or something?”

Far from being cowed, Dallas smiled that bright smile again. “I can dance for you, if

you’d like.”

Keegan got the seatbelt fastened and surprised himself by not immediately saying no to

the offer. He was pretty sure Dallas was offering up a tight orifice. Months and months of

sexual repression roared to life in Keegan, but he finally shook his head and laughed at the

ridiculousness of the situation.

“Ow, my ego,” Dallas moaned, rolling his eyes back and slapping his hands over his

heart. But he was grinning and Keegan wasn’t on the verge of panicking anymore. “Now

that you’re settled in, let’s go over the emergency exits and evacuation plan. I promise not to

dance.”

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It was possible that Dallas wanted him, but had also been trying to coax him out of his

burgeoning fear. Keegan didn’t believe Dallas would have been averse to a quick one-off, but

he wasn’t heartbroken over Keegan turning him down, either. That alone made Keegan

reconsider. It had been a long time since someone other than him had touched his dick. It’d

been a long time since Keegan had even bothered to jack off.

But Dallas was in professional mode now, explaining things Keegan already knew. He

hoped he nodded in the right spots. Keegan closed his eyes and tried to relax after Dallas had

finished, but his wolf wasn’t having it. That part of him wasn’t happy at all. First, he was

flying. Second, he’d turned away a chance to get laid.

Some people viewed the takeoff as fun. Keegan hated it. His stomach rolled and he

began to sweat. When the plane levelled out, he breathed a noisy sigh of relief. He’d made it

through that. Now he only had to keep it together for the rest of the flight.

“I can help you relax,” Dallas said, and Keegan jerked his eyes open as he sat up

straight. Dallas moved closer until he was almost knee to knee with Keegan. “I wouldn’t

mind sucking you off, not one little bit.”

Keegan’s dick liked that idea a while lot, and started firming up under Dallas’ ardent

perusal. “You have a job to do—”

“And I’ve done it. I get breaks, and I assure you I won’t be breaking any rules here.”

Dallas touched him then, putting his hands on Keegan’s thighs. He licked his lips and

glanced from Keegan’s eyes to his rising dick. “I’ll even get you a drink first if you want.

Something strong and…stiff.”

There were so many reasons Keegan should have said no, but Dallas was right there,

and he was more willing than Keegan had first thought. In fact, Dallas’ arousal was fragrant

in the enclosed space, eclipsing even Keegan’s.

“It’s not usually this bad,” Keegan got out, pride making him prickly. “I’m not a

pussy.”

Dallas bobbed his head. “I know. I’ve been a steward when you’ve flown before.” He

lowered his lashes and continued. “I’ve watched you. Not like a stalker, but you’re fucking

hot, Keegan. Who wouldn’t want you to fuck them?”

It was true, he wasn’t usually this stressed over flying. He hated it, but he’d always had

better control of himself. This time, he was struggling. But then he’d been struggling for a

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year now, and he knew it. “Are you sure?” Keegan wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking

Dallas, whether he wouldn’t get in trouble, or if he truly wanted Keegan.

“Yes.” Dallas didn’t wait. He knelt between Keegan’s legs and unfastened the seatbelt.

“I’ll get you a drink afterwards, whatever you want. Just let me do this, please.”

Keegan wasn’t going to argue. He was working, but he was always working, always on

call. Right now there was nothing else for him to do but wait until the jet landed. They

weren’t breaking any rules. It wasn’t like Casey with Maarten, when Casey had been on his

shift and was supposed to be bringing Maarten to Ryder instead of letting Maarten fuck him

in full view of a security camera.

It wasn’t like that at all, Keegan assured himself. He wasn’t supposed to be doing

anything else except getting his ass to Brazil. And shifters were very sexual—despite his lack

of sex over the past year or so.

All that denial was bubbling to the surface now as Dallas unbuckled Keegan’s pants

and pulled down the zipper. Dallas would dart a glance up at him then back down to the

parting material. When he had Keegan’s pants open all the way, he palmed Keegan’s cock

through his briefs. “Nice. I’d love to feel this in my ass, if you’re up to it later.”

Keegan grabbed Dallas’ wrist and pulled the steward’s hand away from his cock. “I

can’t.” He’d thought he could, but despite the shit he’d told himself, guilt was threatening to

strangle him. Even his erection was slipping away. “I’m sorry. I just—” Keegan shook his

head and let go of Dallas.

“It’s not me, it’s you?” Dallas asked, raising both eyebrows at him. “It’s a work thing,

right?”

Keegan wanted so badly to look away, but he forced himself to meet Dallas’ gaze

directly while refastening his pants and belt. “All true, Dallas. I may not be on the clock, so to

speak, but I am on my way to complete a task the Alpha Anax has sent me on. To mess

around, even with someone as sexy as you, just feels like I’m doing something wrong.”

Dallas wrinkled up his nose at Keegan. “Well, ew, I’d be insulted but I know you didn’t

mean it bad. You’re so dedicated, Keegan, and maybe you need to remember to take some

time for yourself. Just like I get a break, you should, too, and if you’re interested in joining

the Mile High Club, you just let me know.”

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With more dignity and grace than Keegan would have managed in his place, Dallas

stood and left him with a smile.

Keegan called himself all kinds of a fool, but he simply couldn’t shut down his brain, or

his sense of responsibility. It was why he was there on the damn jet anyway. Marcus had told

him to go, so he’d gone.

And Marcus had ordered Dana to stand in for Keegan. That had been a clear hint that

he was to appoint her as his second in command. Keegan considered resisting that until he

couldn’t resist anymore. Every time he even tried to imagine appointing anyone to the

position, he saw Bon, gasping, dying, blood bubbling up to spill past his lips.

Keegan shuddered and took out his cell phone. A nap was out of the question despite

the fact that he was tired. He was always tired anyway, so it wasn’t anything he didn’t deal

with daily.

He checked the messages on his phone. There were no new ones, but he went over the

last ones from Dana assuring him that everything was going fine and, in her words, the pack

would not vanish without him there to guard them.

That stung, but he knew she was right. He’d become paranoid about something

happening to the pack and to Marcus. At first, paranoid had seemed like a good thing to be.

It made him hyper-vigilant. But a body and mind could only maintain such a pace for so long

before cracking. Keegan was secretly worried that he was about to break into a million

useless pieces.

“Would you like something to drink?” Dallas asked, peeking out from the steward area.

“I’ll be bringing out an amazing meal in about an hour, too, but if you’d like a snack for now,

we have a variety of options.”

“Water would be great.” Keegan ignored the fact that he was hungry. He’d wait and see

what was served for lunch, and whether or not his stomach would let him keep the food

down.

“Something stronger might help your nerves.” Dallas gave him a look that Keegan

couldn’t misinterpret. The man hadn’t given up on getting a piece of Keegan. It was

flattering and irksome at the same time.

“Water will do.” Keegan went pack to perusing his phone. He had notes on the man he

was supposed to bring back, an Olin Lexington, twin brother to a human who was mated to

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a shifter in the South American pack. Usually mated humans didn’t share the existence of

shifters with other humans, but it happened on occasion. In this case, Clark, Olin’s twin,

claimed that he and his brother had a bond that demanded the truth be told.

Keegan supposed it was possible. He’d heard plenty of weird twin stories. Aidan and

Marcus were twins, and there was a very strong connection between the two. He couldn’t

imagine one keeping such a huge secret from the other, and didn’t see why Clark and Olin

Lexington would be any different.

Olin was supposed to be a brilliant guy who worked for a well-known security

company, Armoured. They weren’t going through the company, in order to keep out of the

public eye. The South American Alpha Anax, Ryder, had said he’d spoken to Olin and got an

agreement from the man to do the job. All Keegan had to do was meet the guy and escort

him back.

And work with him once they returned. Keegan shrugged. He got along with most

everyone.

“Here’s your drink. I brought you a plate of appetizers, too.” Dallas waited for Keegan

to put the phone away then handed him the glass. “Do you want the plate on the table?”

“Yes.” Keegan sat up and leant forward. He placed his glass in the holder built into the

coffee table’s surface. “I thought lunch was going to be served in an hour.”

“I heard your stomach growling when I was…closer,” Dallas said in a low voice. “I

could have been wrong, though. Would you like me to—?”

“No thank you.” Whatever Dallas had been about to offer, Keegan had to cut him off

before he said it. Keegan’s willpower had sagged dangerously low when Dallas had been

kneeling before him. He didn’t trust himself to refuse a second time if Dallas was persistent.

“This will take care of me until lunch.”

Keegan lifted a thinly sliced piece of meat from the plate. He didn’t care what it was as

long as it was meat. Ignoring Dallas, he took a bite and almost moaned. Fresh and rare, the

two things that made Keegan a happy camper when it came to food.

When had the last been that he’d enjoyed a meal? Usually he just shovelled it in to stop

the hunger or keep up his strength. It didn’t matter. He took another bite, then a third, and

reached for a larger slice.

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Dallas left him alone, and Keegan ate without taking the time to even taste the food.

Savouring the meal appetizers might have been wiser, but he’d been starving.

Afterwards, he got up to use the restroom. Before he zipped back up, Keegan eyed his

cock. It was a decent cock—shifters in general were well-built all over. Keegan was no

exception. They usually had high sex drives, too, but there Keegan had been an exception

ever since he’d taken his position as captain. There wasn’t the time to hunt down some ass,

and besides that, he had to watch out for those who thought they could use him for their

own gains. He wasn’t anyone’s tool.

Well, no one’s but Marcus’ and, well, Nathan’s, too.

When had he last masturbated? Keegan couldn’t even remember. He was tired and

busy most of the time. “Jesus, I’ve become an old man.”

He touched one of the veins winding around his dick. The skin was warm and soft

beneath his fingertip. Keegan shuddered, need washing over him. How had he forgotten this

part of himself?

Closing his hand around the base of his shaft, Keegan spread his legs a little more.

Dallas was right about one thing, he was entitled to a break. There was nothing he had to do

while on the flight. Marcus had even growled at him to try to relax a little. Keegan hadn’t

answered, didn’t know if he’d manage that, but he could get a little relief.

It was tempting to go out there and grab Dallas, toss him down on the couch and fuck

his taunting mouth until it was filled with spunk. The idea of that helped Keegan’s cock firm

up. Dallas would enjoy being used in such a way. He’d all but said so. He wanted Keegan,

but Keegan wasn’t prepared to deal with him. Besides which, considering how long it’d

been, Keegan either might not be able to come, or he might go off like a kid just finding out

what his dick could do.

The latter seemed the most likely when Keegan started to stroke. The dry rasp of his

callused hand was both erotic and uncomfortable. Keegan clenched his ass and stroked a

little faster as his blood warmed with his arousal. His balls ached but he didn’t want to shove

his pants and briefs down to get to them. All his senses slammed with a pleasure he’d been

denying himself too long. Keegan wanted to come, to jack off and feel his body shaking with

release.

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He had to grip the counter to steady himself as his knees threatened to give out. Keegan

caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, his eyes heavy-lidded, mouth parted, cheeks

flushed. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back as he brought his hand up to the tip of

his cock. There he spread the pre-cum that was leaking out. He pushed at his slit with one

finger and bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out. Why the hell had he denied himself

even this?

Some part of him answered that—he’d been punishing himself for failing his men, his

Alpha. That almost shut him down, but Keegan slammed the mental lid on those thoughts

and pressed the tip of his pinky into his slit, just enough to distract his mind. It worked, and

he shivered all the way to his toes.

Keegan lasted longer than he’d hoped. He teased the bundle of nerves under the crown

then went back to the tip to gather more pre-cum. That he worked down his length, giving a

somewhat better glide for part of the stroke. He dragged his hand down then up, twisting his

wrist at the top to send delicious zings of pleasure shooting throughout his body.

It was the best jack-off session he could remember. Keegan’s breath left his lungs as his

balls drew tight. He worked his cock faster, rougher, the grip almost punishing and painful

but he couldn’t let up.

His climax lifted him up, his head going light and rockets bursting behind his closed

eyelids as he came. He caught the cum in his hand and panted, tingling, muscles clenching

and releasing.

Then he floated back to earth, or the plane, his feet on solid surface instead of that

wonderfully escapist sensation orgasms brought. Keegan opened his eyes and again caught

his reflection in the mirror. He looked different, calmer—no, relaxed. That was it. He held up

his cum-covered hand and stared at it, then did something he’d not done before.

Keegan licked at his palm. The tangy, bitter taste of his spunk made him reconsider

what he was about to do, but in the end, he wanted it. The taste wasn’t as bad the more he

licked, and he had his hand clean in no time at all.

Maybe he was developing a new kink. Keegan almost laughed at that idea. He washed

his hands thoroughly but the scent of his cum remained on his skin and in the bathroom.

He hoped that Dallas wouldn’t be a shit about it. Keegan had rejected the steward for

his own hand.

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Chapter Four

Everyone had this preconceived notion that security experts were so rigid and

muscular. Olin Lexington hated stereotyping, and actively worked to shatter the ones people

would have applied to him. As a gay man, he’d been tempted to never wear pink and swear

a hatred of sparkly stuff, but he kind of liked some pinks and thought that anyone who

didn’t like sparkles was evil.

He kept his pink and sparkles private, though. The world was a rough enough place for

people who didn’t fit in, and while times were changing, they weren’t changing fast enough,

even in Brazil.

If I lived in one of the bigger cities, that might not be the case. But he didn’t. Shifters weren’t

inclined to live in human cities, at least they weren’t as far as Olin knew. All he had to go on

was the pack his brother lived with, and they were out in the damned boonies north of the

Amazon Rainforest. It was hot, humid, and Olin missed the clear Kentucky skies and cold

winters he’d lived with all his life—up until seven months ago.

“The things ya do for family,” he muttered as he tucked in his T-shirt. He was damned

lucky that Armoured, the security company he worked for, had a Brazilian office. Luckier

still that they let him commute when he needed to be on a job. Other than that, he got to

work from home.

Olin looked around his ‘home’ and huffed. He’d had a nice apartment in Lexington,

Kentucky. Plush, even, with original art hanging on the walls, sculptures of gloriously nude

men on the mantles and shelves.

Now he lived in what amounted to a hut. Okay, it’s nicer than that, but damn, it still sucks.

Driving hours into the office sucks. Olin shut the mental whining off and inspected himself in

the mirror. He went into the bathroom and found his hair gel, then spiked up the purple and

blue tips in his hair.

Olin’s expertise in security wasn’t the physical part. He had plenty of training in martial

arts and weaponry, but he was, at heart, a computer geek.

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He just didn’t care to look like one. With his contacts in and his hair styled, he looked

hip. “But not like a hipster, please. Not that anyone out here would know what that was.”

“They’re calling themselves Indies now.”

Olin spun around and whacked his knee on the cabinet. “Damn it, Clark, don’t you ever

knock?”

“Nope,” Clark answered, strolling through Olin’s place like it was his own. Like he

always does. Olin didn’t mind. He just hated being startled. “It’s fun to watch you jump and

hear that little girl squeal you make when you’re scared.”

“Fuck off,” Olin grumbled. “And I did not squeal.”

“Did too. Sounded like every little girl in the world, ever.” Clark paused at the

bathroom door and looked him over from head to toe. “Afraid you’ll look like a

professional?”

Olin flipped his brother off. “What moron would wear a suit and tie in this heat? I’d

die. Die,” he repeated, tipping his head back and placing the back of his hand on his brow.

“The world would lose a treasure.”

“You’re such a dork,” Clark said, a common refrain from his brother. “Thanks for doing

this. It’s going to make the Alpha Anax happy, and that makes Cory happy.”

“Well, as long as your mate’s happy, then.” Olin rolled his eyes. Cory was usually all

over Clark and vice versa. “Where is your co-dependent half?”

Clark gave Olin a cross look. “Be nice. He’s with Alpha Anax Ryder, where you’re

supposed to be. The guy from the North American Alpha Anax’s pack is going to be here any

time now.”

“It won’t hurt the guy to have to wait.” Olin turned back to the mirror and primped

some more. He was glad his skin had cleared up. When he’d first moved there, the heat and

moisture had done unpleasant things to his skin. And now he would be going to an ultra-dry

climate. “Aw, man!”

“What?” Clark asked, concern clear in the single word.

Olin faced his brother again. “I better not break out again. I just got adjusted to this

climate!”

Clark let loose an exasperated sound. “Oh my God, could you be any more of a

princess?”

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That had Olin’s spine snapping straighter as he puffed out his chest. “And you’d like a

face full of zits?”

“No,” Clark replied, scowling at him. “And I get your point. Come on, you’re late.”

Olin ran a hand down his chest. The T-shirt was an emerald green that set off his brown

eyes nicely. It wasn’t too tight and had no band or logo on it. See? Not a hipster. Indie.

Whatever! He wore a belt with his newest blue jeans, and the pants weren’t faded or torn

anywhere. His boots were made for hiking, a necessity out where he lived, not something he

put on for looks.

He couldn’t do anything about being a whopping five-five and a hundred and forty

pounds. Nothing he needed to do about it. He could still kick most any guy’s ass.

And maybe he had that short man’s chip on his shoulder. Oh well.

“You better believe I’ll be collecting from you for this,” he told his brother as he

followed Clark out of the door and down the steps. “I hate flying, and people make me

nervous. If I didn’t love you, I’d never have volunteered to help out this other pack.”

“You’re the best brother ever,” Clark said as he clapped Olin on the shoulder.

“Seriously. Moving here, not freaking out too majorly when I explained things, helping out

the North American Alpha Anax. I’ll admit I won on the awesome brother scale. You just got

stuck with me.”

Olin didn’t want Clark to slip into one of his moods. Despite being identical twins on

the outside, inside they were quite different. Clark had a serious mood disorder that had

made his life hell. At least Cory had proved to be a stabilising force when it came to the

disorder. Clark had explained that it was the mental bond between him and Cory that had

helped, but that was all too voodoo-ish for Olin to comprehend.

Right. I can accept that there’s hairy scaries in the world like werewolves, but I can’t get into the

idea of that mental bond. Even though he’d seen proof of it. It just freaked him out and he

preferred not to have to think of it.

Olin and Clark resumed making their way to Ryder’s place. Olin never called him the

Alpha Anax. Ryder wasn’t his Alpha anything, but he did try to be respectful to the man.

Mostly. Sometimes the devil got him by the toe and he just had to be a smartass. Ryder never

seemed to mind since, as he’d jokingly pointed out before, he could swat Olin like a fly. Olin

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had no illusions about that. It just didn’t intimidate him any at all and he knew Ryder

wouldn’t hurt him.

They walked past several other dwellings where resident shifters lived. Olin could feel

some of them watching him. It creeped him out. He wasn’t close to anyone here but his

brother and maybe Cory. More than a few of the males had hit on him, wanting to fuck him.

Olin had turned them down, cocky fuckers.

They reached the largest building on the pack lands, where Ryder and Maarten lived. It

was nicer than the other places, but no one seemed to mind that fact. Olin did. He wanted his

old apartment back, or a home like Ryder’s.

Not that it’d happen.

He jogged up the steps behind Clark. Sweat already covered him. He shouldn’t have

bothered trying to look decent. Olin touched his hair lightly. At least it was still spiked.

Another half hour and it’d be lying as limp as a spent cock. Just as sticky, too, with the

product melting in it.

Inside, Ryder’s home was cooler, but by no means the comfortable air conditioning Olin

craved. He waved to Ryder and Maarten. “Nice shirt, Maarten. Could you maybe get it a

shade brighter?”

Maarten plucked at the neon blue tank top he had on and scowled. “No. Can you

believe this is the most vibrant shade they had? What is happening to the fashion world?”

“They’re getting smarter,” Olin replied. “I bet they poured out the dyes for obnoxious

colours and destroyed the mixing recipes.”

“This is not obnoxious,” Maarten said haughtily. “That plain shirt you are wearing is

obnoxious, shorty.”

Olin let the height insult roll off his back. Some days he couldn’t, and those days,

Maarten won because Olin ended up losing his temper and cussing the dork out. “I’m big

where it matters.” Which was also true.

“No one can see your big brain.” Maarten winked at him and Olin just settled for an eye

roll in return.

“Ryder, when’s this guy supposed to be here?” he asked Ryder, who was studying

Maarten.

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“Don’t you hear the Jeep?” Ryder answered distractedly. “Maarten, that colour sure

does set off your tan.”

Maarten preened and Olin had to turn away from the lovey-dovey pair. Of course then

he got to see Clark and Cory cuddling up like they hadn’t seen each other in days instead of

minutes.

Olin sighed dramatically and gave his best fake swoon. “The sweet… It keels me,” he

said with a bad accent even he couldn’t decide the intended origin of.

That got a laugh from everyone and Olin smiled, feeling accomplished. He liked

making people happy sometimes. Other times it was more fun to piss them off.

“Olin, you don’t have to do this,” Ryder said shortly thereafter.

Olin arched a brow at him. “You’re telling me this now, when, yes, I can hear the Jeep’s

engine?” Of course the shifters had heard it sooner—those fuckers had superior senses. “You

didn’t feed me that line when you brought this up.”

“I didn’t say you had to do it then, either,” Ryder pointed out.

Olin felt a wave of power roll off the man. He guessed that was why Ryder was the

head honcho of the South American packs. He gave off majorly bossy vibes. Olin ignored

them even though a part of him wanted to quail. “Semantics. I’d have done it anyway. Got to

pull my weight around here so I don’t get eaten or anything.”

“You know we don’t do that,” Ryder paused for a heartbeat. “Often.”

Olin knew shifters were a lot more vicious than humans. No, maybe not, but they could be.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Maybe you should keep your day job. You’ll never make it as a comedian.”

Cory hissed and Olin glared at him. “Oh, calm down. He knows I’m joking.”

“But he’s the Alpha Anax and should be shown respect—” Clark cut Cory off with a

soft whack on the back of the head. Cory shut up and Olin shrugged.

“He’s a guy, who turns into a big doggy.” He shrugged again. “Wolf. Whatever. Do you

know how bad you guys smell after a hunt?”

Before his mouth and mind could go off on that tangent, the door was opened by

Ryder’s guards, Sissy and Jericho.

And in walked sex on legs. Olin’s dick twitched and he thought he might have to

reconsider his ban on having sex with a shifter—if he could get this man to bottom. Olin

didn’t do that. It was bad enough that with his short stature, people automatically assumed

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he was the receiver when they found out he was gay. Olin had no intentions of living up to

their fucked-up, perverted notions.

“Keegan, welcome,” Ryder said, standing up. “You look tired. Has Marcus been

working you too hard?”

“Never,” Keegan answered, then he stopped as if he’d hit a wall. Slowly, he turned his

head and Olin found himself staring into a pair of beautiful mossy green eyes. An almost

electric jolt went through him and he frowned. What the hell was that?

“Keegan?”

Olin forced himself to stop staring as the man turned back to face Ryder. “Sorry. I was

just wondering if that’s him.”

“’Him’ is standing right here,” Olin said drolly, keeping his irritation at being talked

about as if he wasn’t, in fact, there. “And I can even speak for myself, miracle of miracles.”

Keegan stiffened, and it appeared to Olin that the man just tensed up all over, as though

he wanted to snarl or snap or maybe even punch Olin, yet restrained himself.

He’d have fun poking at that guy.

Ryder frowned heavily and looked back and forth between Keegan and Olin. “Is there a

problem already? Don’t you think you two could maybe spend a whole minute talking to

each other before deciding y’all hate each other?”

Keegan turned halfway around and Olin smirked before reminding himself that he

wasn’t being very professional. Then again, he wasn’t doing this job for his employer—

though he guessed he should still comport himself in a more mature manner at the very

least. Surely he could stomp out this urge to both fuck and smack Keegan.

Although, if he could fuck him and smack his ass at the same time…

Keegan narrowed his eyes at Olin and Olin had a weird sensation, as if there was

another presence in his mind. Shit, maybe he’d got malaria or some other tropical illness,

despite the vaccines he’d had to get.

“I’m sure we’ll get along just fine,” Keegan said, and his deep voice did all kinds of

interesting things to Olin’s insides. Made them jittery, warm, tingly.

Shit. What’s going on here? “Yup. As long as he’s a good pup and lets me do my job, we’ll

do great.” Olin gave a smile that was all teeth and insincerity. He was being an ass, but that

wasn’t unusual for him when he felt uncomfortable. This whole trip had him wired. He

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hated flying, he wasn’t overly fond of shifters but knew that had to change, and he’d felt

obligated to help out a pack he knew nothing about other than that the Alpha Anax of it had

been Ryder’s mentor. Woo frickin’ hoo. He probably has less sense of humour than Ryder.

“Keegan, may I speak to you for a minute?” Ryder asked, breaking the stare-off

between Olin and Keegan.

Olin cocked his thumb and pointed a finger at Ryder. “No talking about me, unless

you’re going to share nothing but the good stuff.”

Ryder’s expression told Olin that he would do whatever he wanted.

“Cocky shifters,” Olin muttered as Keegan and Ryder left the room.

“Seriously, Olin, do you have to be such an ass?” Cory asked.

Clark and Olin both turned on him. “Hey, you don’t know what’s happening in here!”

Olin said, tapping the side of his head, while Clark snapped, “Back off, Cory. You don’t

know my brother.”

Which was true enough. Olin hadn’t been overly chatty with Cory, and maybe he’d

carried some resentment because Cory had taken away the only family Olin had. And Olin

hadn’t wanted to move to Brazil, but he hadn’t wanted to be all alone, either. If Clark hadn’t

taken his vacation in Brazil… I should have tried harder to get him to come to Hawaii with me.

But as annoyed as he was, Olin knew he was just being a dick. Clark and Cory had a

relationship that he envied, and he hated being so petty.

Which meant chances were good that he owed Cory an apology. Ugh. Olin had a

tendency to be obnoxious when he didn’t mean to be. He could have been the poster child for

socially awkward. Even so, he’d been raised with better manners.

“I’m sorry, Cory,” he said, holding out his hand to his brother’s mate. “I’m not going to

make any excuses. I’ll help y’all out and try to keep my tongue in check.”

As Cory shook his hand and apologised in return, Olin had to wonder if he’d be able to

keep his word, at least when it came to his tongue. Something told him he’d be in for a battle

on that front.

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Of all the possible things that could go wrong, this would be the one that would happen

now. Keegan knew he had a shitty attitude about it. Any other shifter would be thrilled to

find his or her mate, but Keegan didn’t have the time for that. He had a very important job

protecting the Alpha Anax of North America and Nathan, too. How could he balance a mate

with that?

And to top it off, his mate was a mean little shit. Sarcastic and disrespectful. How in the

hell had fate decided that was the kind of man he deserved? Jesus, I must have been a pup

kicker in my past life.

To make it all even worse, Keegan had definitely felt Olin’s desire to fuck him—and

smack his ass! Keegan’s cheeks flamed with the knowledge that Olin wanted to do such

things to him. Keegan was a top, and he was too dignified for ass-slapping, giving it and

most definitely receiving it.

“Are you going to keep brooding or are you ready to explain what the hell just

happened back there?” Ryder asked, closing the door behind them.

Keegan had scarcely been aware of putting one foot before another until then. He shook

his head. “Obviously, we don’t get along. One of those instant dislike things. It happens, but

I’m sure we can both do our jobs.” Actually, he wasn’t sure about that at all. Olin seemed

very immature. “I can, anyway.”

“Really,” Ryder said, dragging the word out. “I somehow believed I was picking up on

different vibes between you two, like the second y’all are left alone, there’ll be ripping of

clothes and violent fucking.”

“Not violent,” Keegan corrected before he caught himself. He glared at Ryder, wishing

he could wipe the smug look off his face. “And no fucking at all. I prefer my sex partners to

at least be adult-sized.”

Ryder held up a hand. “Whoa. That’s the most dickish thing I’ve ever heard you say.

It’s also height discrimination.”

“Height dis—” Keegan pressed his fingers to his temples. “Ryder, stop fucking with

me, please. I am tired,” he admitted, figuring it was better to show that weakness than

continue the conversation about Olin. Keegan didn’t want to flat-out lie, and he was

dangerously close to doing so already. It was true that he and Olin hadn’t struck a

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harmonious chord together, but the fact that Olin was his mate wasn’t something Keegan

could easily lie about if he were prodded. His wolf likely wouldn’t let him lie, either.

“You have time to rest for a while. Y’all’s flight out isn’t until morning.”

Keegan left off rubbing his temples. “What do you mean it isn’t until morning? I

thought we were leaving in a few hours.”

Ryder nodded. “Well, that was the original plan, but the plane needs some maintenance

apparently, and I doubt you’d want to fly on it until that’s taken care of.”

“Yeah, no.” Keegan barely repressed a shudder. “Okay, so are you sure this guy can do

a good job on our security system?”

“Did you notice the cameras on your way in?” Ryder asked.

“What cameras? You’re out here in a jungle. Rainforest, I mean,” he quickly corrected.

Pride lit up Ryder’s features. “That’s right, and because of the coup that led to me being

the Alpha Anax here, there have been some cowardly attacks made on my life and to the

pack members who have sworn fealty to me.”

“What kind of attacks?” Keegan asked, instantly on alert. “Marcus has told me nothing

of such things.”

“Because I didn’t tell him,” Ryder stressed. “And of course, you will, because Marcus is

your entire world.”

“The Alpha Anax and his safety is my responsibility,” Keegan said shortly. “As you

have Sissy here for your captain, I’d think you’d understand my position.”

“Sissy knows when to back off and take a break,” Ryder retorted just as sharply. “She

knows that running herself into the ground with work and worry will only result in her

fucking up. She can delegate too, go figure. Apparently it’s possible for captains to do.”

Keegan barely kept from cursing at Ryder. It would have been entirely out of line even

though Ryder wasn’t his Alpha Anax—he was still a powerful shifter and deserved Keegan’s

respect. Even if Keegan thought he was an asshole.

“Could someone show me to my room?” Keegan asked, refraining from tacking on, if

you’re done telling me what a fuck-up I am. There was nothing to be gained by provoking

Ryder.

Ryder studied him for a moment before walking back to the door. “This way.”

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If Ryder seemed a bit irritated, Keegan couldn’t help it. He had a lot of pride, and Ryder

was threatening to tear it down with sharp words and accusations. At least, that’s how it

seemed to Keegan. Maybe some sleep would clear his head.

Keegan checked his phone once he was alone in the small guest room. He’d checked in

when the plane had landed, but hadn’t heard back from Marcus. His phone had signal—

Marcus had spared no expense outfitting the guards with the highest quality satellite phones.

So why hadn’t the Alpha Anax responded to his texts? New Mexico was five hours behind

time-wise, not a huge difference, so no one should be asleep yet.

Although, it was entirely possible that Marcus and Nathan were engaging in private

activities.

Keegan wasn’t going to get any sleep until he had heard back from someone, so he

called Dana. She answered immediately. “Keegan, everything’s fine here. I take it you made

it to Brazil in one piece?”

“How many pieces would I have arrived in and in what scenario would you imagine

such a thing possible?” he retorted.

Dana was silent for a few seconds then she laughed. “Oh my God, did you make a

joke?”

“I asked a logical question. The return flight has been delayed due to maintenance

issues with the jet.” Keegan hated to think about that. It forced him to acknowledge that

things could and did go wrong with private jets. “The humour was accidental.”

“I remember when it wasn’t,” Dana said, and she sounded as tired then as Keegan felt.

“Okay, boss, text me with the flight info when you have it, and someone will be there to pick

you and the security guy up.”

“Thank you.” Keegan disconnected the call. He could remember when he wasn’t such a

serious bastard, too. It was depressing, and he didn’t want to think about it anymore.

He stripped out of his boots, pants and shirt. A trip to the bathroom where he cleaned

himself up, then he headed for the bed. Thoughts of Olin kept trying to creep in and Keegan

was trying not to panic. His wolf wanted its mate, and the craving would just get worse and

worse.

How was he going to handle that and do his job to the utmost of his ability?

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Chapter Five

Clark at least waited until Ryder and Maarten had left before starting in. “What is going

on, Olin? I’ve never seen you act quite like that before.”

“Didn’t you just get on to Cory for giving me grief?” Olin asked. “Cory, why aren’t you

snapping at my brother for being a hypocrite?”

“Because he knows I’m just concerned and that’s why I’m asking,” Clark explained

entirely too calmly.

Here Olin was feeling as if there were a million excited ants running over his nerves

and making them tingle with an anticipation he didn’t want to examine. There was no way

he could be excited about working with Keegan—was there?

“I don’t know what happened,” Olin admitted as they left Ryder’s place and started

back to Olin’s. “The guy came in, I saw him, he saw me, instant dislike.” Except for the

wanting to fuck him part.

“Uh-huh,” Clark murmured.

Sometimes having a twin was such a pain in the ass.

“I can’t help but feel something else is happening here,” Clark said a few seconds later.

“And you know how that works between us.”

“It could be wrong.” Olin felt his stubborn streak kicking in. “This time. Just because we

always knew when something major happened to the other one doesn’t mean jack. Nothing.

Happened.”

Clark stopped him with a hand on Olin’s shoulder. Olin couldn’t refuse to look at him,

but he wanted to. It felt like he had a big scary secret he was trying to hide, yet he didn’t

know what the secret could be. “You knew when I met Cory, when he and I clicked that first

instant we saw each other.”

“You were texting me as it happened,” Olin growled, his mind already flinging out the

‘oh hell no’s’ at him. “There’s no way—what are you implying? Spit it out!”

Cory snarled the way he did any time Olin snapped at Clark. Olin pointed at him.

“Back off, wolf boy. We’re brothers and twins and we get to argue!”

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Clark laid a hand on Cory, much like the way he was touching Olin. Olin could see

Cory growing calm right before his very eyes. Clark didn’t turn his attention away from Olin

though. Not outwardly at least. “You told me your heart had just started racing and that’s

why you texted me first that day. You’ve always been the more astute of the two of us. The

more serious and responsible one.”

“That’s just a sad truth, because I’m not all that responsible or serious unless it comes to

my job or family.” Olin tried to make it into a joke, but they both knew that Clark had always

been the flightier of the two of them. Clark hated it but had never tried to be any other way,

and Olin loved his brother just as he was. “And if you hadn’t got a wild hair up your ass and

decided to take a vacation by yourself for the first time ever, you wouldn’t have met stud

muffin there.” Olin gestured at Cory.

The adoration between the two was obvious. Olin’s irritation at everything vanished for

the most part, because his brother deserved to be happy. If that meant Olin moved from his

pretty apartment to humidity hell, then so be it. Olin told himself to get over his shitty

attitude about Keegan and everything else. This, seeing Clark so happy, this was what

mattered.

Unfortunately, the happy didn’t distract Clark from worrying over Olin. “There was a

definite energy between you two, I felt it. I think he’s your mate.”

“Aw, come on.” Olin didn’t whine but it was a close thing. “I’ve seen you and Cory,

and Ryder and Maarten. Y’all are all over each other, and believe me, I will never make the

mistake of tagging along when the pack takes a run again.” Olin didn’t have to fake the

shudder that racked him. “Finding you and Cory like that was…traumatic. My brain is

permanently scarred from that.”

Clark blushed and Cory just look pleased as punch at the reminder of the time a few

weeks back when Olin had found them tangled up and fucking. Cory hadn’t been entirely

human yet, either. It’d been messed up, but Olin was dealing with it. Kind of.

“Once Clark becomes one of us—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Olin warned Cory, throwing his hands up as if he could

literally shove the words away. Thinking about Clark being a shifter was just too much for

Olin right then.

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Clark shook his head at Cory. “Don’t go there right now. I’m not ready to take that

step.”

“Must be a huge step,” Olin muttered. Both men ignored him. Olin was glad. They

seemed to be off his case, for now at least.

“I wasn’t nagging. I just want you to be able to run with us, and the health benefits of

being a shifter would be yours as well. There are so few things that can make us ill.”

Olin almost spoke up and urged Clark to give it a shot at that. Their parents had both

passed away from diseases—their father from cancer when they were in their freshman year

at college, and their mom when they were barely four. She’d slipped into a diabetic coma and

had passed away three days later. If it meant that Clark wouldn’t die of either of those things,

Olin could deal with him being fuzzy and smelly some of the time.

“We’ll discuss it later. Right now I want to get to the bottom of what is going on

between Olin and Keegan.”

“Nothing is going on between us,” Olin said firmly. “It’s an Alpha thing. Y’all should

understand that. It happens in the human world, too, don’t it? Two men size each other up

and both want to be top dog.”

Cory got an indecipherable look in his eyes and merely said, “Ah.”

Clark, however, cackled like a fiend.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.” Olin knew right where Clark’s thoughts had gone

because his had gone there, too.

Clark just cackled harder before wheezing for a moment then speaking. “I bet Keegan

doesn’t bottom, and I know for a fact that you don’t.”

“It’s a moot point anyway. I told you there isn’t anything more to it than that. Egos,

pride. He looked at me like I’m short.”

That set Clark off again. “You are short,” he got out between his obnoxious snickers.

“So’m I.”

“Don’t say anything sappy to him about his height being adorable or anything like

that,” Olin ordered Cory when the shifter opened his mouth. “If y’all get any sweeter I’m

going to have to smack you both.”

Clark snorted out a few more chuckles and Cory just grinned. He knew Olin was

mostly all bark and no bite.

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“Stop deflecting.” Clark smirked at him. “I did learn some big words in college.”

“You’re a smart guy.” Olin hated it that Clark didn’t think so. He gave up trying to

avoid the topic of Keegan. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, okay? I mean, yeah okay,

Keegan’s fuckable, but he has an attitude that clashes with the chip on my shoulder. That’s

what you felt, not some werewolf hoo-doo.”

“Shifter mate bond,” Cory and Craig said in unison.

“Whatever.” But Olin smiled. “Anyway, I thought when the mate bond happened,

whoever it happened to went to fucking like bunnies—er, horn dogs”—that got a groan from

the other two men, much to Olin’s delight—“and couldn’t stop until body parts were raw

and unusable for a while.”

“That’s gross,” Clark said, a disgusted look on his face. “Seriously.”

Cory was frowning, scratching his chin.

It was kind of unsettling to see him thinking so hard. Olin had to stop him. “What? You

look kind of intense. I’m not used to that on you. You’re supposed to either snarl at me for

bickering with Clark or smile, all loopy and in love.”

“The thing is, not all mates are the same. There are some who don’t immediately

pounce on each other.” Cory hitched a shoulder in a little shrug. “More common with

humans, because you’re all sorts of reticent about our shifter vibes.” Cory took Clark’s hand.

“I’m just glad your brother wasn’t like that. I’d have died if he’d have made me wait.”

“Uck, sickening sweet zone again,” Olin teased. “Look, maybe there’s some kind of

attraction between me and Keegan, but I doubt it. I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder,

especially around bigger men. That’s why I give Maarten and Ryder so much grief. It’s a

quirk—” Olin rolled his eyes when Clark snorted at that. “Fine, it’s a bad habit I should break

before some giant freak tries to break me. They won’t be able to, but I know I need to get a

grip on it.”

Clark bobbed his head. “You aren’t that way on the job or you’d be unemployed.”

“Right.” It was true. “I’m a professional on the job, and that’s what I’ll be on this thing I

agreed to. Just because it’s not a job for Armoured doesn’t mean I should act any less the

pro.”

“Good luck with that,” Clark said from the bottom of the stairs to Olin’s hut. “I still

think he’s your mate.”

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Olin’s insides did their jittery-tingly-gooey dance again and he glared at his brother.

“Stop saying that.” He turned and jogged up the steps, his brother’s laughter chasing him all

the way.

Once inside, Olin changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. His hair still looked

decent, he was happy to note, but it wouldn’t for long. He rinsed the product out in the sink

then towelled his hair briskly. A quick comb-through and a ball cap, and he was almost

comfortable.

Almost, but not completely. His thoughts kept drifting to Keegan. The man wasn’t what

anyone would call handsome. He had a stern air about him that put the kibosh on that. His

jaw was a little too prominent, his nose had a bump in it, and his lips weren’t plush like had

been all the rage. No, Keegan had thinner lips, or at least they’d appeared that way when

he’d been giving Olin such a disapproving look.

“Hostile, even,” Olin said as he wandered over to his coffee maker. At least he had

electricity. The huts might look like something out of the last century, or even further back,

but they were actually okay. Water and electricity made them bearable, even though Olin

would kill for AC most days.

He made half a pot of coffee, hovering by the pot until it was done. Olin liked his coffee

as hot as he could get it, so he drank the stuff in great gulps, enjoying the burn as it hit his

tongue and throat.

While he drank, his mind was on Keegan. It seemed he couldn’t think about anything

else, and that was a mind-fuck for sure. “I blame you, brother.” If Clark hadn’t kept going on

about Keegan and mates and shit Olin didn’t want to ever hear again, then Olin would be

playing one of his video games or screwing with Ryder via the security cameras.

Ryder always freaked when Olin had one pivot and basically follow Ryder as he

walked past it. Said it was like a nightmare horror flick experience where the computers take

over. It always made Olin laugh.

But no. He recalled Keegan’s massive shoulders, the lean ass and hips. Keegan had a

waist that was made to be gripped while he was getting fucked. Olin would just bet there

were all kinds of dips and ridges along the man’s body, sexy, sculpted muscles on muscles.

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Olin moaned softly and pressed the heel of his hand against his groin. “God damn it!”

Muscles always got to him. Olin loved a bulked-up guy, but they tended to look at him as

bait instead of acknowledging him for the hunter that he was.

Once, only once had Olin ever found a bottom who was built like a dream. Even then,

the man had been extremely unwilling to let anyone else know he liked getting fucked. Said

it would make them think he was weak. One fuck had been enough for him, and Olin.

He finished the coffee then rinsed the cup and pot. After he had put them in the dish

rack to dry, he left again, ignoring his dick and desires, making his way to the rec facility. It’d

do him good to work out until he was ready to drop.

When he stepped inside, he almost groaned. The place was packed, men and women

waiting for turns on the weights and exercise equipment. Too many of each gender turned

eager eyes on him. Olin glowered at each of them. He was damned tired of them looking at

him like he was a prize to be won. Everyone in the damned pack seemed to be vying to be

the first to fuck him, and Olin wasn’t having it. He scowled harder then left. He’d go for a

run instead.

Ryder frowned on it, but Olin did it anyway. Yeah, there were things that could get him

out there, but for the most part, the true animals stayed far away from the pack lands. It was

the shifter variety that could cause trouble.

With that in mind, he went by his place and grabbed his Taser. He had a couple of

guns, too, but when it came down to it, Olin didn’t think he could actually kill anyone. He

was realistic enough to know that might not be the case if his life was on the line, but the idea

seemed far-fetched.

There was no reason for anyone to pounce on him. None of the pack members would

dare attack him. Ryder would have them skinned alive, quite possibly literally. They could

look, lust, and try to seduce, but that was it.

With the Taser in hand—it seemed stupid to bring it if he was just going to stick it in a

pocket he’d waste time extracting it from, plus he’d probably Taser himself trying to get it

out—Olin set out for his run.

The first mile was always the hardest, and the most tempting time to quit. Olin had to

get in the right frame of mind to jog, and it took him a mile or so to reach it. Once there, he

was in the zone, his mind focused on his body, on each step he took.

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Or that was usually the case. Today he kept thinking about Keegan, and wondering

why he wanted to turn around and run back to see what the damned man was doing.

He was nosey, that was all. Keegan was not his mate. He isn’t.

* * * *

Keegan watched as Olin took off running as if he had a demon on his heels. Unable to

sleep, Keegan had paced the room until he’d been ready to shout in frustration. His wolf was

raging inside him, angry at the human who was keeping him from his mate. Keegan didn’t

know how he would find the willpower to keep away from Olin. As it was, he could barely

restrain himself now. That urge to be near his mate wouldn’t be decreasing at all, either. No,

it would intensify quickly.

Aidan, Marcus’ brother, had chased his mate for hundreds of miles, and found him

hiding at a former pack member’s home. Aidan had thought his mate, Zane, was a traitor to

their species, a cruel and sadistic hypocrite who’d kicked out another pack member for being

gay when he himself was gay.

But the Fates didn’t fuck up. “That’s what we’re taught, anyway.” Keegan sighed and

rubbed at his eyes. He was so fucking worn out, and it was hot, a totally different kind of hot

from the dry New Mexico kind he was used to. The humidity was making him miserable,

and some breaths felt like he was sucking in water along with air.

That was with the air conditioning, too. It just didn’t seem to make a difference to him.

He guessed Ryder and Maarten had adjusted to the climate so that the AC felt cool to them.

It just turned out more moisture that was hardly even marginally cooler, at least in Keegan’s

opinion. There was also the chance that the AC didn’t work well in his room.

Whatever it was, Keegan was hot and sweaty, and watching Olin run off made his wolf

howl. Keegan fought not to shift and chase the man down. Olin clearly wasn’t thrilled with

the bond fate had slapped them with. If he could leave, then Keegan could be strong enough

to let him.

He watched until Olin was out of sight. Keegan paced again, restless, nerves on edge.

The sun was close to setting when he got dressed and finally left his room, hunger and

something else gnawing at his gut.

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Olin hadn’t returned. Just because I didn’t see him come back doesn’t mean he hasn’t. There’s

more than one way in and out of this place. Keegan followed the scents of food to a large dining

area where numerous shifters were eating. It wasn’t packed full, so he supposed that many

of the shifters ate at their own dwellings.

He didn’t see Olin anywhere, but before he could leave—and he didn’t want to examine

just where he’d have been headed—Ryder waved him over.

Keegan pushed aside his irritation at having to enter the dining hall. He was hungry,

after all, but honestly, a nice, fat live kill sounded much more appealing than prepared food.

To get out and stretch his legs as a wolf would be nice.

“I was just about to send someone to wake you,” Ryder said as Keegan neared. Ryder

frowned. “You don’t look like you slept a wink.”

“I didn’t,” Keegan admitted gruffly, shaking his head when Ryder pointed to a seat.

“It’s the heat and humidity. I’m not used to it, and don’t particularly like it.”

Ryder shot him a sympathetic look. “Yeah, it sucks at first. Takes some adjusting. It was

harder for Maarten than me, and he still bitches about it often.”

“Where is Maarten?” Keegan asked. “I didn’t see him when I walked in.”

“He’s napping,” Ryder replied with a wicked smile. “I’ll have a tray delivered to him

once he recovers some of his strength.”

“I don’t want to know.” Keegan looked the room over again. “Most of the pack eat in

their own homes?”

In his peripheral vision, Keegan saw Ryder lean back and study him. After a moment,

he answered. “Are you looking for Olin? Maarten seems to think that you two are mates.”

God damn it! Keegan clenched his jaw so tight it ached while he watched the people in

the dining hall. He vaguely noted the sunny yellow walls and the pale wooden furniture.

Couldn’t concentrate on anything but his inner chaos, and a fervent prayer that Ryder

wouldn’t ask him.

He should have known better.

“Is he, Keegan?” Ryder asked.

Keegan felt the pull of the Alpha Anax’s power directed at him. Even though Ryder

wasn’t his AA, the man was still the top wolf to Keegan’s lesser one. Lying to him and

refusing to answer were both impossibilities.

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“Yes,” Keegan gritted out, angry and unable to nail the exact reason for that down. He

knew part of it was because he was suddenly saddled with a mate, but there was more to it.

Like the fact that my mate wants me about as much as I want him? Hypocrite. Keegan was hit with

the memory of Olin’s desire to dominate him. It disturbed him that the image turned him on

so much.

“You seem thrilled,” Ryder said drolly. “Sometimes it takes a while for mates to click.”

Keegan canted his head at the man. “Really.”

Ryder shrugged. “Okay, so I was on Maarten the second I saw him. It’s that way for a

lot of us, but Aidan and Zane are one example. Gabe and Mika another. They didn’t eye each

other then fuck right off the bat. We even have a mated pair here who sniped at each other

for days before they gave in. The thing is, the mate bond is unique to the pair that’s being

bonded. Not everyone does best with a quick and hot connection.”

“Figures.” Keegan didn’t say anything else, because he’d sound like he was bitching

and moaning, but holy fuck, did the Fates have to give him more difficulties? If he absolutely

had to have a mate, why couldn’t it be a simpering, pliable one? Because you’d be bored out of

your mind after the fucking was done.

“Yeah, and you are a complicated man, so it makes sense you’d have a complicated

mate.” Ryder laughed and took a sip of his drink. “Man, I gotta tell you, Olin is all kinds of

complicated. He doesn’t back down, either. Most humans who knew what we are, what we

can do, would tread carefully around us. Olin just flips us all the bird and does what he

wants.” Then Ryder smiled and a look of sheer delight settled on his expression. “This is

going to be fun to watch play out. I’m just sorry I won’t get to see how it all goes down. Oh,

by the way, your flight leaves at ten a.m.”

Keegan did his best not to let his annoyance show. He wasn’t on this Earth to entertain

Ryder or anyone else. His purpose was to serve Marcus, to protect his Alpha Anax.

And your mate. It was as if another voice had whispered it to him. His conscience,

maybe, or that of the wolf.

“Olin is more than likely pouting at his place,” Ryder said. “He doesn’t like eating with

us. Gets pissed at the way the other shifters eye him.”

That snapped Keegan out of his thoughts. “And how do they eye him?”

Ryder’s delighted smile was a forewarning. “Like they can’t wait to fuck him.”

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Anger. Keegan had been expecting it, and he wasn’t let down. It surged in him, and he

fought back the urge to demand the names of everyone who’d ogled Olin. That was the

stupidly possessive part of the mate bond kicking in and Keegan wasn’t giving in to it.

What he hadn’t expected was the laugh that slipped from him. It startled him almost as

much as it did Ryder, whose eyes went wide as he gawked.

Keegan cleared his throat and waved a goodbye in Ryder’s direction. He wasn’t going

to explain to Ryder that Olin might have got mad because the little shit wanted to be the one

in charge. As sexy as Olin was, with his height and slight build, Keegan bet that many of the

shifters saw him and thought he’d be a submissive fuck. Keegan knew better.

“Going after him?” Ryder asked before Keegan had got very far.

“Going to the run area,” Keegan informed the man. He wasn’t going after Olin. He still

didn’t want a mate. Ryder’s examples offered, in a best case scenario, mere days before

Keegan was enslaved by the mating bond forming between him and Olin. He wasn’t going to

help fate bring them together any sooner.

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Chapter Six

Except—what if something happened to Olin? Keegan would be in for a lifetime of

celibacy, not that he’d been very sexually active lately but still.

And if something happened to Keegan? Then what would Olin do? Keegan frowned as

he made his way to the area Ryder had designated and set aside for pack runs. If Keegan

died, Olin would suffer the same fate—a lifetime of celibacy. Mates were it for each other

sexually, once they connected. That connection didn’t have to be sexual, either.

The idea of Olin spending the rest of his life alone was depressing. Keegan huffed.

Already the bond was growing in him. He was concerned about Olin, and not just because of

the ‘what-if?’s he’d been imagining.

Keegan veered left instead of going straight towards the area he’d been headed for. He

sniffed, and kept at it as he strolled by huts. When he caught a whiff of Olin’s scent, he knew

it because his entire body warmed from the inside out—an uncomfortable experience in the

heat—and his dick grew half hard.

But his heartbeat pounded, because the scent was faint, old by hours. Keegan went up

the stairs to the hut, Olin’s scent growing a little stronger but not any fresher. When he

reached the door, Keegan didn’t hesitate. He knocked more as a means of covering his ass

than anything. Olin wasn’t inside, Keegan was certain of it.

When no answering call-out came, Keegan opened the door, unsurprised that it wasn’t

locked. It’d have been like a little pig putting a deadbolt on the door to the straw house, after

all.

Inside, the place was tidy enough. There was a gaming system set up to a small TV. He

drew in a deep breath, eyelids growing heavy as he filled himself with Olin’s scent. Keegan’s

cock was hard enough to bat with in an instant. He flushed hot and cold, then back to hot

before he forced himself to move.

A quick inspection proved what he already knew. Olin hadn’t been back. There was no

fresh odour from him. Also, the man wasn’t a slob, and he packed neatly. Olin would likely

want to kick his ass for going through his luggage, but Keegan had been curious about his

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mate. He learned that Olin rolled his clothes neatly, and that he preferred actual boxers or

jocks to other types of underwear.

Keegan glanced around. It would be dark soon. He debated going back and asking

Ryder if he should be concerned with Olin’s absence. That would certainly piss Olin off if he

found out.

Keegan shrugged. Olin would get over it, but that wasn’t what Keegan was going to do,

anyway. He’d take a quick run, see if there was any cause for concern.

He stripped there in Olin’s home, leaving his clothes folded neatly on the kitchen table

and his boots tucked under it. Then he left, closing the door before shifting and racing down

the steps.

Olin’s scent was stronger with Keegan in this form. Well, all of Keegan’s senses where

sharper. He ran as fast as he ever had, following his mate’s scent. The wolf rejoiced in being

allowed to go after their mate. Keegan would have a time of it, reeling the beast back if they

met up with Olin.

Better to skirt around him, Keegan mused, but he kept his nose down and ears up to

listen for sounds of a man running.

Olin’s trail led out past the residences, the training areas and beyond. Keegan was

impressed when he’d reached two miles and still Olin’s scent went forth.

Then he hit three miles, four, five and concern kicked in. It was a long way for a human

to run, and so far, no return tracks.

Olin could have circled around, except the trail was still heading away from the pack

lands. Keegan became worried when Olin’s scent suddenly went south, into the heavier part

of the rainforest, no longer following the fringes of it.

This was still pack land, he assured himself. There were the odours of Ryder and the

others here, too. None fresh, but still there. The pack lands were spread out over several

miles. Wolves needed room to run.

But a human running into a rainforest was sheer stupidity. Keegan tried to utilise the

bond, tried reaching for Olin with his mind, but in shifted form that mostly didn’t work. Not

unless both mates were shifted. Added to that, he and Olin hadn’t really bonded much.

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A separate odour sent a chill down his spine. It was a pungent, unpleasant one, feral,

dangerous. Some kind of cat, and the possibilities for which kind were all bad if it had been

stalking Olin.

Keegan snarled and ran faster. He followed Olin’s scent for another two or three miles,

noting that it was growing fresher. Keegan was glad of that at least, but the feline’s stink

increased, too, and there was nothing good about it.

The silence in the rainforest was telling. There were predators out, so the prey was

hiding, doing its best to survive. When Keegan came upon the remains of a Taser, he wanted

to howl. Blood dotted the leaves around it, and he knew it was Olin’s.

He kept the howl back, though, because Keegan also knew something else—there were

other wolves out, ones he wasn’t sure of, whether they were with Ryder or against him.

Every Alpha Anax had enemies, just as any other leader did. The difference with shifters was

how one dealt with them.

The other wolves were ahead of him, as was the feline. Keegan didn’t think the feline

was a shifter—he’d certainly never heard of one, only knew of his own kind—but there in the

wildest part of Mother Nature’s Earth, anything seemed possible. Even the ants could be

shifters for all he knew.

The one condolence he had was that there wasn’t a lot of blood. Olin hadn’t been

seriously mauled, at least.

Keegan picked up Olin’s trail again, moving slower by necessity. He didn’t know that

there wouldn’t be an ambush ahead somewhere.

Then it began, the chorus of barks and growls. The wolves had their prey pinned,

cornered, possibly even down.

Caution had its place, and it wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity. Keegan dug his feet in and

bounded forward, a fury roaring to life inside him as he sought out his mate. He’d kill

anything that got in his way.

As he rounded a copse of trees and plants, he saw Olin, and his heart nearly ceased

beating. Olin was surrounded by four wolves, each of them darting in at him, taking turns

toying with him.

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Olin didn’t look scared. He looked mad enough to have a nuclear meltdown. In his

hands, he held two heavy sticks, or limbs, that he swung marvellously hard at the wolves. If

he managed to connect, he’d possibly kill one.

Off to the side, watching the wolves and Olin, was a large black leopard or jaguar—

Keegan wasn’t sure of the difference or if there was one. He couldn’t see spots and didn’t

care to try. The cat turned golden-green eyes on him and if the beast could smile, it did.

Keegan’s previous chill of unease was nothing compared to the one he got from looking that

beast in the eyes.

The rainforest was dark, but through some of the heavy foliage curtain, moonlight

streamed down. It was a good thing for Olin, whose human vision wasn’t as sharp as

Keegan’s. At least the man could see somewhat.

Olin cursed loudly and a wolf yelped as a dull thud sounded. Keegan yanked his gaze

from the cat’s back to the fighting just in time to see a wolf fly back about six feet, knocked

away by Olin.

“Take that, you stupid fucker! Ryder’s going to have every one of y’all’s asses!” Olin

shouted. “And I know you’re fucking shifters! Bunch of pussies, ganging up on me!”

His mate had some spirit, Keegan would give him that. And a good swing. The downed

wolf wasn’t moving. Keegan wasn’t going to give him a chance to, either. He barrelled

forward and had the wolf’s throat ripped out in seconds.

When he raised his head up, Keegan saw the disgust on Olin’s face. Well, fuck the guy.

Keegan was there to help however he could, and if Olin didn’t approve, too bad.

Keegan went after the next wolf, catching the largest one, a light grey one, by its left

heel and clamping down hard. Before that moment, he didn’t think the attacking wolves had

been aware of him. They were then, as the big wolf yelped and Keegan jerked him

backwards.

Keegan hoped Olin didn’t come after him with one of those limbs. He couldn’t worry

about as he was instantly fighting for his own life. The grey wolf was a vicious cunt, snarling

and trying to tear into Keegan any way he could. Keegan darted back and had to release the

leg lest he get his head bitten off.

His prey was almost as big as he was, but not quite. Keegan used his extra weight as a

weapon, launching himself at the other when the grey would have circled around him. The

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quick and hard attack caught the wolf by surprise, and Keegan had him down with minimal

damage to himself in seconds.

He still had the taste of the first wolf’s blood in his mouth as he bit the second, going for

a quick kill. The sounds of the other two wolves scurrying off should have made him happy,

but Keegan was furious—especially when he had to duck or have his brains bashed out by

Olin and his mighty stick.

Keegan let go of the dying body and skittered backwards as Olin cursed and swung

again. Jesus, can’t the fool see that I was helping him?

The yowl of the feline froze them both. Keegan saw the creature rise to its feet and

stretch. It was bigger than him, and frankly, he didn’t know if he could take it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Olin muttered. “What the hell is this? Attack of the wild things?

Wolves and jaguars and whatever the fuck else, oh my!” He raised one stick up high and

held the other in front of him. “Come on, you fucker.”

No, don’t, Keegan thought somewhat desperately as he darted around Olin. If the jaguar

was coming at them, he would have to kill Keegan before reaching Olin. Keegan was afraid

that might well happen, then he told himself to buck up. It was more the fact that he was

facing an animal he had never seen before that was freaking him out.

“By all means, be dinner,” Olin said, and Keegan took that to mean that he wasn’t about

to get walloped, at least not by Olin.

The jaguar prowled closer, taking its time and, Keegan figured the beast was trying to

mind-fuck him.

It’s working. His hackles were up, ears back, growl vibrating out of him constantly as he

pawed at the ground. The jaguar made a sneezing sort of sound and stopped its unnerving

approach. It stared at Keegan unblinkingly, and Keegan growled louder.

“Go away,” Olin shouted, and the whoosh of a limb being swung not too far over

Keegan’s head had Keegan lowering himself closer to the ground. “Go on, you fuckin’

weirdo! You’re not even a real jaguar!”

The yowl the beast made said otherwise. Keegan’s fur stood on end and he snarled a

warning at Olin. Goading the feline was foolish. Didn’t Olin realise he’d be killed if Keegan

failed to protect him?

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The jaguar roared. At least that’s what Keegan assumed it did. It sounded like a deep,

chest-rattling cough almost. Added to the sneezing sound, Keegan wondered if the thing was

sick.

“No wonder you’re not king of the jungle with that roar,” Olin scoffed.

Keegan risked being killed to turn his head and snarl at his mate. Shut up!

“I’ll smack you, Keegan, don’t think I won’t,” Olin snarled right back. Keegan was so

surprised that Olin recognised him, he almost missed the sound of the jaguar moving.

Keegan whipped his head back around just in time to see the big cat slink away, as if it’d

grown bored with them.

Or maybe it’s going to eat the wolves… Keegan hacked at that nauseating idea and shifted

as soon as the jaguar was gone. “Olin,” he got out just before Olin did indeed smack him

with a limb, although not very hard. “What the—?” Keegan ducked and made a grab for

both pieces of wood.

“You scared the crap out of me!” Olin struggled to keep hold of his weapons for a

moment, then he let go of them. Keegan tossed them out of Olin’s reach.

“I scared you?” Keegan asked. “I saved you!”

“I had it under control!” Olin yelled back at him. He jabbed Keegan in the chest. “I

could have handled them!”

Keegan caught Olin by the wrist before he could jab again. “Calm down.”

Olin narrowed his eyes. “You did not just say that to me.”

Well, yes he had. Olin tried to kick him.

“Olin, stop trying to hurt me.” Keegan could smell Olin’s blood and he needed to see

where he was injured.

“I thought you were going to die,” Olin muttered, going limp and dropping to a squat.

“Jesus. Okay, I thought I was gonna die too. What the fuck was that? Did I jog onto that

island where man gets hunted?”

Keegan squatted as well and eyed Olin. There were numerous scratches on his arms

and legs, a few on his face.

“I mean, come on. I go out to run all the time, and today I get hunted by a pack of

wolves and a jaguar! Why didn’t anyone tell me there are jaguar shifters, huh?” Olin

continued. “They’re huge!”

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“What makes you think the cat was a shifter?” Keegan asked as he dithered back and

forth between touching Olin and not. He needed to see where the blood had come from, but

touching him… Well, it might get him decked, or might make his unruly cock rise again.

Olin’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me? You’re kidding me, right? Did you not

see the size of that fucker? It was huge! And you… You wolves, y’all are huge, bigger than

the plain old wolf variety. Don’t you think that means the jaguar was a shifter?”

“I’ve never heard of feline shifters,” Keegan said as he dared to put a hand on Olin’s

knee. “Where are you bleeding from?”

“Who says you know everything?” Olin retorted. “And everywhere. Can’t you see the

scratches all over me? Aren’t you shifters supposed to have X-ray and night vision?”

Keegan finally comprehended that Olin was likely in shock. “I don’t know everything,”

Keegan conceded. “But I do think I’d have heard of other types of shifters. Then again, there

are stranger things in this world.”

“Like what?” Olin asked after he had let go a sharp laugh.

“People who like fruitcake, for starters,” Keegan murmured as he ran a hand down

Olin’s right leg. He didn’t feel any obvious wounds besides scratches. “Where are you

hurting the worst?”

“I like fruitcake,” Olin mumbled. “My side.”

Keegan’s cheeks went hot but he ignored his own embarrassment over sticking his foot

in his mouth. “Let me see.”

Olin hitched up the hem of his shirt. “What, no apology for the fruitcake line?”

“I’ve tried fruitcake, so no.” Keegan saw the gash. It wasn’t deep but had to have hurt.

About three inches long, it looked like it needed sutures. “What happened?”

Olin flopped back so suddenly that Keegan didn’t even manage to catch him and ease

his fall. “Oh, you know. I met this obnoxious guy, or kind of met him, whatever, and I don’t

know what happened. Things went weird inside me, and I don’t want a shifter as a mate. I

don’t want a mate! That’s— I can’t— My brother just told me about shifters, and I’m trying,

but God damn it! I’m going to have a nervous breakdown if I can’t process all of this! It’s a

system overload!”

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Keegan had flinched when Olin had said he didn’t want a shifter as a mate. That had

hurt, and he was a fucking idiot for letting it get to him when he’d just been bitching about

not wanting a mate himself. Still. Ouch.

“That doesn’t tell me what happened here,” Keegan said as he traced right above the

wound.

Olin inhaled sharply. “Fuck, don’t do that!”

“How’d it happen?” Keegan asked again.

“I ran into a low-hanging limb, tripped, broke the Taser I had on me, and gouged my

side on a part of it.” Olin snorted. “Happy?”

“Not particularly, no.” He stood and considered their options. “Option one is we stay

here and someone will find us.”

“Yeah but which someone?” Olin grumbled. “You let two of those fuckers get away.

Then there’s the big scary jaguar. Those things are supposed to be territorial. It might come

back to kill us.”

“All valid points, which is why I think we’re just going to have to get back on our own,

starting now.” He held a hand out to help Olin up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Bossy, but strangely enough, I’m good with it in this instance.” Olin took his hand and

Keegan felt their bond sizzle between them. “Shit. Shit.” Olin looked from their joined hands

to Keegan’s face. “Tell me you didn’t feel that.”

“I can’t lie to you,” Keegan whispered, need zinging from his balls to his cock before

spreading throughout him.

“Yes you can.” Olin nodded. “You can.”

Keegan gave a slow shake of his head, then he gave in to a rising impulse and lowered

his head, gaze locked with Olin’s. If Olin moved back, Keegan would stop.

But Olin didn’t. Instead he cursed, grabbed the back of Keegan’s neck, and tugged him

down for a kiss that was more teeth and demand than tenderness.

Olin didn’t even give Keegan a chance to lead. He controlled the kiss from the second

he’d grabbed Keegan. All Keegan could do was hold on and try to keep up and Olin speared

his tongue in deep and started claiming spaces.

Olin freed his other hand and latched on to Keegan’s hip. Keegan found the smooth

curves of Olin’s shoulders and used them to keep his balance as he was brought closer to

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Olin. Their height disparity made being body to body while kissing impossible, but Olin

fixed that. He hitched one leg around Keegan’s waist and crawled up him, biting at his lips,

pinching and squeezing whatever flesh he used as handholds.

And Keegan loved it, the little buzzes of pain, the way Olin was owning him. Keegan

had always been the aggressor, but there was a definite freedom in being taken.

That thought scared the tar out of him. He knew what Olin wanted to do to him.

“I won’t hurt you, baby,” he heard Olin rasp. “I’ll make you feel so good, like no one

else ever has.”

Keegan shuddered, the ball of desire unfurling in his gut so great he didn’t think it

could be contained.

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Chapter Seven

Olin was losing his fucking mind, that was all there was to it. His side ached, he’d

almost been torn apart, but none of that mattered. He had to touch Keegan, had to kiss him,

devour him, fuck him.

When he closed his eyes, he saw snapping teeth, dripping with spittle, and glowing

green-gold eyes. Where had the jaguar gone off to? For all they knew, it could be nearby still,

waiting, watching. Olin gasped and disentangled himself from Keegan. “Sorry. That jaguar—

We should go, hide, something besides what we’re doing.” Keegan didn’t argue, for which

Olin was grateful. Olin could just make out Keegan’s expression in the moonlight-dappled

rainforest. There was no censure or judgement in Keegan’s demeanour.

“We also need to get that wound taken care of,” Keegan said in a gruff voice as he took

Olin by the arm. Olin started to object, but Keegan let go of him as soon as Olin was walking

in front of him. “Just head that way.”

“Are you putting me in the front so I get eaten first?” Olin asked, unnerved by the idea

of it even though he’d been teasing.

“I can take the lead, but I’m more worried about something coming up behind us. I can

see just fine from the front, but the eyes in the back of my head never did develop.”

Olin narrowed his eyes at Keegan. “Smart ass.”

At least Olin was calmer now, not on the verge of panicking or hysteria.

“I can’t see in the dark like you can,” Olin pointed out. “If the foliage overhead gets

much thicker, then what’re you going to do?”

“Carry you,” Keegan said succinctly.

“Fuck that, I’ll walk into trees,” Olin snarled. “Carry me like I’m a kid or—”

Keegan didn’t let him finish. “I don’t think you’re a kid. You’re not built like a kid,

either. You’re just short.”

As far as Olin was concerned, there were two words for that crap. “Fuck. You.”

Keegan’s scowl was obvious by the tone of his voice. “Why is the truth the wrong thing

to speak? It’s a fact. You’re beneath the average height for a human male.”

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Olin stopped walking and turned around to point a finger at Keegan. “And again, fuck

you very much for bringing that point up. I am aware of just how tall I’m not. You think I

didn’t catch a dump truck load of shit for it when I was growing up? Or that I don’t still have

to prove I’m a capable, intelligent adult because of it? You have no idea what it’s like to be a

‘pocket-sized’ man.”

“I don’t, that’s true,” Keegan admitted, much to Olin’s surprise. He’d have thought the

man would just gloss over that little part. “But shifters aren’t worried about political

correctness and I’m only being honest.” Then he surprised Olin again. “I think you must be

tougher than a man my size to have dealt with all of that and not gone to prison for murder.”

Olin turned back around and started walking again. “Humans have better control of

themselves than that. Most of us do, anyways.”

He’d bet Keegan had bristled like a riled up porcupine behind him. It was tempting to

look, but he didn’t. He settled for hearing the sharp edge in Keegan’s voice. “Shifters have

plenty of self-control. Otherwise we’d have taken over the world an aeon ago.”

“An aeon,” Olin huffed. “Whatever. No y’all wouldn’t have.”

“Why wouldn’t we have done so?” Keegan asked. “Why, if we’re not much more than

beasts, would we not have sought out to make the world a safe place for our own kind and

not give a shit if the cost was every human life?”

“Because there’s never been enough of you,” Olin answered without hesitation because

he’d had time to form his opinion on the matter well before this point in time. “There never

will be enough of you. Humans breed like crazy, and maybe y’all can have litters or

whatever, but the fact is, we outnumber y’all a thousand to one. No, more like ten thousand

to one, maybe even more. That’s the hand of God or Mother Nature or Chaos Theory,

whatever you want to blame or praise for it. But it’s also a fact. Y’all’s numbers have always

been controlled.”

Keegan was speechless, unable to refute Olin’s argument because shifters truly were

outnumbered. And yes, their females could have litters, but it was rare for them to have more

than three children, and that was if the female became pregnant. Not all of them did, and

many of them only had one or two kids. Add in the activity levels of those kids, and the child

mortality rate—Keegan put a lid on his thoughts before they could go any further.

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“You’re not arguing because I’m right,” Olin said. “Y’all aren’t necessarily the superior

species. Then again, Most of the time I doubt that humans are, either. My money’s on

dolphins, cats and those little monkeys that are always sucking or fucking at the zoos.”

Keegan’s laughter popped out of him like a sneeze or a hiccup. He wasn’t prepared for

it and nearly stumbled over his own feet.

“They’re the little monkeys, and I can’t think of their names. When Clark and I went

one time, I guess I was about ten, we were on a school field trip. These two little guys were

just blowing each other. Our poor teacher just about died when kids started snickering and

gagging, depending on the kid. It was great. Next time we saw some actually doing it, but I

think that was just the mating season, because the giraffes were trying to porn up the second

field trip, too.”

Olin looked over his shoulder, a little smile pulling at his lips. “That’s a nice laugh you

got there, Keegan. Sounds kinda rusty, though. Maybe you should let it out more often.”

Keegan felt oddly exposed and shy. Neither were emotions he cared for. He stopped

laughing and was relieved that Olin had faced away from him again.

The silence of the rainforest made their footsteps sound abnormally loud. There was no

more than the soft scrunch of leaves under their feet, the muffled press of heels to earth.

Their breathing, Olin’s especially, would be easy for a shifter within a half-mile radius to

detect.

Keegan forced himself to focus on their surroundings, not the trim butt and lean body

in front of him. There’d been an attack on his mate, and a jaguar was on the loose. This

wasn’t the time to be thinking about what he wanted to do to Olin—or have Olin do to him.

Olin, for all that he was on the thin side, showed a surprising amount of resilience. He

didn’t slow his pace or stumble more than a few times as they made their way out of the

rainforest. They didn’t get far past it before Keegan grabbed Olin by the back belt loop and

jerked Olin behind him.

“What the fuck?” Olin snapped.

“Someone’s up ahead,” Keegan whispered. He sniffed but the wind was blowing the

wrong way to help him out. Olin got away from him and nudged Keegan on the hip. “Stop.”

Olin did it again. “Don’t be an ass. I’m not hiding behind you. Stop treating me like I’m

less man than you are. I’m actually more. You’re half wolf.”

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“I’m all man plus wolf,” Keegan ground out, glaring at his mate. “I can’t believe you

and I are mates.”

“I’d smack you for saying so, but I’m too tired to deny it right now.” Olin did look

exhausted. “Let me get a good night’s sleep, then I’ll punch you for saying that tomorrow.”

“No delayed punches.” Keegan then put a finger to his own lips, a plea for silence.

Olin pressed his lips together and stared ahead of them.

It wasn’t until he heard the first howl that Keegan knew they’d be okay. “Ryder,” he

muttered. “Thank the gods.”

“Or God.” Olin bumped his shoulder against Keegan’s arm. “Thanks. For showing up

and not letting them kill me.”

The softly spoken gratitude surprised Keegan. “You’re welcome.”

Olin bumped his arm again, and Keegan realised it wasn’t intentional. Olin was

swaying on his feet. Keegan moved to his left side and carefully put his arm around Olin’s

shoulders. He’d have liked to settle it around Olin’s waist, but this was easier on them both.

Olin didn’t fight him, either. He did put an arm around Keegan’s waist and even leaned

in on him. Keegan’s breath caught and he lightly caressed Olin’s arm where his hand rested

on it. “I’m going to call out, let them know it’s us, though the wind might have carried our

scents to them.”

“Better safe than sorry. Howl away.” Olin sounded as tired as he looked.

Keegan howled, his voice carrying the distance, the sound indistinguishable from the

howl he’d have made as a wolf.

“You’re all naked,” Olin said, sliding the hand at his waist up a few inches, then down

until he was almost cupping Keegan’s ass. “You’re fuzzy. I like fuzzy.”

Keegan snorted and got them moving forward again as Ryder acknowledged his howl.

“I am naked, yes, and I never considered myself fuzzy, but—” He bit his tongue when a

hand squeezed his ass cheek.

“You have a fuzzy butt.” Olin purred then, and kneaded Keegan’s backside again. “A

lean, masculine, fuzzy butt. Bubble butts are nice and all, but I like this right here.”

“You have a bubble butt,” Keegan blurted out, disconcerted by the fondling he wasn’t

trying to stop. Why am I not stopping it?

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“I do, and they’re all well and good, but this right here is what I prefer.” Olin did it

then, the very thing that Keegan had been dreading and wanting at the same time. He

pushed his fingers into Keegan’s ass crack and followed it down.

“O-Olin.” Keegan had intended to say more, but then those fingers were ghosting over

his hole and his mind shorted out.

“Mm. Wish I had longer arms. I’d finger you while we walked.”

Those words shot through Keegan like a liquid dose of Viagra. His cock firmed up and

he stumbled.

“Are you embarrassed?” Olin asked. “Because your buddies are right up ahead? Afraid

they’ll see us?”

“I don’t care if they see us,” Keegan grated out, but part of him did.

Olin brushed over his hole again. “Don’t believe you. You’re worried they’ll think

you’re weak because you’re enjoying this. You’re going to have to come to terms with that

fucked-up idea because I will do exactly what I promised to. This is going to be mine.”

Keegan’s mouth and throat went dry as his heart raced. Before he could think of a

retort, he heard a chorus of howls announcing the coming approach of Ryder and his guards.

Olin kept touching him, and Keegan realised he was no longer walking. His cock ached,

and he could hardly draw a breath past the knot of need clogging his lungs. Olin tapped

against his pucker and at the same time used his other hand to rub over the crown of

Keegan’s shaft.

“They know, don’t they?” Olin asked quietly. “Ryder knows.”

Keegan caught on instantly. Olin was referring to them being mates. “Yes. He knows.”

“Oh, good,” Olin murmured right before he bent and sucked on the tip of Keegan’s

dick.

Keegan was shocked, having not expected Olin to do such a thing when there were

about to be met by others. He’d thought, stupidly, that Olin might be shy or reserved about

having sex where anyone else could see. Foolish—that’s what he’d been to think in such a

manner when Olin had been blatantly up front about what he intended to do to Keegan.

Fuck him, spank him.

Own me.

“I will,” Olin pulled off long enough to say.

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Keegan burned with embarrassment—he’d either shared the thought or spoken it—

then he didn’t feel anything but bliss as Olin took his cock in deep, heat and moisture

surrounding Keegan’s length in such a perfect way that he felt dizzy from the pleasure.

Then a slight burn at his hole, and Olin’s finger was in him. Not far, but enough that

Keegan knew it was there and the sensation of a foreign presence in his ass drove Keegan

over the edge before he even knew it was happening.

His climax tore up from his groin, heat and want flaring out with a rapturous wave of

ecstasy as Olin deep-throated him. Keegan tried to shout, to say Olin’s name, but all he

managed to do was gasp and pant until he was shaking so hard his teeth chattered.

“I’ve got you,” Olin was saying, and Keegan had somehow ended up slumped on the

smaller man, with Olin holding him up. “Dude, it’s been a while for you, hasn’t it?”

Keegan grunted and forced himself to hold his own weight. Olin was the injured one.

“You’ve no idea,” he admitted. His hole still burned a little. It felt oddly arousing.

“You taste okay,” Olin informed him. “Stronger than anyone I’ve ever sucked before.

Maybe that’s a shifter thing.”

Keegan couldn’t help but be annoyed right out of his pleasant post-orgasm buzz. “Why

does it have to be a species thing? Why can’t it just be who I am, not what I am?”

Olin didn’t answer. He didn’t look at Keegan either. He toed at the ground then sighed

and ran the fingers of one hand through his hair. “I’m trying not to freak out, okay? Just cut

me some slack.”

Keegan experienced a throb of sympathy. He knew how Olin felt. “Can I ask the same

of you?”

Olin quit messing with the dirt and glanced up at him. “Yeah. Yeah, that’d only be fair,

I guess. I mean, it is. Only fair,” he finished with, a rueful smile curling his lips up in a way

that Keegan silently defined as adorable. He didn’t do it out loud because he was pretty sure

it’d get him in trouble.

Keegan looked out in the darkness before them, the moon no longer casting a

welcoming light as a path. He could still see just fine, but Olin wouldn’t be able to. He heard

as well as saw the wolves round the path’s bend. “They’re not far off.”

Olin nodded. Keegan laid his arm over Olin’s shoulders, and they resumed walking.

“How is your side?”

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“Hurts like a fucking bitch,” Olin grumbled. “Shouldn’t have bent over to blow you,

but I…” He inhaled, held it, then exhaled. “I had to. To touch you. It’s happening between

us.”

“It is,” Keegan confirmed. And somehow it didn’t seem as terrible as it had a few hours

ago. But how would he be able to do his job, to focus so utterly on the Alpha Anax’s safety?

“Whatever you’re freaking out about, stop. It’s giving me a headache.”

Keegan couldn’t tell if Olin was joking or not. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think the bond was

that strong.”

Olin sighed and rolled his head up to look Keegan in the eyes. “I don’t think it is. I was

being a smart ass. Felt you tense up since you’re right here.” Olin patted his butt.

“Oh.” Keegan was strangely disappointed but he didn’t say so. He noticed the bulge

Olin was sporting. Olin noticed him noticing it.

“I’m saving that. You know why.”

Keegan’s belly tingled as if he’d chugged a two-litre bottle of fizzy soda. He knew

exactly what Olin was referring to, and as much as he tried to convince himself that he didn’t

want it, didn’t want to be fucked or—and this was the part that really got him—spanked, a

little voice inside him stalwartly called him a liar.

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Chapter Eight

“I already told you, Ryder, I don’t have any proof,” Olin snapped for the third time.

“Jaguars aren’t that fucking big, though. They aren’t. Google it. You should be more

concerned about the wolf shifters. Why were they out there? Were they from your pack?

Why were they after me?”

“Marcus has never heard of the existence of any shifter breed besides wolf,” Ryder said

as he frowned at Olin. “Neither has Maarten, or his brother Luuk. If there were jaguar

shifters, surely they’d know about it.”

Olin threw his hands up in the air and winced at the pull to his stitches. “Fine then! It’s

a mutant jaguar that was exposed to radioactive waste and was bitten by a glow in the dark

spider and attacked by bats all at the same time! It’s still a freak! Why aren’t you grasping

that?”

Keegan started to move towards him and Olin pointed at him. “No. I will not calm

down. Tell him. Tell him about the jaguar.”

“You know I have,” Keegan said so calmly that Olin wanted to scream. “It was a big

black cat. I don’t know how big for sure. It was lying down, then it wasn’t, and I was looking

at you half the time because you seemed determined to goad it into attacking us. Then it

left.” He shrugged. “I do think you have a problem on your hands, Ryder. The shifters who

were after Olin need to be killed—once you find out what they were doing going after him in

the first place.”

Ryder looked tired as he replied. “I know, and I’ve got Sissy and half the guards

combing over the rainforest in the area the attack occurred. I realise the seriousness of the

wolves trying to kill Olin. Attacks come against me and my pack somewhat regularly,

though. A lot of the shifters that aren’t here in the Alpha Anax pack haven’t accepted me.

This isn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be when Marcus was talking me into taking the

position.”

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Keegan’s cheeks turned ruddy and his face went stony as he looked at Ryder. “Are you

trying to blame Marcus for this? Were you incapable of deciding for yourself whether or not

you should be here?”

“You know I wasn’t,” Ryder snapped, anger rolling off him. “Don’t give me shit,

Keegan. I’m doing my best, and I take responsibility for everything I’ve done. That doesn’t

mean it’s fucking easy, and that I don’t want to crack more heads together than I already

have.”

“It’s normal for a new Alpha Anax to be challenged often,” Maarten explained, then he

had to glare at Ryder when he started sputtering. “Let me finish. That is normal, but here

there have been other attacks. That is why Olin has put the security cameras up for us.

People were having their personal belongings stolen, and some were even attacked at night.

Three were killed.”

“And you don’t lock your door?” Keegan snarled suddenly at Olin. “Why would you

be allowed to—?”

Olin was in his face immediately. “No one allows me to do anything. No one. I don’t

belong to Ryder, or his pack. Those murders happened before me or Clark ever got here, and

Maarten should have gone on and said that the culprits were caught and killed in a pretty

grisly manner themselves. Fortunately I wasn’t here for that, either.”

Keegan glared right back at him then turned to Maarten.

“It’s true, they were put in the challenge ring and handed over to the friends and family

members of their victims.” Maarten buffed his nails on his lime green shorts. “We couldn’t

get them to talk, however. We never knew if they did it out of maliciousness on their own, or

if they’d been sent to do such horrific things.”

Keegan went back to scowling at Olin. “So it isn’t safe here, or outside of the pack

grounds, either.”

Olin set his jaw and promised himself that he’d set Keegan straight soon. He didn’t

need anyone hovering over him, despite the evidence to the contrary today. “I don’t usually

run that far. I was pissed.”

Keegan blinked but he got the message. The man wasn’t stupid. He got that Olin had

been mad at him and the situation he’d found himself in.

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Probably because Keegan had felt the same way. Olin didn’t like that at all. It was stupid but

true that he wanted Keegan to want him and not be unhappy about it.

“Part of our agreement with Olin is that he not have to abide by our rules,” Ryder said.

“Not all of them, at least.” Ryder took a deep breath and let it out in a gust. “And, Olin,

you’re going to want to try to kick my ass, but the fact is, not once with the exception of

today have you not been followed when you go out for your run. I’ve always sent at least

three guards to watch over you.”

Olin’s head was going to blow up. “You asshole. You gave your word.”

“That you could come and go as you please, and that you wouldn’t be bothered. I did

not break those promises.” Ryder tipped his chin up, giving himself a more stubborn

appearance than usual. “You also had your privacy. They didn’t spy, just made sure you

didn’t get killed. And the one fucking day I didn’t pay attention, this happens.”

“I don’t even want to talk to you anymore,” Olin said as he turned and headed for the

door. “I’m going home, and you two can figure out what the fuck happened and why. Stay

away from me, Ryder, and keep your little creepers away from me, too.”

He should have known he wasn’t getting out alone. Keegan’s footsteps weren’t

particularly loud, but they were there, proving to Olin that the man was behind him.

At least he’d got some clothes on. Olin had been glad of that, because a nude Keegan

was something amazing to behold. He’d felt so good against Olin outside in the dark, and

the way he’d quivered, the tight, clenching grip of his pucker around Olin’s finger while Olin

had been sucking his fat cock, that’d been something Olin had longed to see as well as feel.

And he’d got a chance, sort of, once they’d entered Ryder’s place. Olin had got an eye

full of Keegan, who was indeed fuzzy, with a fine coating of hair over his ass, and a thicker

one down his legs. He had a big dick—there was no use in looking for prettier words. Big,

ugly with veins, and so perfect that Olin could have worshipped it forever.

Olin had thought about that dick the whole time he’d been sewn up. There were a lot of

things he wanted to do to that dick, like push different size sounds into it, stretching the slit

and filling it with the cool metal rods. Or spanking it with one of those floggers made

especially for that purpose. Piercing it would have been great, too, but Olin doubted that’d

work on a shifter. They healed too fast, and the first time Keegan had to take it out, the hole

would probably close.

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“Tattoo my name on it,” he said as he made his way down the hall.

“On what?” Keegan asked from behind him.

Olin grinned. “Your dick.”

Keegan huffed and his footsteps faltered. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. Only problem is, it wouldn’t stay, right?” Olin glanced back at Keegan. “If

you’re going to follow me, you kind of have to actually walk.”

Keegan grimaced and placed a hand over his cock. “I’m not sure I want to get that close

to you. You’re thinking of doing very bad shit to my dick.”

“Impossible things.” Olin liked the way Keegan was protesting despite the fact that he

was sporting a hard-on that could be used as a weapon. “Sexy things. Not bad things.”

“How’s your side?”

Keegan’s attempt to change the subject drew a snicker from Olin. If—no, when—he got

Keegan beneath him, he would definitely talk dirty, say filthy things about what he wanted

to do to him. He’d bet Keegan would blow like a geyser and come so hard he might even

pass out.

Olin turned out of the main hallway to the centre room. He wanted to be in his own

place and it seemed as though Keegan was going to follow him there. Excellent. “It’s numb

partially, but that topical they used is wearing off.”

There was no more conversation after that, not for a few minutes as they left the Alpha

Anax’s house and headed for Olin’s hut. Olin repressed a shiver as he thought about the

prior conversation with Ryder and Maarten.

The three shifters that had been killed before Olin ever arrived had all been older ones,

well past their primes, but that made the murders even worse. One of them had been a great

grandmother who’d lost both feet in traps decades ago. It took a real coward to go after

people like that.

But the psychos who did it are dead. Today’s attack wasn’t related. Surely it wasn’t.

“Talk to me,” Keegan said quietly from behind him. “Whatever you’re thinking, share

it. It smells intense, serious.”

“And those things have a scent?” Olin snorted. “Yeah, of course they do.”

“Like pepper and damp pine,” Keegan told him.

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“Weird.” Olin glanced around. There were too many chances of being overheard. “Let’s

get to my place.” The thin walls wouldn’t guarantee privacy either, but if he cranked up

some music and kept his lips close to Keegan’s ear, that might do it.

Keegan pushed ahead of him on the steps and Olin was tempted to trip the jackass. If

he hadn’t been so tired, he might have done just that. Keegan was being a chest-thumper

again.

Olin let it go. Honestly, he was close to dropping where he stood if he didn’t keep

moving.

Keegan sniffed the air, and it must have been safe because he opened Olin’s door and

held it for him.

“Such a gentleman.” Olin went in and felt for the light switch. He flicked it up and the

tiny living room was cast in a dull light. It was still an affront to Olin’s eyes after having

walked back in the subtly lit darkness.

Keegan put a hand on his shoulder and Olin slowly turned around. His heart thumped

heavily and adrenaline spiked in his veins. “What?”

Keegan kept his hand there and swallowed once, then again before speaking. “You

don’t want a mate.”

“I’ve said as much, haven’t I?” Olin asked, frowning. “You don’t either.”

“I’ve lived for my job for years, ever since I made it into the Alpha Anax’s guard,”

Keegan explained. But it didn’t explain anything to Olin.

“Okay, well that’s good for you, I guess. Glad you climbed the canine ladder and all.”

Olin turned away, or started to. Keegan tugged and pulled him back around. “What?” Olin

repeated, this time harshly. He was tired, and confused, and horny and angry. Plus, his side

was beginning to hurt.

“I wasn’t finished.” Keegan gestured to the living room. “Can we sit down and talk?”

“Real men don’t talk,” Olin muttered, but he was joking and loopy with all the

emotions that were spiralling through him. He walked over and turned on the stereo system

before taking a seat in the wooden rocking chair. The music itself didn’t matter, Olin just

hoped it’d cover their conversation should anyone be walking by. “So talk.”

“Are you saying I’m not a real man?” Keegan stepped in front of him, and his tented

pants showed off his erection quite nicely. “I assure you that I am.”

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“Duh. It was a joke. Go.” Olin made a shooing motion. If Keegan didn’t move it, Olin

would soon be taking that big dick out and suck it again.

Keegan inhaled and took a step back. “Do you know, I can smell your arousal?”

“I can see yours,” Olin pointed out. “Kinda hard to miss it when you’re putting it in my

face.”

Keegan moved away and sat on the couch. It wasn’t much distance, maybe five feet, but

Olin suddenly felt like he could breathe.

“My point about my job is, I devote all my time to it. Marcus is a very important man.

He did something no one else has, which was to come out as a gay shifter and take the lead,

by force, of the entire North American pack.”

Olin dropped his head back and closed his eyes part way, watching Keegan through his

lashes. “Yeah, I know. Ryder makes him sound like a god. I’d say he had a crush but I’m

pretty sure that’s not allowed with mates. Which maybe means your crush on the guy got

killed, huh?”

Keegan sat up so straight Olin was surprised his back didn’t pop. “I don’t have a crush

on Marcus. Not now, not ever. I respect him, and it’s my duty to see to his safety, and his

mate’s, at all times. That is a lot of responsibility. I hardly sleep anymore because of it. He’s—”

“So he’s disabled?” Olin asked. “Slow? Not so bright? Weak? Missing a limb or two?

Toothless? Or maybe—”

“No,” Keegan barked out. “None of that! What is wrong with you?”

Olin started to shrug but the sting in his side promised to become much more intense if

he went through with the movement. “Why does this damn thing hurt worse now than

before they doctored it up?” He enjoyed the confused look Keegan gave him. Guess he was

expecting a snarled outburst. “I guess because they had to clean it out and trim the skin on that

one spot. It sucks, but a couple of ibuprofen ought to help.” Olin stood and almost

whimpered in relief when his legs didn’t give out. “You make it sound like your Alpha Anax

is a delicate, vulnerable pussy, frankly. He has to have you hovering over him constantly?

Gotta be annoying, and eventually, I’d think he’d see it as an insult. Most powerful shifter in

North America? Not with someone going all protective mommy on him.”

Olin walked out of the living room while Keegan stared at him slack-jawed. Olin wasn’t

a shifter, but he could just about smell the anger that was brewing in Keegan.

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The bathroom was approximately twelve feet from the living room, and Olin had just

turned on the light and entered the small space to get the ibuprofen when he heard Keegan’s

footsteps. The man was getting in the habit of following him.

“It’s my responsibility,” Keegan said in a low, heated voice. “We’ve had two attacks in

the past few years. The last one resulted in seven of my guards dying. It got Ryder his

position here. Our compound was attacked, people died—but maybe you don’t care since

they were shifters.”

“Huh. That’s quite a temper you’ve got.” Olin had to struggle to contain his own.

“You’ve insulted my Alpha Anax.” Keegan’s eyes were entrancing when he was

furious. Their dark brown colour had bits of green and gold in it, and those colours seemed

to multiply under Keegan’s fury. “Mocked him.”

“He’s just a guy, Keegan,” Olin offered. “Not a god to be worshipped. You seem a bit

obsessed, and that’s just going to lead to a stalking charge and a kennel box.”

“Are you always such a smart ass?” Keegan shouted, curling his hands around the

doorframe until his knuckles were white. “Do you have respect for anyone?”

Olin dug the ibuprofen out of the cabinet, opened the bottle and took out a couple of

pills. He popped them in his mouth then recapped the bottle and put it up before turning on

the sink. A palmful of water washed the pills down, then Olin turned the faucet off and

looked at Keegan in the reflection of the mirror above it.

“I respect myself, my brother, my boss, some of my coworkers, so yeah, I do,” Olin

informed him. “I even respect Ryder and Maarten, though after finding out that fucker had

me tracked, that might change. And if you tell him I ever admitted it, I’ll deny it.” Then he

turned, leaning against the sink so that he could stare at Keegan face to face.

“I don’t respect someone just because someone else thinks I should. I haven’t met

Marcus. You want to worship at his church, go for it, but to me he’s just this guy you are

obsessed with, and that doesn’t work for me, even though I know it’s the stupid mate bond

thing between us making me feel that way.” Olin crossed his arms over his chest and his left

ankle over his right. “You can’t even see that there’s a difference between dedication and

obsession.”

Keegan reeled back, his features contorted in anger. “You don’t know what you’re

talking about.”

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Olin shrugged and wished that he hadn’t. “Okay, I don’t know what I’m talking about

then. How’d you like someone hovering all over you, staying in your business constantly?”

“It’s not like that,” Keegan snapped. “It’s my job to keep him safe!”

“To unman him, maybe?” Olin prodded. Keegan was clearly getting angry with him.

Olin halfway expected the top of his head to pop off, followed by a big roll of white steam

and maybe even some lava.

“You don’t understand what you’re babbling about.” But Keegan’s expression showed

a hint of doubt, and Olin decided he needed to stop pushing. The seed had been planted, and

Keegan needed to take it from there and figure out that he was overdoing the whole

protection thing.

“This trip here must have just about killed you,” Olin said unthinkingly.

Keegan’s nostrils flared and the wood under his fingers cracked as he gripped it tighter.

He looked like he wanted to tear into Olin. His restraint was admirable. “I didn’t want to

come,” he gritted out. “I wish I hadn’t.”

“Oh, ow,” Olin whined, pressing both hands over his heart. “The pain of rejection is

sharp and deadly.” Actually, it did kind of hurt his feelings, which was stupid as hell. They

were both being manipulated by fate and hormones and who the hell knew what else? For all

Olin knew, their emotions weren’t even their own. Don’t start thinking shit like that or you’ll go

nuts, he thought to himself.

Keegan tipped his head down and a dark blush raced up his neck to his face. “I’m sorry.

That was uncalled for.”

The quietly spoken apology touched Olin in a way that surprised him. He found

himself bridging the distance between them and touching Keegan’s chest. He could feel the

warmth of the man’s skin through the thin shirt Keegan wore, the steady but rapid beat of

his heart, the shaky inhalations as he breathed.

Olin slid his hand up as his own heartbeat accelerated. Desire made him as heady as a

good glass of wine while he traced a path up to Keegan’s jaw. There Olin rested his palm

against stubbled skin as he waited for Keegan to look him in the eyes. When he did, Olin’s

gut clenched with a need so strong that it was all he could do not to shove Keegan down and

mount him right there.

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Keegan’s pupils expanded, chasing away the pretty coloured irises until they were

merely a thin ring surrounding the black. Sweat beaded his forehead and nose. Olin moved

his hand back to grip Keegan’s nape, and when he pulled on it, he also went up on his toes so

that he could easily reach Keegan’s lips.

Olin nibbled on the bottom one, then slicked his tongue in to glide it over Keegan’s.

Keegan shuddered and the way he touched Olin, so tenderly as he wound his arms around

him, was oddly endearing.

The trials of the day were washed away under a tidal wave of lust when Olin pressed

up against Keegan. He had to hook a leg around the man’s waist, kind of climb that muscular

body, but he got to where he wanted to be, his cock hard and leaking through the layers of

clothes as he rutted against Keegan’s taut belly.

He couldn’t get enough of Keegan’s mouth. There was something about his taste, and

the way he yielded to Olin. Olin would bet Keegan had never yielded to a lover.

Keegan moved an arm down beneath Olin’s ass to hold him up. Olin got his other leg

around Keegan’s waist and his arms both around his neck. He bit and licked at Keegan’s lips,

instincts on overdrive as he went after the man.

Keegan moaned and the world swayed but Olin didn’t give a damn. He sucked on

Keegan’s tongue and pressed his fingers against the muscles in Keegan’s back. Olin rutted

harder, faster, the idea of Keegan wearing his cum so hot he couldn’t stop himself.

Until he was falling, then he jerked his head aside just in time to keep from ending up

with a split lip or two when his back hit the mattress.

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Chapter Nine

Anger—outrage, really—had hit Keegan over Olin’s claims, but none of that mattered

once Olin touched him. All Keegan could do was want, and want some more.

Olin’s smaller body was a firebrand against him, the steely length of his cock especially

hot. Keegan wanted to touch it, feel the weight of it in his hands, discover what spots were

the best ones to make Olin come apart for him.

He wanted to suck Olin’s length until his lips were swollen and his throat was raw.

Keegan simply wanted.

He got them to the bed and gracelessly collapsed onto it with Olin under him. At the

last minute, his wolf howled out a warning for the wound on Olin’s side, and Keegan kept

from letting his weight down on the smaller man.

But Olin pulled him down and bit at his lips, his tongue, and drove Keegan mad with a

desire that threatened to singe him from the inside out.

Olin flipped them easily enough. Keegan was unable to resist anything Olin wanted,

and a part of him thrilled at that. He was completely under Olin’s power, and he wanted

that, wanted to be taken and used and hurt in a way that would blow his mind with

pleasure.

They clawed at each other’s clothes, getting naked with no concern over the ruin they

caused. Olin pushed Keegan’s head to one side and bit him on the side of the neck hard

enough to make Keegan yelp.

Yelp, and grab the back of Olin’s head to hold him there. “Again,” he rasped, and Olin’s

laughter tickled his wet skin.

Then Olin bit, and bit, leaving stinging marks all the down the length of Keegan’s neck.

When he reached where it joined Keegan’s shoulder, the bite there was harsher, skin

breaking, pain flaring. Keegan shouted and bucked, his climax shooting out of him in hot,

wet spurts.

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Olin didn’t let up on the biting until Keegan went melty beneath him. “Oh no you

don’t,” Olin purred. “Don’t even think about going to sleep. That’s two down for you and

none for me.”

Keegan’s eyes shot open. He hadn’t even been aware of closing them, but guilt was a

great thing to chase off sleepiness. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“Didn’t want you to,” Olin said before nipping at his collarbone. Goose bumps pebbled

Keegan’s skin. “I want you drunk on pleasure pliable to my whims…”

Keegan laughed weakly at that. He wasn’t sure Olin was joking. In fact, he thought Olin

was serious. Keegan spread his legs as Olin wedged a knee between them. His stomach

dipped like it did every time he was in a plane during takeoff. Was he really going to let Olin

do whatever he wanted? Yes, because I want it, too.

“So good,” Olin murmured. “No more fighting me unless we both want that. Maybe

next time.”

Keegan dug his heels into the mattress when Olin scraped his teeth over his right

nipple. At the same time, Olin pinched the left one. Keegan gasped, shocked at just how

much he liked it.

“Mm, like tit play, huh?” Olin asked before repeating both touches with more force.

“Uhn,” was the best Keegan could manage as his eyes rolled back. He clutched at the

covers and pushed his chest up.

Olin wasn’t gentle with his ministrations, working Keegan’s nipples until the tips were

hot and sore. Keegan’s dick was as hard as it’d ever been and he couldn’t get a coherent

word out.

“Wish I’d turned the lights on in here,” Olin muttered. “Bet these nipples are dark red

and raw.”

That whimper couldn’t have come from him. Keegan didn’t whimper.

Except he did it again when Olin licked over his right nipple, then his left.

“Oh gods,” Keegan managed to say. Olin shot him a wicked, smug grin and slid down

to tongue his belly button. It tickled, and Keegan squirmed as he laughed. “Stop, stop! I can’t

handle that!”

Olin bit him again. The man wasn’t playing with him, Keegan realised. Olin was in a

mating frenzy and was marking Keegan as his own whether he knew it or not.

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Keegan hadn’t thought his dick could get any harder. He’d been wrong. Olin reared up

and slapped him on the hip, a sharp sting that sounded obscenely loud in the room. “Roll

over. I want at your ass.”

When Keegan didn’t move immediately, Olin grabbed his hip and started rolling him

over. “If this is how you need it to be, that’s fine with me.”

“It is,” Keegan just managed to get out. He needed to make Olin take him, take control,

strip it from Keegan and carry the weight of what they were doing. Keegan already had more

weight than he could bear on his shoulders.

Olin kept his gaze on Keegan’s in the dim light. “Okay, Kee. I have you. It’s all on me.”

That Olin understood so perfectly eased a knot of tension in Keegan’s chest. He let

himself flop onto his belly, then Olin was shoving a pillow under his hips, elevating Keegan’s

ass.

Before Keegan could worry about what was coming next, Olin planted a hand on the

small of his back and landed a stinging slap to his butt. Keegan gasped and his toes curled as

pain flared out from his cheek.

“Everyone needs a release, a way to let go,” he heard Olin explain, then another blow

landed. “You’ll tell me if you need me to stop.”

Keegan would, but that wasn’t going to happen. Just two smacks and he was already

willing to tip his butt up for more.

“Nice.” Olin caught him right under his left cheek, high on the thigh, then followed it

with a smack to the right side of Keegan’s ass.

Keegan had never felt so many sensations at once. Pain, pleasure, heat, cold, anger, joy,

embarrassment, pride and more battled for a place in him. Every time Olin’s hand landed,

the bad things faded and the good ones shone brighter.

“I bet you’d love a belt or a cane,” Olin said, panting. “A flogger, too, but the harder the

better for you, I think.”

Since every one of those suggestions made Keegan want to beg for them, he couldn’t

disagree. Olin covered his entire ass with slaps, then he warmed up the backs of Keegan’s

thighs. Keegan was nearly delirious with the experience, unable to do anything but just feel.

Then he felt even more. Olin parted his cheeks and licked right over his hole. Keegan

grunted as fiery need shot from the nerve endings there to all the rest of them. He’d never

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been rimmed before. Olin went after his pucker like it was a prize to be claimed. He licked

and kissed it repeatedly, then spread Keegan’s cheeks even wider apart before pushing his

tongue inside him.

“Gods!” Keegan shouted, although it came out as more of a squeal. His voice wasn’t

working right. Couldn’t with that slick tongue fucking into him. Olin moved a hand under

him to grasp Keegan’s dick. Keegan could have cried with relief, but Olin didn’t give him

relief. Instead he ringed the base tightly, impeding the budding climax that was building in

Keegan.

“I know how your kind is,” Olin said gruffly. “Fucking machines. Can come and

come…” He resumed tonguing Keegan’s hole and Keegan resumed being turned inside out

with bliss. Every breath he drew filled his lungs with Olin’s scent, both from his bedding and

from the man himself. Keegan was intoxicated with the aroma, high on his mate.

Then his hole was breeched further, with more than one finger opening him up this

time. The burn was bright and perfect, pain twisting with pleasure and firing Keegan’s

arousal to greater heights.

“Gonna feel good around my dick,” Olin said proudly. “Best fuck ever. You’re so hot

and grip my fingers so hard. I want in here.” He topped the comment off by biting Keegan

on the left cheek.

It hurt, and Keegan wanted more. Olin slapped his ass a few times, each hit harder than

the one prior. When Keegan’s ass felt like the skin of it was on fire, Olin pushed a third finger

into him.

Keegan tried to shout, but all that came out was a thin, mewling sound.

“Ohhhh, that’s fucking perfect,” Olin crooned. “Break apart for me, baby.”

Keegan felt like he was, like he’d rattle the bones right out of his body if Olin didn’t do

something more. Olin whacked his backside again, then he was pulling those fingers out and

shuffling off the bed.

“Olin,” Keegan got out in a stripped voice that startled him.

“Need lube, Kee. I’m not going to damage you.” Olin opened a drawer from the

nightstand and pulled out a container of lube. He popped the top open and poured some on

his dick then smeared it around. Keegan watched hungrily, wanting to touch but unable to

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move. He was limp-armed, and he had given Olin control. Unless Olin told him to touch, he

wouldn’t.

Olin smiled as though he knew Keegan’s thoughts—and maybe he did, if their mate

bond was growing stronger. Keegan couldn’t concentrate to try to determine if that was the

case, because Olin poured more lube into his hand and dropped the bottle on the floor.

Keegan closed his eyes and lost himself in the feeling of being lubed up. Olin pushed

fingers into him again, the slick glide of them doing nothing to ease the pressure as they

stretched him.

Then Olin wasn’t fingering him anymore, he was moving, nudging at Keegan’s hole

with the tip of his fat cock. “I’d love to just ram in and fuck you until your teeth rattle, but

you aren’t ready for that.”

Keegan thought he might be, but changed his mind as Olin started to push, spreading

Keegan’s asshole open wider than his fingers had. “Olin,” Keegan gasped, squinching his

eyes closed tighter as pain followed the penetration.

“Relax. Push out.” Olin whispered, “Let me in.”

Keegan wanted to. He wanted Olin, his mate, to make the hungry ache in him go away.

Slowly, Olin pressed into him, murmuring reassurances and praise as he did so. Keegan ate

up the words just as he did the penetration. It’d been so long since he had felt he deserved

the former, and the latter was an experience he intended to have over and over again.

Olin held him at the waist and pushed in the last few inches. There was a sharp, scary

jolt of pain, then Olin’s hips were pressed to Keegan’s ass. “Perfect,” Olin whispered. “So

goddamned perfect for me.” Then he slapped Keegan’s ass.

Keegan clenched his butt in response and Olin move, fucking him slowly, not

withdrawing too far. Not at first. When Keegan tried to tip his butt up more, Olin pulled out

further, the thick cap of his crown tugging at the inside of Keegan’s hole. “You’d better hold

on,” Olin warned right before he thrust in hard and fast.

Keegan’s world shattered. He couldn’t process the ecstasy that swamped him as he lay

there and took the fucking his mate gave him. Nothing had ever felt like what Olin was

doing to him—had done to him—taking over, hurting him and pushing pleasure through

Keegan’s skin with every slap of palm to ass.

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Fucking him, driving his big cock into Keegan’s virgin passage, taking him, owning him

as no one else ever had. Keegan had no pride left as he moaned and mewled, giving

everything to Olin. Olin powered into him, his cock dragging over Keegan’s gland and

making his shaft drool onto the sheets.

“Give it to me,” Olin demanded, shoving a hand beneath Keegan to fist his dick.

“Now!”

Keegan couldn’t do anything else but obey. He keened as his release spilled from him,

scalding him with pleasure. Olin jacked him through it and didn’t slow down the fucking.

When Keegan could breathe properly again, Olin turned him on his side, dick still buried in

Keegan’s ass. “Raise this leg,” Olin ordered.

Groggily, Keegan did as he’d been told, raising his top leg. Olin straddled the other one

and held onto the raised leg. He hammered into Keegan’s ass with powerful thrusts that

pushed Keegan across the mattress. When Olin finally threw his head back and shouted as he

rammed in deep, spunk spurting into Keegan’s ass, Keegan’s head and shoulders were

dangling off the edge of the bed. He howled right along with Olin as Olin painted his inner

walls with cum.

“Oh… God,” Olin whined as he shook. He rutted and ground against Keegan’s ass until

his dick softened inside Keegan. “Jesus Christ. I can’t even…” Olin pulled out and the warm

trickle of spunk tickled Keegan’s hole.

Olin collapsed backwards on the bed. “Ow ow ow fuck.”

Keegan rolled up into a sit-up then manoeuvred around to sit at Olin’s side. “Let me see

your wound.”

Olin rolled, and Keegan saw that there was blood seeping from the stitches. “You

overdid it.”

“Was worth it,” Olin said ardently, opening one eye to stare at Keegan. “So fucking

worth it.”

* * * *

“Ow! Are you just trying to hurt me?” Olin sniped, reconsidering his earlier comment

as he tried to bat aside the shifter doctor’s hands. “Seriously, Ed.”

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“Fred,” the doctor corrected. “Screwing up my name doesn’t make me want to be any

more careful. Colon.”

“Wow, did you strain yourself coming up with that one?” Olin succeeded in smacking

Fred’s hands aside. “Stop it, God damn it. I can clean it off myself.”

Fred smirked at him. “I bet your mate would do it for you.”

Olin glared at the doctor. “Are you always this immature?”

“Are you?” Fred countered.

“I’m not the MD here.” Then Olin rolled his eyes. “Well, shit. You aren’t either, are you?

It’s just some stupid title that got slapped on you after you took an online CPR class.”

Whoa. Didn’t know Fred’s eyes could bug out quite like that.

“I’ve had extensive training,” Fred began, but Olin just waved a hand in dismissal and

tried not to pass out at the thought that he’d been stitched up by a quack. Now that the good

post-orgasm feelings were gone, Olin was trying not to freak about a lot of things.

Like Keegan, who’s standing outside the bedroom door waiting for me to call him in here. Jesus,

what do I do? Fred was gathering his things and had his panties in a twist, with his nose up in

the air as if Olin flat-out stunk. Olin had to poke at him.

“So do you use WebMD or what?” If he didn’t do something to stop from thinking, he’d

end up having a breakdown.

Fred paused on the way to the door and gave him an evil look. “Next time I hope you

bleed out.”

“From a scratch like this?” Olin asked, arching a brow at the man. “You really ought to

give WebMD a shot.”

Fred opened the door and was immediately shoved backwards by one furious Keegan.

Olin was amused and horrified both.

“I should break you in two for that,” Keegan growled.

Olin’s cock twitched but his brain was still functioning and he ditched amused and

horrified for pissed off. “Cut it out, Keegan. It wasn’t like I was being nice, either. That whole

caveman routine you’re doing just ticks me off.” In case Keegan couldn’t tell that by the way

that Olin was almost shouting at him. “I’m not some damsel in distress. I’m a dude being a

dick because I’m tired, I hurt, and I’m—” Olin bit back the ‘scared’ part and replaced it with,

“angry. So leave poor Fred alone. He’s got some studying to do.”

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Keegan kept a hold of Fred and didn’t look away from him. “Our pack doctor, Shania,

actually is a doctor.”

Olin grunted. “Huh. How’d that happen?”

Fred was looking less scared and more interested.

Keegan slowly loosened his grip on Fred’s shirt. “Her parents. Mom wasn’t a shifter.

She was a doctor, though. No one ever told Shania she couldn’t go to college.”

Fred’s confusion was obvious as he straightened his shirt out. “But… I thought we

couldn’t.”

Keegan’s anger drained away right before Olin’s eyes, leaving that stoic look on the

bigger man’s face instead. “Did you ever ask?”

Fred left a few seconds later, muttering about wanting to go to med school.

Olin couldn’t quite meet Keegan’s gaze. “I’m all patched up. Think I need some sleep,

though.”

“You are, and you do.” Keegan came around to stand in front of him. “Look at me,

Olin.”

Olin felt like stomping his foot and screaming ‘I don’t want to!’ but being an adult

called for better behaviour than that. Besides, he’d just been pretty childish with Fred. Doing

it again was more than he could stomach. Olin lay back on the bed. He forced himself to look

up at Keegan. “Seriously, Keegan. Don’t do the possessive, gotta-protect-the-little-man

routine again.”

Keegan sighed and swiped a hand through his short hair. “It’s an instinct I don’t think I

can always control.”

“Try,” Olin advised. “I’m still not happy about this.”

“I understand. It’s not what I was looking to have happen, either,” Keegan said as he

nudged Olin to scoot over. When Olin made room, Keegan sat beside him. “You’re pretty

vicious when you want to be.”

“With words, you mean?” Olin waited for Keegan’s nod. “Yeah, I know. Had to have a

weapon, being the short scrawny kid growing up. Clark, he was always laughing and

everyone loved him. I’m glad they did.” He really was. “But I’m not Clark. I’m aware of the

chip on my shoulder and the acid on my tongue.”

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Keegan smiled slightly and it changed his whole face, making him appear much

younger than when he had his stern guard expression in place. “I think…” He rolled his lips

in then released them. They glistened, wet and tempting. Olin wondered if he could go

another round. He’d love to fuck Keegan’s mouth.

Keegan chuckled. “Mind out of the gutter. I can see your dirty mind kicking into gear.

Or hear it, maybe.”

“I think being tired wins out.” Olin wasn’t going to be awake much longer. “What did

you want?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you being the way you are,” Keegan said. “Nice would

bore me out of my mind. Nice and submissive would never yell at me and make me think

about what I’m doing, and whether I’m becoming—or am—an obsessive freak.”

“I didn’t call you a freak.” At least Olin didn’t think he had.

“No, but I’ll say it.” Keegan finally looked away, staring out of a window across the

room. “You’d kick my ass into line any time it needs it. I don’t like what you said to me

before we fucked, but I can’t stop thinking about it, so I know there’s truth there.”

“It was all truth,” Olin argued. “Then I fucked you into the mattress.”

Keegan’s cheeks pinked and Olin sat up halfway. “Oh, hey, let me see your ass.”

Keegan went from pink to scarlet but he stood and pushed the sweats he wore down.

He turned and showed Olin his butt. “Looks like it smarts.” Olin touched the hot skin. “How

long will it last, do you think? Y’all heal faster than us.”

“Maybe a couple more hours,” Keegan mumbled as he tried to look over his shoulder at

his ass. It probably wasn’t possible, given the muscles in his back.

“You can get a better view in the bathroom mirror.” Olin saw the denial coming before

Keegan even spoke. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see it. You loved it, and I loved

doing it.” Olin sat up fully. “You don’t have to always be the strong one. Even narrower

shoulders can help carry the weight.”

That was an eerily deep thing for him to toss out there. When Keegan blinked and

nodded, then headed for the bathroom, Olin knew he wouldn’t have taken the words back.

Keegan had needed to hear them, and maybe, despite his constant attempts to seem tough,

Olin had needed to say them. He didn’t always have to be the smart ass. Sometimes, he could

be a nice guy.

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Olin closed his eyes and tried not to panic. He still didn’t want a mate. Shifters made

him crazy. They were testosterone-fuelled chest-thumpers, even a lot of the females, at least

in Olin’s opinion. Cockier than humans. Justifiably so in some ways, but still. Olin had barely

had time to wrap his mind around their existence and all that shit. Now he was more

entangled with them than he had been before.

But Clark and Cory are so happy. Ryder and Maarten, too. Same for the other mated pairs…

What’s wrong with me having that?

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Chapter Ten

“Keegan…” Ryder said his name hesitantly.

Keegan hung back as Olin and Maarten got out of the Jeep. He had a feeling he knew

what Ryder wanted to talk to him about. Keegan met Ryder at the front of the vehicle and

waited while Ryder seemed to gather his thoughts.

After a full minute, Ryder huffed and swiped at the sweat on his brow. Keegan did the

same. He’d never sweated as much in his life as he had in Brazil.

“Look, I didn’t tell Marcus about the murders, or…or how I dealt with them, and I

didn’t mention the problems we’ve had with so many challenges coming at me, either.”

Keegan didn’t like it, but he’d go along with Ryder’s request for now unless it came to

being dishonest. That was a line he wouldn’t cross. “Okay. I’m not lying to my Alpha Anax.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Ryder all but hissed. “Shit. I just, I don’t want him coming to

the rescue. I can handle this. I wouldn’t have taken over down here if I didn’t believe that.”

“How many challenges have there been?” Keegan asked.

Ryder licked his lips, appearing nervous. “Eight. And I won them all easily.”

“Eight,” Keegan repeated dumbly. “You’ve been here a little less than a year.”

“I am aware,” Ryder said drolly. “I don’t want Marcus to think I’m a failure. I’m

working at uniting the packs here. There’s just some resistance. It’ll get better.”

“Marcus wants peace with all shifters. He knows there will be those who will never be

happy, but as you pointed out, there are changes that can be made.” Keegan had wanted to

throttle Ryder sometimes back when Marcus had been working with him. Ryder had never

known when to shut up back then. Apparently he’d learned to keep his lips zipped since

then. Keegan, and most likely Marcus, too, hadn’t heard a word about the troubles Ryder

was having.

“I’ll handle it,” Ryder repeated. “I won’t let Marcus down, or my packs. I’ll find out

what was going on in the rainforest yesterday, why Olin was hunted.”

“And the jaguar?” Keegan was curious. He didn’t know what to think about that thing.

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Ryder waved the concern off. “There are jaguars here. I bet it was a male since they’re

bigger than the females. There’s no such thing as feline shifters.”

Keegan didn’t argue. The jaguar wasn’t his concern, just more of a curiosity. “What is it,

exactly, that you want from me, Ryder?”

“I’m not asking you to lie. I have too much respect for you and for Marcus to do that.”

Ryder smiled slightly. “And myself. I just didn’t want you or him thinking I had lied by

omission. This is my pack, my country, and I’m handling the problems. I’ll make Marcus

proud of me. He won’t regret giving me the time and training he did.”

Marcus did inspire loyalty in good people. Keegan shook Ryder’s hand and thanked

him for the hospitality, then he jogged to catch up with Olin, who was chatting with Maarten

at the base of the portable stairs. Keegan’s nerves and skin prickled just from being close to

the jet.

“Maarten, thank you,” Keegan said, clasping Maarten’s hand firmly. “Stay bright,” he

added before he could even consider the why of it. He wasn’t usually given to extra words.

However, Maarten’s orange and pink top was really bright.

“Always,” Maarten replied, beaming at him. “You two have fun up there. In that jet

with the bedroom in the back. The mattress is like heaven.”

Keegan’s cock twitched and Olin laughed but the sound of it was off. Once they were in

the plane, Keegan knew why. It was obvious that Olin hated flying as much as Keegan did.

Olin was twitchy, pacing the length of the plane to the bedroom door and back until Keegan

was ready to grab him.

Dallas stopped Olin instead. “Olin, please take your seat and buckle up for takeoff.” He

waited until both Olin and Keegan had sat. “Thank you, gentlemen.” Then Dallas beamed at

him. “So, I hear congratulations are in order! I’ll bring champagne shortly. Would you prefer

it to be served here or in the bedroom?”

Keegan tried not to look startled. He had a feeling that he failed. “What are you talking

about?”

Olin snapped his head back and glared at Keegan. “You’ve forgotten already?”

“Oh, I like him,” Dallas practically sang. “High five, girlfriend.”

Olin turned that glare to Dallas. “Girlfriend? Really?”

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Dallas sighed and lowered his hand. “Don’t be a bitch, okay? I’m bringing you

champagne, and if you behave, some of the best chocolates in the world! As for you”—Dallas

glanced at Keegan—“duh. Gossip. It flies faster than this jet. Now, help each other buckle up

while I go through the safety drill.”

Olin fumbled with the belt and Keegan debated doing it for him but figured that would

get him in trouble. He got his own done and watched Olin for a few seconds before taking

the ends of the seatbelt from him and fastening him in. Surprised that he didn’t even get

snapped at, he looked at Olin to find the man as pale as could be. “Olin, look at me,” Keegan

directed.

“Another scared flyer,” Dallas said, stopping the safety show. “Guys, it’ll be fine. Our

pilot is awesome. She won’t let anything bad happen.”

Olin didn’t seem relieved. Keegan put an arm around his shoulders. “Maybe something

stronger than champagne before takeoff?”

Dallas bobbed his head and darted off.

“I hate flying,” Olin groused. “Fucking hate it. I’m putting my life in the hands of a

person I don’t know and might never even see. Who does that, just lets some stranger handle

their life or death? That’s what happens every time you fly. I wish I had some damned Xanax

like I did for the flight out here.”

Keegan couldn’t even argue with Olin and tell him it wasn’t like that, because it kind of

was. Except for one thing. “I’ve met the pilot, Zoe. I know her, too. She really would do

anything she could to save us if she had to. She’s very smart and attentive.” He was still

scared himself, but he had to soothe Olin.

Olin scooted closer to him on the couch, as close as he could with the seatbelt on.

“Maybe once we’re in the bedroom, you can help me forget we’re on a goddamned plane.”

It was the first mention Olin had made of anything sexual since they’d fucked. Keegan’s

ass burned even though the skin was no longer pink. His hole wasn’t sore, either, like it had

been for a few hours after Olin had taken him.

Keegan was ready for Olin to do it again. He’d thought… “You didn’t seem interested

this morning.” Keegan wanted to take the words back as soon as he’d said them.

Olin touched his side where the wound was bandaged. “I felt a bit like cold shit,” he

admitted. “Like when you’re in a car wreck, the second day is always the worst, but I’ve had

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enough ibuprofen to kill the pain and I want to be distracted.” Then he sighed and glanced

away. “Plus, I thought maybe if I didn’t—if we didn’t, you know, have sex again, I could

have some control over this thing between us.”

“You can have all the control,” Keegan offered, his heart racing when he did so. “I

wouldn’t mind.”

Olin returned his gaze to Keegan’s then, and a cocky smile tipped his lips up on one

side. “That is a given. I meant over it in general. It happened, without my consent or

anything. One day I’m a free man, then boom! Not so much. In case you haven’t noticed, I like

to be in control of everything. Sex, my job, my life. S’why I hate flying.”

Keegan was trying not to feel like the pile of cold shit now. After all, he hadn’t wanted a

mate, and if he could go back and change their meeting, put it off for a few years at least, he

would do it.

But what if something happened to Olin during that time? He would have been killed if I hadn’t

gone after him yesterday. Granted, he might not have taken a run yesterday if I hadn’t shown up, but

he said he does it regularly. He’d have been outside alone at some point, and he’d have been killed.

There was a reason fate worked as it did.

“Sorry if I offended you, man.”

Keegan blinked and realised that he’d been off in his own little world. “No offence

taken. I know what you mean. I’m always in control, but the thing is”—his face warmed with

a blush—“I need to be forced to give it up. I can’t let go any other way. The simple fact is, I

slept better last night, with you beside me, than I have in over a year.”

“Really?” Olin asked, looking pleased. “That was because of me?”

“Yes, because of you.”

“Here’s a double shot of our finest whisky,” Dallas offered, coming over to stand by the

couch. “Chug it, buddy. We’re cleared for takeoff.”

Olin took the glass and tossed the contents back. The scent of the whisky burnt

Keegan’s nose. He didn’t know how people drank that stuff.

“Thanks,” Olin said as he handed the glass over to Dallas. “Love the way that just

leaves a trail of fire straight down to my gut.”

Dallas chuckled and tipped the glass from side to side. “Another one, or will you be

waiting for the champagne and chocolates?”

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“That one, the last one,” Olin told him.

Dallas left them and shortly thereafter the plane began taxiing down the runway.

“I fucking hate this,” Olin mumbled, leaning hard against Keegan. He found Keegan’s

hand with his and held onto it tightly. Keegan closed his eyes and rested his head on top of

Olin’s. It was nice to be sitting beside his mate, touching him, even if it was in a scary jet

plane.

“Oh God oh God oh fuck,” Olin whispered when the plane took off. “I’m gonna be

sick.”

“Just breathe,” Keegan urged. “Slow breaths in, out. In.” He waited until Olin

complied. “Out.” He talked Olin through the liftoff until the jet levelled out, and found that

his own nervousness had greatly diminished while dealing with Olin’s upset.

“You can unbuckle now,” Dallas said as he approached. “I’ll go grab that champagne

and the chocolates.”

Olin unbuckled and grabbed Keegan’s crotch. He leered and some of the colour was

coming back into his face. “Come on. Distract me some more.”

Keegan snorted. “Like I’d say no to that.” Keegan barely took the time to appreciate the

small but plush bedroom. It was all white—walls, bedding, furniture. The only colour was

provided by their reflections in the large mirrors that hung on either wall.

“This is going to be purely pornographic,” Olin said eagerly, grinning widely. “Damn.

I’m gonna get to see you from every angle while I fuck you.”

Keegan’s stomach dipped as his cock leaked pre-cum. For a man who hadn’t bottomed

until yesterday, he had become a slut for it. No, a slut for Olin. Nothing wrong with that.

Olin’s grin slipped and he sent Keegan a startled look. “That’s so fucking weird.”

“What?” Keegan asked, confused as he seemed to be more often lately.

“I heard you,” Olin explained. He didn’t look thrilled about it. “In my head. The mate

bond thing.”

Keegan was slightly embarrassed about that, as Olin had heard a particularly revealing

thought. Just slightly—it was the truth, after all. “I’m sorry.”

Being used for sex wasn’t a bad thing in Keegan’s estimation, not when his body was

singing under Olin’s touch.

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A knock at the door didn’t stop Olin, either. “Bring it in,” Olin called out as he tugged

Keegan’s shirt free of his waistband. “Let’s get this off.” Olin removed the shirt and tossed it

aside.

Dallas entered, humming as he moved to set the champagne and chocolates on the

nightstand. “Y’all enjoy! I’ll knock if you two aren’t finished when it’s time to buckle up

again.”

“I was out of it for the flight to Brazil,” Olin muttered while running his hands down

Keegan’s chest. “You’ve got perfect nipples, man.”

Keegan opened his mouth to reply and Olin pinched the tips. The strangled sound

Keegan managed didn’t convey the jolt of need that shot from his tits to his balls.

Olin grinned crookedly and did it again, this time twisting as well so the burn was

ratcheted up a couple of notches.

“Oh fuck,” Keegan rasped, locking his knees to keep from going down when his

muscles threatened to melt with pleasure.

“In a bit. We’ll get there.” Olin tugged and pulled on Keegan’s nipples, keeping

pressure on them constantly. “I love playing with these. It’s too bad you shifters heal so fast.

A couple of bars through here,” he twisted harder and Keegan hissed even as he leant

forward eagerly. “Yeah, some bars in there would be so fuckin’ hot.” Then Olin’s face lit up

as he grinned. “Oh! Clamps! I’ve always wanted to try those out on someone, and I bet you’d

go crazy with them on.”

Keegan’s cock grew just a tad harder. He whimpered, and cringed inwardly at the

sound until he saw how excited it made Olin.

Olin, who liked control, needed it in the bedroom especially, as much as Keegan needed

to be in control of everything else in his own life outside of it.

Except Olin was changing that. Keegan didn’t feel that he was about to shatter from the

stress of his job when Olin was picking at him. And definitely not when Olin was working

his nipples over so fiercely that Keegan was panting, aching, wanting.

“So sexy when you’re ready to fall apart for me,” Olin murmured. He glanced at the

bite mark that had faded almost completely away overnight. “I need to do that again. Does it

hurt when I bite?”

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Keegan shuddered, having trouble concentrating while Olin continued working over

his nipples. “Yesss,” he got out, eyelids sliding halfway shut. “The best way.”

Olin bit him then, taking one nipple between his teeth and clamping down. Keegan

bellowed and held onto Olin’s head, unsure whether he wanted more or less pain.

Olin gave him more, biting harder while at the same time using his fingers to replicate

the pressure to the other nipple. Olin wedged his side against Keegan’s dick and rubbed.

The sudden friction was too much. Keegan gasped as his vision dimmed and his cock

spurted. Olin suckled and nipped Keegan’s tit throughout the climax, drawing out Keegan’s

pleasure.

But the second Keegan’s climax had ebbed, Olin growled and grabbed him by the arms.

Keegan stumbled as he was spun, then he was shoved and falling, unable to be afraid

because in that moment, he knew he trusted his mate.

The mattress broke his fall. Keegan landed and bounced once, then Olin was on him,

ripping at his pants, stripping off Keegan’s shoes, socks and the remainder of his clothes.

“Roll over,” Olin snarled, grabbing Keegan by one hip and turning him onto his belly.

Keegan quivered, inside, outside, possibly even spiritually. He was flying with his

mate’s desire for him, with his own body’s response to it. Despite having just come, Keegan’s

dick was hard, his balls tight. Shifters were resilient and a horny bunch, and Keegan had

never been so glad for that as he was just then.

“Such a fine ass,” Olin said. He slapped one cheek, then the other. Keegan’s breath shot

out of him as Olin got on the bed between his legs. “Put it up in the air for me.”

Getting his knees under him was tricky with Olin back there, but Olin didn’t move and

Keegan managed to get in the position Olin wanted—ass up, shoulders down, knees spread.

“How much pain do you like?” Olin asked him, lightly tracing a pattern on Keegan’s

balls. “You’ll tell me if it’s too much. Red, that’s your safe word—I’ll stop—and use yellow if

you need a break but don’t want to end this.”

“Green for go?” Keegan felt like an idiot saying it, like it was a game when he knew

they weren’t playing one.

Olin beamed at him. “Exactly. Smart guy, aren’t you? Now, how much pain do you

like?” he asked again.

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Keegan’s mind raced as fast as his heart did. “I—I don’t know.” He forced himself to go

on. “I didn’t know I liked it in the first place.”

“Because you’ve always maintained control,” Olin said. He cupped Keegan’s balls.

“Always thought you wanted to be in charge. But you don’t. You need to be under someone

else’s control. Under my control.” Slowly, he tightened his hand. “You need the release pain

gives, the way it takes you out of your head and forces you to quit thinking, to stop

worrying.”

A dull ache spread up from Keegan’s nuts to his ass and cock. “Yes,” he gritted out,

astounded by the truth that Olin recognised. Keegan hadn’t seen that in himself. If anyone

had ever told him he’d get off on getting his balls squeezed, he’d have called them a liar and

decked them. Yet there he was, his cock dripping with pre-cum as the ache increased to a

lower level of pain.

“Why do you always feel like you have to control everything?” Olin asked. The

question almost knocked Keegan out of the growing arousal thrumming through him. He

tensed, and Olin slapped his ass hard enough to drive a grunt from Keegan. “Stay with me.

You can answer that later. Later,” Olin repeated. He spanked Keegan again, then pulled one

ass cheek aside. “Much later.”

Keegan moaned and let go of the tension. He could either let it grip him, or enjoy the

sensations Olin was giving him. With Olin’s tongue gliding down his crack, option B seemed

the best way to go.

“Mm, going to make you scream for me,” Olin promised right before scraping his teeth

over Keegan’s hole.

Keegan jerked forward and yelped when his balls didn’t move with him. He shoved

back instantly, the pain having flared bright in that instant. It was immediately replaced with

a wash of pleasure.

“Good boy,” Olin soothed. He tongued Keegan’s hole and pressed his balls upward,

relieving some of the pressure he’d kept on them. “Such a good boy.”

Keegan was neither a boy, nor did he think he’d been good, jerking away like that, yet

Olin’s works set a fire to life in his belly. He wanted more praise, more endearments from his

mate. He wanted to earn that boy again. It wasn’t an insult, it was affection and Keegan

suddenly craved it.

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“Use the safe words if you need them,” Olin said. “You remember?”

“I’m not an idiot,” Keegan snapped, and that earned him two hard swats that almost

made him come. “Oh Jesus!”

Olin snorted and gave his balls a tug. He spanked Keegan lower on his butt, where

thigh and ass cheek met. “Every time you smart off or get snarly, I’m going to spank you

right here.” He did it again and the sting spread down Keegan’s thigh. “I’ll know when you

want that kind of pain, won’t I?”

“Will you?” Keegan baited him, and was rewarded with another smack. He closed his

eyes and moaned.

Olin stroked him from nape to nuts then went back to lapping at his hole. Keegan had

never received so much attention from a lover. There’d been kissing, maybe, and some

groping, but it’d always been about getting off. Getting his partner off then dumping his own

load in the other man’s mouth or ass.

This was new to him, having Olin explore his body, his boundaries. Olin’s tongue

penetrating him, tasting him.

Keegan curled his fingers into the bedclothes, gripping them tightly. Olin rimmed him

and alternately pulled then pushed on his balls. It hurt in a way that astounded Keegan—

because he liked it, wanted it, wanted even more.

Olin nipped down from his hole over his perineum, then released his nuts to instead

place delicate bites over his sac. Keegan shook and whimpered. He would come any second

now if Olin didn’t stop.

Olin did stop, and Keegan let out a sound of protest.

“I have you,” Olin promised, then he grabbed Keegan by the hips and began pulling

him down the length of the bed. “I want you over the end here. We’re going to push more.”

Keegan opened his eyes once his knees were on the floor. He saw Olin removing his

belt from his pants. Keegan’s heart raced so fast he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he

was in danger of dying. His throat went dry and he coughed when he tried to speak.

Olin arched a brow at him, dangling the belt from one hand. “No? Do you want to safe

word?”

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Keegan pushed his chest up, no longer bending over the bed. He swallowed nervously

as he examined his own thoughts. The belt was thick, wide, and he knew he could take the

pain, but did he want to?

Olin waited patiently, not judging or trying to influence him. Keegan rolled his lips in

as he stared at the black piece of leather. It’d leave marks, and he liked Olin’s marks. It’d

hurt, and he liked the hurt that Olin fed him. His balls still tingled and throbbed, and he’d

wanted more of that, more of Olin squeezing and tugging on them.

“I like it,” he whispered, surprised at himself for the admission even though it couldn’t

have been a surprise to Olin. “All of it. I want more.”

“You need more,” Olin added. “Whatever’s wound you so tight needs a way out.”

Keegan didn’t argue. He gave that belt one last look then resumed his former position

on the bed, chest down, arms spread, butt out in offering.

“I know I bitched about the whole mate thing, but you really are everything I’ve

wanted in a lover, at least when it comes to sex,” Olin said. “I imagine we’re going to argue

outside of that, and snipe and bitch, but I suppose I need that as much as you do.

Complacency is boring. I don’t need someone who thinks like me. I need someone who

challenges me to think differently.”

“Same,” Keegan managed, then he tensed as he heard the belt slice through the air.

“Relax,” Olin ordered.

Keegan raised up to peer over his shoulder when there was no contact with his flesh.

Olin winked at him. “Relax. Tensing up makes it worse. I remember that much from

when my dad used to take a belt to me. Clark never got in as much trouble, the little brown-

noser.”

“Take a deep breath,” Olin advised a few seconds later. “There you go. In. Out. Just like

that.” While he spoke, he kept snapping the belt in the air, so that when the first hit landed,

Keegan wasn’t expecting it.

Heat flared out right after a second of numbness. Keegan barely had time to process the

hit before another one landed, then a third.

Keegan’s body was confused by the pain and pleasure mix. A part of him thought he

should be horrified, be stronger than to let Olin do this to him.

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100

“You are stronger,” Olin said out loud. “I hear what you’re feeling, at least now, so I’m

guessing it’s intense. It takes a stronger person than the average to admit to their needs.”

Olin brought the belt down on his ass again. “Stronger still to give in and love the

experience.”

Keegan didn’t know about loving it, but he could see growing addicted to it. It was

freeing in a way, to give up control and let Olin do what he wanted. What they both wanted.

Olin peppered Keegan’s ass with slaps from the belt, some blows hard enough to hurt,

others lighter and more of a tease. When Olin dragged the belt over his balls, Keegan spread

his legs wider.

“Not with this, boy,” Olin informed him. “This would ruin you for a few days at least.

Maybe longer. But there’s special things, little floggers and such, made for cock and ball

torture.”

“Fuck,” Keegan gritted out, the words ‘cock and ball torture’ making his stomach

cramp. That word combination scared him and lit him up with need at the same time.

“We’ll discuss those and limits before I do anything more to your balls.” Olin cupped

them and tugged. “Well, anything more than what I’ve been doing.” He closed his hand

around them and squeezed slowly, adding more pressure every few seconds.

Keegan whined and his thoughts shattered. All he could do was feel and revel in those

feelings.

“Yeah,” he heard Olin say before wet fingers were pushed into his ass. Keegan’s world

shrank down to the pain in his balls and the blissful sensation of Olin roughly fingering him.

Olin did so with hard thrusts, his knuckles pounding against Keegan’s outer rim. At the

same time, he squeezed and released Keegan’s balls, keeping a different rhythm to the in and

out tempo of his fingering.

Keegan shuddered as ecstasy swelled within him. Olin massaged his gland

unpredictably, but it made it all the more exciting. The anticipation of feeling that inner bliss

was almost as rapturous an experience as actually having his prostate stroked.

Then Olin let go of Keegan’s balls. “Roll over.”

The sharply barked order zinged through Keegan and he flopped gracelessly onto his

back. Olin grunted and left off fingering his ass.

“Olin,” Keegan pleaded. “I need—something.”

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“Me,” Olin said firmly. “You fucking need me.” Olin shoved him up on the bed so that

his ass wasn’t hanging off, and without any more warning, lined his cock up and thrust.

The sudden, thorough penetration shoved a shout out of Keegan. His eyes snapped

open and his back bowed as he was breeched to the point of being too full.

Olin positioned Keegan’s legs up to his chest and pounded away at Keegan’s ass, not

letting slow and easy in their fucking at all. He got one hand on Keegan’s balls again, and the

other on one of Keegan’s nipples. Pressure at both places had Keegan shouting again and

again until his throat felt raw and he came in hot pulses.

Olin growled and snarled like a beast as he slammed into Keegan’s hole repeatedly. He

left off the pinching and pulling, instead reaching to pull Keegan upright by the back of the

neck. Keegan had to curl forward, but when he did, it was so worth it. Olin bit him, claiming

him at the same spot as the prior day, sinking teeth into skin and flesh.

Keegan held onto Olin with both hands, pressing his own lips and teeth to the tender

join of Olin’s neck and shoulder. His canines elongated and he yearned to mark Olin, yet he

held himself back. Olin would want a say in it, would want to tell him when Keegan could

bite him, when and where.

But Keegan wanted to do it, so badly. He needed his mate, his wolf wanted the bond

made stronger. And Keegan couldn’t deny it any longer. He wanted that, too.

Olin pulled his head back by gripping a handful of Keegan’s hair. He sucked on his

Adam’s apple then went back to the deeper bite mark and bit again.

Keegan’s cock gave a little spurt of cum as a weaker climax rolled over him. Olin’s

shout was muffled by the fact that he was still biting Keegan, but the warmth of his release

filled Keegan’s ass, and Olin clung to him tightly.

Keegan was sunk, and he knew it. He wasn’t strong enough to fight off the mating

bond. He wanted his mate like he’d never wanted anything else, and he hoped that soon Olin

would want him just as much, too.

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Chapter Eleven

Olin watched Keegan sleep. It was so much more than he’d expected. He’d seen the

way Clark and Cory had bonded, but that was nothing compared to feeling such a thing take

place. Olin needed to let go of his anger at shifters for, well, everything, just about, and move

on.

He’d been so pissed off that Clark had fallen so thoroughly for a man—enough so that

he’d never even come back to Kentucky. He’d just called Olin up while Olin was in Hawaii

and said he was never leaving Cory’s side if he could help it.

Olin had been dumbfounded, and hurt. A lot. His brother wasn’t just leaving Kentucky,

he was abandoning Olin. They’d always been close, best friends like twins often were. Olin

had been the loud and obnoxious one, while Clark had grown up smiling and laughing

everything off.

Olin had got the much-deserved spankings, too, because he’d always had to have the

last word. Not a wise thing when it came to his father. He was a good man, but he didn’t

tolerate sass without punishment.

And after he’d died, it had just been Olin and Clark. Clark, sweet-natured and kind of

naïve. Clark had depended on him, needed him, and the one time Clark had put his foot

down—over their choice of vacation destination—Clark had never come back.

Olin had wanted to cry, but that wasn’t in his nature. Instead he’d raged and

demolished the punching bag in his spare room, pounding away at it until his hands and feet

were bloody and bruised.

Then he’d had a couple of days of sitting around feeling sorry for himself before

realising he had to make a choice. The choice had been easy in the end, even with the

aeroplane flight. Olin had made it to Hawaii with the help of some fabulous tranquilizers,

and a second prescription of them had helped him get to Brazil.

“I hated y’all for taking Clark from me,” Olin whispered.

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Keegan’s lashes fluttered but he didn’t open his eyes more than a crack before closing

them again. Olin smiled and wondered at the way his heart pinched while he looked at

Keegan.

Keegan was older then him, somewhere in his thirties compared to Olin at twenty-

eight. Then again, Keegan could be even older. Shifters didn’t age as fast as humans did.

Another irksome quality of the beasts. They’re faster, stronger, have much more acute sense, and they

live a hell of a lot longer. Why is it Clark’s holding back on being turned into one of them?

Olin opened his mouth to ask and Keegan murmured in a slurred voice, “Probably ‘cuz

it involves mutual dick biting and the exchange of cum and blood is the way that happens.”

Olin’s dick tried to crawl up his body at that. “Uh.”

Keegan opened one eye and stared at him. “Nothing to say to that?”

“My dick went into hiding,” he groused, sitting up and glaring down at his softened

cock.

“Looks like it’s still there to me.” Keegan sat up and opened his other eye. “Yeah. Right

there.” He reached out and fondled Olin’s dick. “Mm. Think you can get it up again? You

humans…”

Olin smacked Keegan on the arm. “You’re just trying to piss me off.”

Keegan was tempted to laugh but knew it’d be out of line. He didn’t want Olin to take it

wrong and think he was mocking him. Or maybe he did. The idea had merit. “Yeah, I want

to see what you do to me when you’re mad.”

Olin smirked at him and scooted away until he could get off the bed. “Nothing, that’s

what. Sex isn’t a weapon, and I won’t engage in BDSM while I’m angry. That’s just stupid.”

“Gives me incentive to be nicer,” Keegan grumbled, his bottom lip protruding just

slightly. “I— Fuck!”

Olin stumbled and slammed into the dresser as the jet dipped suddenly. Keegan tried to

get to him, but another jerk sent Olin into the wall and Keegan onto the floor. “Fuck!” Olin

shouted, heart slamming so hard it should have popped out of his chest. “Keegan!”

Keegan was trying to get up but the jet felt like it was bouncing on boulders or really

fucking hard clouds! Olin hit the floor and rolled, not fighting the jostling, only trying not to

end up with broken bones. He bumped into the door, which was still closed, and when he

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turned his head he saw that the champagne bottle had broken and the chocolates had spilled

in the mess on the carpet.

It was an odd thing to focus on, but Olin locked onto the image as he slowly got to his

hands and knees. Another dip almost had his chin slamming against the floor. Olin caught

himself just in time to prevent that, but he ended up on his back and blinking away grey dots

from his vision.

Then Keegan was there, leaning over him. “Olin!”

Olin tried to speak but terror was clawing at his guts. He didn’t want to die, not now,

when he was just figuring some things out about himself. Not when he’d just decided he

wanted to give the thing with Keegan a shot.

Not for a long, long time. But he couldn’t get the words out as fear clogged his throat.

“Neither of us is dying today. Not until we’re so old we can’t move.”

He heard Keegan’s voice in his head and it didn’t freak him out. Keegan swayed above

him when the jet dipped again, then he lay most of his weight on Olin. “It’s just turbulence.

There’s no screaming engines or anything.”

Olin arched a brow at him.

Keegan turned whiter than he already was. “There’s engines turning, though.”

Olin could tell he was scared, too, and listening intently for those engines. Keegan

finally gave a sharp nod. “Jet sounds like it always has. It’s just turbulence.”

Olin felt as though he was about to shake his bones right out of his body. He couldn’t

stop trembling, and his teeth were clacking together like the old wind-up toy ones did.

Keegan covered him more fully. “Olin,” he said right before slanting his mouth over

Olin’s.

The taste of Keegan, the feel of his thin lips and slick tongue penetrated the net of terror

that had cloaked Olin. He dragged his arms up to wrap them around Keegan and spread his

legs, welcoming Keegan’s warmth against his chilled body.

Keegan groaned and sank down onto him even more. Whether they were through the

turbulence or not, Olin didn’t know. There were no more violent jolts, but anything milder

he would have missed because Keegan began rutting, rubbing his thickening cock against

Olin’s.

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Olin went after Keegan’s mouth, needing the comfort this man was giving. He bit and

nibbled, sucked and licked at Keegan’s lips, his tongue. Olin wanted to devour him, he

craved Keegan so badly.

He thrust against Keegan, his own dick hard and leaking pre-cum. It slicked their paths

as they frotted. Olin ran his hands down Keegan’s back and arms, he scratched and squeezed

when he could. Keegan’s kiss turned desperate, the sounds spilling from his mouth to Olin’s

as Keegan thrust faster.

Olin did, too, planting his heels and jamming his ass up to get more friction on their

dicks. Keegan’s lightly furred stomach and thick cock were great to rub against, but Olin

needed more.

Keegan either picked up on that, or he needed the same thing. He shoved himself up on

his elbows and broke their kiss. “Touch me,” he pleaded.

Olin rolled them both over and straddled Keegan’s hips. He rubbed his ass against that

thick shaft, wondering if he was brave enough to take it.

Not then, he wasn’t. Olin scooted back further until Keegan’s dick was in front of him.

He leant down and got one hand on them. “Help me.”

Keegan got a hand in place and they stroked together. Olin used his other hand to pinch

at Keegan’s nipples. Keegan hissed then panted then moaned, and Olin swelled with pride.

This man came apart for him, not anyone else. Just him.

Olin was so proud of that fact. Keegan needed him—just as Olin needed Keegan.

“Please,” Keegan begged, and Olin gave his left nipple a savage twist. Keegan bowed

up, a garbled shout leaving his lips as his cock pulsed cum from the slit. Olin held on long

enough to see Keegan through his climax, then he came, shaking, sweating, his balls feeling

as though they’d been turned inside out by the strength of his orgasm.

“I take it we really aren’t going to crash,” Olin said a few minutes later when he could

speak. He’d had to steady his breathing first.

Keegan frowned and listened for a moment, then he frowned harder. “No, I don’t think

so, but something isn’t right.”

A chill went through Olin. “What do you mean? We’re not plummeting to our deaths.

We—” He shut up and paid attention. “We’re descending, though, aren’t we?”

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Keegan cocked his head. “I think so, and we shouldn’t be. We’ve been in the air for

about an hour, right?”

“Close to two, I think.” Olin got up, his legs shaky. He held out a hand to Keegan, then

eyed the spunk on his skin and held out his other hand. “Wouldn’t do for your hand to slip

out of mine.”

Keegan’s shy smile was something Olin would remember forever. He took Olin’s hand

and got to his feet. “Thanks.”

“Any time.” Olin went to the bed and wiped his hands on the sheet, then cleaned the

spunk off his belly. He waved an edge of the sheet at Keegan. “Come here.”

“I—” Keegan came, a hesitant expression on his face.

“What is it?”

Keegan huffed, rolling his eyes. “It’s me being stupid. Worrying about wiping cum on

the sheets when it’s been made clear we can fuck on it and make a mess.”

“This seems more…” Olin thought it over. “Lewd.”

“Guess so.” Keegan stood still and let Olin clean him off.

“So what is going on, do you think?” Olin asked him after dropping the sheet back to

the bed. “Maybe the turbulence did something, or there’s a storm?”

Then Keegan asked a question that shook Olin. “I wonder why Dallas hasn’t come to

check on us?”

He knew as clearly as if he’d been told, something was very wrong. “Keegan, we need

to get dressed.”

Keegan murmured an agreement and they dressed quickly. Olin remembered their

link—he’d heard Keegan. Could they do that again, when they weren’t fucking? He could

try. “Keegan? Can you hear me?”

Keegan stumbled pulling up his pants as he whipped his head around to look at Olin.

“Yes.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Keegan was staring as if in shock. Keegan shook his head and went back to getting his

clothes on. “Didn’t expect you to be willing to utilise the bond.”

“Something’s wrong, and we have a way to communicate that no one else can overhear. Why

wouldn’t I utilise it? Do you think I’m stupid?”

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“You know I don’t. We were both just…reluctant, and I figured you still were.” Keegan

finished zipping his pants at the same time that Olin did. “I know you don’t want this.”

Olin glared at him. “You didn’t want it either, and what? No one but you can change their

mind?”

“I don’t know. I won’t poke around in your thoughts, so if you don’t tell me, how am I to

know?”

“I’ll poke around in yours unless you tell me I can’t. This whole communicating thing is

complicated no matter how we do it. No wonder people don’t talk when they need to.” It left you

open for hurt.

“I have nothing to hide.” But there was a strange tone to the thought. Olin would have to

investigate it, later.

He pulled on his shirt. “For all we know, Dallas just got jostled in the turbulence. He might be

hurt, though.”

“The pilot hasn’t come on the speaker since we boarded. Did you notice that?” Keegan asked.

Olin thought it over then shook his head. “Was kind of trying not to piss myself. I hate

flying. And it’s not like I’ve ever been on a private jet before. I don’t know who does what, except the

pilot should pilot.”

“Stay behind me when we go through the door. Please. I’m a little more resilient, being what I

am.”

Olin wanted to argue, but for once he forced himself to hold back. Keegan was right. He

was a shifter, and bigger. He could handle things a human couldn’t. Olin gave a slight bob of

his head but he wasn’t happy about agreeing.

Keegan turned the doorknob—and scowled. “What the fuck?”

“What is it?” Olin asked, hovering behind him.

“It’s locked, from the outside.” He jostled the knob. “I don’t remember there being an

exterior lock on here. In fact, I know there wasn’t.”

Olin took a step back, then a second one. “We’re… We’re being kidnapped?” Why

would anyone want to do that?

Keegan spun away from the door and dropped to his hands and knees. “Our phones.”

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“Shit. I didn’t even think.” Olin saw one of them under the bed. It was Keegan’s and he

handed it over to him. Olin’s phone was nowhere in sight. He’d either left it in the other part

of the plane or lost it somewhere else.

Keegan pressed buttons on his phone then cursed quietly. “Doesn’t work,” he bit out,

obviously not caring if he was overheard. “This phone should work during the Apocalypse

even.”

“Let me see.” Olin took the phone and pressed the talk button. The screen lit up then

went dark. He did it again and had just enough time to see that the battery was charged

before the screen went black again. Olin took the phone apart, holding the battery in one

hand and counting down from sixty. Once a minute had passed, he put the phone back

together. When he tried to turn it on, it wouldn’t work at all. “Fuck. This isn’t natural,

Keegan.”

He suspected that someone had killed the phone via a software virus. “Download any

new apps lately?”

“No.” Keegan patted his pockets and grinned suddenly. “That’s the work phone.

There’s this one—” He pulled a smaller phone from a buttoned pocket on his pants. One look

at it and he scowled. “Mother fucker.”

Olin took the phone. It wasn’t fancy-looking, neither of Keegan’s phones were, but they

were both expensive satellite phones made to work anywhere. Also both were manufactured

for rough situations. In other words, they weren’t delicate breakables.

And neither worked. “Deliberate tampering.” Olin took the second phone apart, too,

and got the same result. Someone knew what they were doing. He looked at Keegan. “So is

Dallas in on it, or dead?”

“If those are the only two choices, he might as well be dead. That’s how he’ll end up if he’s

involved.” Keegan thought back to when they had boarded the plane. “I don’t think he’s

involved, though. He didn’t act nervous, or give off any signs of deceit. He was the usual perky guy he
always is.”

“The pilot—you said she was trustworthy. What was her name?” Olin couldn’t remember.

“Zoe, and I’ve known her for years. She’s actually my cousin.” Keegan averted his gaze,

staring at the floor. “She has to be involved. There’s her and Dallas, they’re it, and Dallas couldn’t

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make her do this. Zoe is a… She’s a strong person. Physically and emotionally. She doesn’t let anyone

manipulate her.”

“How sure are you it’s her in the cockpit?” Olin asked. He hated the shame he could feel

Keegan struggling with. “She isn’t you. She might be family, I guess, but I have a shitload of

cousins and aunts and uncles I don’t talk to. They didn’t like it when I came out, and I didn’t like it

that they were assholes about it. If they do something wrong, it’s not my fault. It’s theirs.”

“It isn’t that easy. I brought her to Marcus, and yes, I smelt her scent. There were no other fresh

ones but hers and Dallas’. I’ve brought a traitor to my Alpha Anax.”

“She made the choice to be a traitor. You didn’t make it for her.” Olin tipped Keegan’s chin

up and waited until Keegan looked him in the eyes. “Everything I’ve heard about this Marcus

dude has been good. I can’t think he’d hold her actions against you.”

Keegan blinked at him but didn’t answer. Olin would make the stubborn ass see that

this wasn’t his fault one way or the other. “If it was me in your place, my cousin as the pilot…”

“It’s not.” Keegan stood up and strode to the door. “Fuck this.” He grabbed the knob

and shook it, then with a fierce look in place, he stepped back and kicked. The door was

wrenched off its hinges and flung outward onto the floor

“Dallas!” Keegan yelled. He cursed and ran out. Olin was right on his heels.

He saw the feet first, sticking out from behind the couch. Before he could reach Dallas,

Keegan stopped and Olin collided with the bigger man. “What the—?”

“That’s right, just stay where you are.”

Olin didn’t recognise the speaker’s voice, and he couldn’t see around Keegan. Two

things he did know—the speaker was male, and it wasn’t Dallas, who was still on the floor.

At least, Olin thought that was whose feet he’d seen.

Keegan slowly raised his hands up. “What—”

“Shut up,” the stranger drawled. “There’s not one word you need to speak. I don’t

mind pulling the trigger and taking us all down if I have to.”

Olin listened to the accent. He’d heard similar ones for the past several months.

Whoever the man was, he was a Brazilian native, and therefore it stood to reason that this

whole catastrophe had to do with the South American pack. “Another fucker who wants a piece

of Ryder.”

“That would be my guess, too, though what he hopes to accomplish in doing this is beyond me.”

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Olin thought about that while the man ordered them to sit on the couch. He got his first

sight of the guy and suppressed a shiver when he saw the .45 clutched in his steady hands.

Olin didn’t recognise him. With short black hair and darkly tanned skin, he’d have blended

in with most of the shifters Olin had met. What stood out were his eyes, which were almost

golden in colour. “Contact lenses. Gotta be, right?”

“Not necessarily. He’s not a shifter, though, so he could be wearing them.”

“We’re getting taken out by a human?” Olin asked, trying not to let his shock at that show.

Keegan pressed his lips firmly together. “We are not getting taken out. I don’t know what

the hell is going on, but he isn’t going to win this.”

Olin tried to see if Dallas was still alive, but when he craned his neck their captor hit

him, striking his jaw and sending Olin sprawling. Keegan roared and the man chuckled.

“One bullet and he’s dead. You want to come at me, go ahead. He’ll be dead from this gun or

when the plane crashes.”

Keegan growled and the man arched a brow at him. “Going to turn into a demon

now?”

“Demon,” Keegan said coldly. “You think that’s what I am?”

“I don’t care what you are,” the man retorted. “Other than something I’m going to be

paid nicely for.” He grinned broadly and gestured with the gun. “You’re going to have a nice

bruise.”

Olin flipped him off. “Fuck you, asshole.”

“Just call me Derek,” the fucker said. “It’s less likely to get you accidentally shot once

we’re on the ground. And that is enough talking from you.”

Olin cocked his head. “No, you won’t bring this plane down. Someone wants us, and

you want your money. So again, fuck you, asshole.”

Derek didn’t seem to get angry at all with Olin for mouthing off, which was why the

second punch surprised Olin so much. The man wasn’t a shifter, but he was fast, and huge,

and Olin couldn’t quite stifle the moan as he was knocked off the couch and onto the floor.

“Control your fuck toy,” Derek advised calmly. “He has that short man syndrome

going on.”

Keegan was vibrating with a fury that helped keep Olin conscious as he struggled to get

up. Keegan glared at Derek then slid off the couch to kneel beside Olin. “Stop provoking him or

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I will have to fight him here, on this plane, and I don’t know that we want that. If he shoots the

gun…”

“He won’t, though.” Olin was almost positive of that. Then again, if Keegan attacked the

man, who knew what Derek would do? “Okay, I’ll try just for you.” Besides, his head was

spinny and his vision blurry. He feared his jaw might be broken but a quick test of it

convinced him it was just bruised.

Olin let Keegan help him up.

“Now, you two behave. Maybe the next time you give me trouble, I’ll just take this

steward here and see how much carving I can do on him before he dies.” Derek kicked one of

Dallas’ feet. “If I didn’t kill him when I hit him.” He shrugged.

Olin almost pointed out that there wasn’t much incentive not to provoke Derek if Dallas

was dead, but since he didn’t know whether or not that was the case, Olin kept his mouth

shut. Restraint sucked, but he did have some.

Derek took a pair of handcuffs off a utility belt he wore. Olin hadn’t noticed, but the

man was dressed like a B-movie commando. Derek held the cuffs out to Olin. “Put them on

him, and do it right. Otherwise, I’ll have to use the baton on him like I did Dallas, and since I

suspect that might have done more damage than intended…”

Olin took the cuffs and didn’t bother trying not to glare at Derek, who smiled back at

him. Olin had never hated someone so much in his life. Keegan held up his wrists.

“Ah, ah, lean forward and let the little man cuff them behind your back.” Derek moved

around to watch as Olin did as directed. The sound of the cuffs locking into place made him

feel sick. With Keegan’s arms incapacitated, they really were screwed.

Derek walked back around and studied Olin. He shrugged then, dismissing him as any

kind of threat. That’s what Olin assumed, at least, until Derek backhanded him hard enough

to make his neck pop. Olin felt his bottom lip split as Keegan yelled.

“That’s just because you look like you needed it.” Derek flicked a glance at Keegan. “It’s

more fun to hurt him and watch you get mad.”

Keegan’s growling seemed only to add to Derek’s amusement. He laughed and pressed

a finger against Olin’s bloody lip. “If I swung that way, I’d give you something more to

growl about. But I don’t.” Derek shrugged. “Keep it up—Keegan, right?” Derek didn’t wait

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for an answer. “Keep it up, and I’ll get creative. I do like to see people break. It’d be cool to

see what it takes to break a freak like you.”

Keegan’s nostrils flared. “I can’t stand to have him touch you. If he hurts you again, I don’t

know that I can control myself.”

“Try,” Olin advised. His face and neck hurt, his head was pounding, but he wasn’t dead

yet. “This guy is a psycho. He’s having fun. The more violent he gets, the calmer he appears to be. If he

decides the violence makes him feel better, he’ll keep doing it. So let’s not encourage that, okay? I can’t
take a whole lot more without passing out, and who knows what he’d do for fun then.”

Derek backed up and sat in the chair across from them. He still wore a smile, and his

gun hand didn’t waver at all.

Keegan stared at him and Olin could feel the tension increasing. “He knows I’m not

human, but I can’t tell if he knows what it is that I am. Humans aren’t supposed to know, unless, like

you, there’s been exceptions made.”

“So maybe he’s an exception, then.” But that didn’t seem right, since Derek didn’t appear

to realise that Keegan and Olin were communicating. “I think what he said is the truth.

Someone’s hired him to do this. How he knows you aren’t just a human, I don’t know.”

“He’s a danger to our kind. He’ll die, and I’m going to enjoy being the one to end his life.”

Keegan still hadn’t looked away from Derek, who yawned and stared right back.

“I don’t think he’s intimidated. He’s just fucking insane.” Olin started coughing and that

gave Keegan an excuse to break the staring match. Olin moaned, not having to fake it like he

had the cough. He’d be sore for a week, easy, after the punches he’d taken.

As long as he and Keegan made it out of the mess they were in alive, though, that was

all that mattered. Olin closed his eyes. Them, and Dallas, and even the pilot. He wasn’t sure

she was involved, but didn’t know how she couldn’t be.

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Chapter Twelve

“He has no scent, that’s why I didn’t smell him.” Keegan hadn’t realised it until then. He’d

been focused on not getting everyone on board killed.

Olin murmured a silent agreement and Keegan let him alone. He could feel the pain

Olin felt, albeit not as strongly. Keegan wanted a chance at Derek. He’d make sure to use his

bare hands to kill the fucker.

A soft groan came from behind the couch. Derek sighed as if his life was one giant trial.

“So he’s not dead. Maybe he’s just brain damaged.” He kept the gun trained on Olin. “Let go

of your boy toy and peek over at Dallas. That is such a pussy name, by the way. Dallas.” He

snorted.

Keegan was as careful as he could be not to jostle Olin, who appeared to have passed

out. Keegan was grateful for the mental bond that allowed them to be more aware of each

other. Through it, he knew Olin was alive and his consciousness was right there below the

surface. It was better to let him rest, because once the plane was on the ground, all hell was

coming down on the jet.

Keegan got on his knees and twisted around on the couch. He saw Dallas, the blood

that had come from a gash on his scalp above his temple. Dallas was pale, but his eyes were

darting back and forth behind his lids. His nostrils flared slightly, and Keegan was almost

positive that he was awake.

“He’s still out,” he said, willing Dallas not to prove otherwise. “Bleeding from—”

“I don’t really care,” Derek cut in with. “I’m going to have to rouse your piece of ass

and have him handcuff that freak, too. What’s a human doing hanging around with you

spawns?”

As much as Keegan wanted to inform Derek exactly what they were instead of spawns,

freaks, and demons, he didn’t. Knowledge was power, and if Derek didn’t know what they

were, then that was better.

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“Not going to answer me?” Derek asked. “Do I need to wake up your boy and ask him

instead? I like how he smarts off. I like hurting people. It turns me on. Think that makes me a

nut?”

Keegan had to take a breath to give himself a second or two in order to find the strength

to hold himself back. “Our kind have big dicks,” he said bluntly. “That’s why. Makes all you

poor human guys look pathetic.”

Derek almost frowned but caught himself. “Ah, you’re just trying to get a rise out of

me. Not happening, freak. You’re the wrong gender. Now, the pilot in there? Once she sets

this thing down, I see no reason I can’t give her a test drive. See what it’s like to fuck

something like your kind.”

Keegan smiled himself. “Right, because you don’t think we’re human and want to fuck

a—what? Animal? A demon? A freak?”

Derek hitched one shoulder up in a shrug. “She’s got the right holes, then I don’t really

care.”

At least he was almost certain that Zoe hadn’t willingly got involved in this plan.

Keegan manoeuvred around until he was sitting beside Olin again, and able to stare at

Derek, who wore a little smirk. “Not going to rush to the woman’s defence, huh? No worries

about her since she has a pussy.”

“She will gut you in a heartbeat,” Keegan said calmly. “And stuff your dick and balls

down your throat.”

Derek waggled his eyebrows. “I like the fighters. Makes it so much sweeter when you

ram into them and they scream.”

Keegan’s stomach swirled. He’d never seen such a monster as the human one sitting

across from him—not face to face, and he’d definitely met some of the worst shifters ever.

“I’ll tell you a secret,” Derek said softly. “I’m going to hit her with a tranquilizer first.

Think she’ll be able to fight as much then? Maybe I should use half a dose.”

Keegan didn’t answer. He wasn’t going to encourage any more of Derek’s sick

fantasies.

The jet began a descent shortly after that. Derek still wore that smirk as he told Keegan

he’d better hold on for the landing. “Wouldn’t want you to die before I can get paid.”

Keegan knew then that Olin had been right. Derek wasn’t going to risk killing them.

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“Finally figured that out, did you?” Derek asked. “Took you long enough.”

Keegan started to rise and Derek did as well. He pulled something off his belt and held

it up. Keegan froze as he eyed the long blade.

“I am so good with this,” Derek told him. “And there’s no way I’ll miss if I throw it

from here. It’s long enough to do the job. So how about you sit down and behave before I

make your boy bleed out all over the pretty white couch and carpet?”

Keegan intended to tear the man apart, limb from limb. He debated whether or not he

could move fast enough to block the knife should Derek throw it. He’d seen the man move,

and he was faster than most people, including some shifters.

Keegan sat but kept his gaze locked on Derek’s as the plane descended. Derek kept that

half-smile in place and the knife in one hand, gun in the other. The landing went smoothly,

Zoe doing her job and bringing them to a safe stop.

“I could shoot him now,” Derek mused. “What do you think? But then I’d lose the best

way to make you behave, wouldn’t I? And we have a ways to go yet, so for now, he can keep

breathing.”

Derek stood and approached Keegan. “How are those cuffs? Tight enough?”

Keegan could shift and be out of them, but he wasn’t going to, not yet. He blanked his

expression and stared at Derek.

“They’re silver,” Derek added, tipping his chin towards Keegan. “So are my bullets.”

“For a demon?” Keegan had to ask. He still wasn’t certain that Derek knew what he

was.

Derek’s smile dimmed. “I expected the silver to burn you. Turn around.”

Keegan didn’t want to. If Derek realised that the silver made no difference to him—it

was no more deadly to a wolf shifter than aluminium foil, which was to say not at all—then

he might resort to further violence.

Derek waved the knife in the air, keeping the gun trained on Olin. “Come on, now. I

hate to have to alter my plans.”

Keegan figured it was then or never. He leant forward and started to turn, then surged

up and flung himself at Derek. At the same time, he shifted.

Derek was up and on the back of the chair unnaturally fast. He flung the knife and

Keegan gasped as it embedded into his shoulder.

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“You’re fucking everything up,” Derek said in a flat voice just before he pulled the

trigger. Keegan howled. That gun had been aimed at Olin.

The sound of bullet hitting flesh didn’t happen, though. Keegan had shifted fully, the

handcuffs falling off before he slammed into Derek.

Derek pistol-whipped him and grabbed the handle of the knife. Agony exploded in

Keegan’s chest as Derek twisted the blade.

Something moved in Keegan’s blurry peripheral vision. It took less than a moment for

him to realise it was Olin, screaming, cursing, coming for Derek.

Keegan jerked back, forcing the knife from his body. The pain made his head spin, but

he didn’t let it stop him. He snapped and snarled while Derek stabbed at him again. The gun

went off and Keegan panicked until he felt the throb of Olin’s thoughts, strong and full of

fury, spill into his mind.

Assured that Olin was alive, Keegan ducked low and bit Derek’s thigh. He sank his

teeth in deep and immediately shook his head. Derek hissed and fired the gun again. The

heat and force of a bullet zipped past his spine along the middle of his back, but didn’t sink

into him. A graze. Then there was the hot pain of that knife slicing through his fur to nick the

side of his neck.

Olin’s scream must have awoken the dead, or close to it, because Dallas’ muffled curses

announced his arrival into the fray.

“Fuck you, freaks,” Derek spat. He kicked at Keegan and Keegan saw that both Olin

and Dallas were trying to get the weapons away from Derek. There was a pounding, too,

coming from the pilot’s cabin. It sounded as if Zoe were trying to beat her way out of there.

Dallas shifted and Derek kicked again. Keegan let go of his leg in order to bite up

higher, and this time he got what he’d wanted. The femoral artery flooded his mouth with

blood, and Keegan once again shook his head violently. As he did, he heard Dallas snapping,

scented the rending of flesh right before Derek gurgled.

“Oh, God,” Olin whimpered. “I’m going to be sick.”

Keegan let go—Derek was as good as dead even if he was still twitching. There was

blood everywhere, arterial spray and Keegan’s blood from his wounds as well. Olin retched,

bent over on his hands and knees.

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Keegan shifted, the pain as he did so making him want to whine. He kept the sound to

himself as he crawled over to his mate. “Olin, are you okay?” A stupid question, but

Keegan’s mate was his first concern. The entire left side of Olin’s face was swollen, and he

was still puking.

Olin gagged and scooted sideways. Away from me, or the mess? “Olin—”

“I’m going to help Zoe get out of there,” Dallas said in a fractured voice. “If I can. I

don’t… My head…” A thud followed and Keegan craned his neck to see Dallas unconscious

on the floor, more blood seeping from the cut on his head.

“Help him,” Olin got out in a rough voice. “Just—the blood. Seeing someone die—” He

heaved again and as much as Keegan wanted to touch his mate, he didn’t. He’d had a part in

Derek’s death, had killed the man, certainly. Dallas had helped, but Derek was dead at that

point even if his body hadn’t got the memo. Derek had been dead from the moment he’d laid

a hand on Olin.

Keegan turned carefully and got to his feet. His legs were weak, his chest bleeding, but

he’d heal within a few days. The bullet burn along his back was annoying but nothing more

than that. The same went for where the knife blade had grazed his neck. Both lesser injuries

would, for the most part, be gone by the next day.

“Hold on,” he hollered at Zoe. The constant pounding on the door was getting on his

nerves. “Derek is dead. Just stop for a minute!”

“We’re still in danger,” Zoe yelled back. “I had to land on a private strip! Have you

looked outside?”

“Fuck fuck fuck.” Olin summed up the view in those three words, letting Keegan know

it was bad out there.

Dallas groaned, his eyelids still closed. Keegan squatted by his head. At least he was

alive, and short of a serious brain injury, he’d just have to heal on his own. If he did have

something serious, Keegan couldn’t do more than hope he’d survive. He ran his fingers

around the cut. It was shallow but scalp wounds bled a lot. There was a large lump there,

though, and that was worrisome.

“Dallas.” Keegan waited but got no response. He felt the man’s pulse. It was fairly

strong—not quite steady but better than it could have been. “Olin, I need you to sit with

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Dallas.” Maybe it’d give Olin something else to think about other than Keegan ripping away

a man’s life.

Olin shuffled over and sat beside Dallas. “Is he going to live?”

“I hope so.” Keegan knew brain injuries were tricky. “He came out of it, then passed

out again. If there’s swelling…” He didn’t know what else to say. Dallas would survive, or he

wouldn’t, and if he died, it would be a great loss to the shifter world. Dallas was a good man.

Keegan stood and made his way to the door. “What happened, Zoe? Can’t you contact

Marcus?”

“No, I can’t contact anyone!” she snapped back. “That fucker slipped onto this plane

sometime before we all boarded. He hid in the pantry, and did something to the com system

and my fucking phone! One minute I’m flying this thing just fine, the next there’s no way to

communicate with the outside world and Dallas is being held in here with a knife to his

throat. I had to either land this or wreck it, and I tried to throw the fucker off, tell him we

were in turbulence. He didn’t believe me after a few minutes, and he hit Dallas so hard…”

Keegan rested his brow against the door. He saw the wedge driven in that was holding

the door closed despite Zoe’s attempts to get out. It was a simple enough matter to jerk the

wedge out. “Let me back away, then the door should open.” Keegan took a couple of steps

and Zoe flung the door open.

“Did you look outside like I told you?” she demanded.

Keegan saw the large bruise on the side of her face. She hadn’t mentioned Derek hitting

her, and he wasn’t surprised. Zoe was as tough as anyone he’d ever met. Petite and curvy,

with large brown eyes, many mistook her for weak. She set them straight immediately.

“I didn’t,” Keegan told her. “Olin’s watching Dallas now, and I wanted to get you out.”

“Look,” she demanded. “Carefully.”

Keegan went to the nearest window. He pushed the panel back an inch and saw at least

a dozen figures outside off to the side of the tarmac, each armed with automatic weapons.

“What’s going on?” he wondered out loud. “This can’t be a coup for Marcus’ position. What

would be the point? To hold us prisoners and demand Marcus step down? He’d never do it.”

“I don’t think that’s the point anyway,” Zoe said from behind him. “I wish this jet was

bulletproof all over, instead of just the windows, cockpit and gas tanks.”

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“So do I, but at least we can move to the cockpit and be safe.” Keegan turned away

from the window. “We need to do that, now. Zoe.” He stopped her when she started to head

back to the cockpit.

She arched a brow at him.

“What would happen if we taxied off the runway and into our would-be ambushers?”

“This jet isn’t made to do any such thing, but I think we’d survive it.” Zoe nodded once

and left to return to her seat, talking as she went. “I’d try to get us back in the air but they

have too many guns and the damage to the jet would be too much to get airborne.”

Keegan grunted and walked to Olin’s side. “How’s his pulse?”

“Steady-ish,” Olin muttered. “Do you think we can get away from the dead guy?”

The smell of death was one Keegan was familiar with, but it was never one he’d be used

to. It had to be traumatic for Olin. “Yeah, let’s get to the cockpit. I’ll move Dallas. You go on

and take the other seat in there.”

“I’m going to grab some drinks and food. I want to get our phones, too, in ca—” Olin’s

sentence was cut off by the sound of bullets hitting the outside of the jet.

“Fuck! Move!” Keegan barked. The bullets wouldn’t instantly tear through the plane’s

material, but it wouldn’t take long for there to be enough damage that they’d penetrate to the

inside. Olin kept low as he ran to the cockpit door. He swept the wedge up with one hand

and Keegan almost smiled at his mate’s cunning.

Keegan squatted and lifted Dallas into his arms, then got them both into the relative

safety of the cockpit. The small space was packed with the four of them in there. Keegan was

able to lay Dallas on the floor behind the seats, but it was a tight fit for him. Olin stood up

and gestured to the seat he’d been in.

“Sit. You’re bleeding and naked.” Olin bit his bottom lip, eyes worried as he looked at

Keegan. “How bad is that?”

Keegan glanced down at his chest. He could feel the wound healing little bits at a time,

tissues and nerves reconnecting inside him. “It’ll heal. It hurts, but isn’t debilitating. The

other places are nothing.” Keegan touched his neck. The skin there was hot where the knife

had nicked him, but it wasn’t more than a scratch, really.

“Other places?” Olin squeaked.

“Later,” Keegan said. “Right now we need to get out of this mess.”

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“On it,” Zoe muttered. She fired up the jet’s engines. The gunmen and women ran at

the jet, firing non-stop at it. “Going to look like freakin’ Swiss cheese. Marcus is going to be

so pissed…”

“He most definitely will be.” Keegan knew it without a doubt. Marcus would end up

coming down to Brazil and taking the cost of the plane out on these lunatics’ hides.

“They can’t blow the plane up by hitting the gas tank?” Olin asked. “You’re positive?”

“Short of a grenade or a rocket launcher—” Keegan bit back the rest of that sentence

when Zoe turned a fierce look his way.

“Don’t even go there,” Zoe snapped. “That’s like waving a red flag in fate’s face!”

Keegan closed his mouth. Zoe took a deep breath. “Maybe we can get some of these

fuckers sucked into the engines.”

“Oh God. That’s so gross,” Olin muttered. Keegan pulled Olin down onto his lap and

pressed Olin’s head to his chest.

“Glad the window’s holding up,” Keegan noted as bullets pinged off it. “They’re

scattering,” he added a moment later as the gunmen backed away. “Marcus needs to have

guns built onto his next jet.”

Zoe snorted. “Yeah, that wouldn’t get noticed at all by Homeland Security or

whatever.”

“What’re we going to do when we have to stop the plane?” Olin asked. “We’re trapped

in here.”

“I’ll wreck this bitch in the jungle over there if I have to,” Zoe answered. “And we’ll just

have to get out and run like hell.”

“Which is as good a plan as any I have,” Keegan agreed. “That’s what we’re going to

do. It’ll be rough, but we’ll live.”

“As long as we don’t end up flipped over. If that happens…” Zoe shrugged. “Well, it’ll

have been nice knowing you all.”

“We aren’t going to die,” Keegan growled. He stood and picked Olin right up, then

plopped him in the seat. “Buckle in.”

Olin glared at him. “Did you really just—”

“You can be in charge everywhere else,” Keegan snapped. “This is my job, and I’m

going to do it.”

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Olin surprised him by not arguing. He buckled himself in. Keegan had no room to

manoeuvre in, so he braced himself against the top of what he figured was the jet’s dash. “Do

it.”

“Maybe you can try to get over there and secure Dallas, hold him down so he doesn’t

get the shit beat out of him,” Zoe suggested.

“Good idea.” And one he should have thought of. Keegan slid between the seats and

knelt, facing Dallas. He hated that he couldn’t see what was happening, but he trusted Zoe.

“Annnnnnnd we’re going to lose the wings in five… Four…” she began.

“Fuck fuck fuck,” Olin whispered.

“Two… One—”

A great rending sound was followed immediately by a violent jolt that sent Keegan

forward. He slapped a hand against the door just in time to keep from breaking his damned

neck. The other hand he kept on Dallas, holding him down as the plane shuddered and

bounced, the racket unnerving and one that would likely haunt his nightmares from now on.

“Head to the exit door if you can,” Zoe yelled. “Forget hanging on to Dallas! We’ll need

out immediately!”

“I’ll hold Dallas,” Olin said.

Keegan wanted to protest. He wanted Olin buckled in and safe but Olin wasn’t a fool,

nor was he a selfish man. Keegan got up and opened the cockpit door. His was knocked from

side to side in the doorway, hissing at the pain it caused around his knife wound.

Trying to keep upright was a challenge while the plane was still tearing through the

jungle. Keegan had to keep himself pressed against the wall and scoot as quickly as he could

to the exit door. He prayed that it wouldn’t be jammed shut. If so, they’d done themselves no

good at all.

As soon as the plane came to a jarring halt, Keegan slapped at the lever to open the

door. Smoke billowed into the cabin through holes and ripped away places along the body of

the jet. “Come on!”

He ran back and helped Olin lift Dallas. “Wake up,” Keegan demanded of the still-

unconscious shifter. “Dallas, God damn it, wake up!”

Dallas groaned as Keegan and Olin followed Zoe to the exit. “Go!” Keegan barked at

Zoe. They couldn’t have much time before their would-be kidnappers arrived.

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“It’s on fire,” Zoe yelled. “Get out, quick!” She leapt from the plane, shifting in mid-

jump.

“It?” Olin panted. “The plane? The jungle?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Keegan got to the door. “Let me shift and get down, then lower

Dallas to me. I’ll catch him, and you. Without the steps for exiting it’s a long drop, and I

don’t want you or Dallas breaking any bones.”

Olin didn’t hesitate to agree. “Okay. Hurry.”

Keegan shifted and went out, which wasn’t easy with limbs and trees in the way. He

made it, and Zoe was waiting for him, her golden fur standing on end. Keegan shifted again.

“Ready!”

The three of them got Dallas down, then Keegan held his hands up and gestured at

Olin. “Come on.”

Olin leapt out, and Keegan caught him, ignoring the pain in his chest. “Help me get

Dallas over my shoulder.”

In moments they were moving, Zoe leading since Keegan was weighed down with

Dallas. Olin was between Keegan and Zoe, easily keeping pace.

No one asked questions or spoke. Zoe remained in her wolf form, the better to detect

any danger. Keegan heard voices behind them, and feared bullets would follow.

When they didn’t, he knew they were wanted alive. For what, he hadn’t a clue. They

weren’t members of Ryder’s pack, so it made no sense—to him, anyway—for those who

opposed Ryder’s reign to want them.

And Marcus… Why would anyone think abducting Keegan, Dallas, and Zoe would

make Marcus their pawn? He wouldn’t negotiate, and no one would expect him to. Keegan

would willingly die before asking such a thing of Marcus.

Even when it comes to your mate’s life? he asked himself.

Keegan couldn’t answer that. To be put in such a quandary would probably kill him in

and of its own pressure.

Zoe veered sharply left, then right. She picked up speed, and Olin did as well. Keegan

was glad that the man was a runner. Even with half of his face battered, he had stamina.

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When Zoe halted suddenly, Keegan only had to wonder why for a moment. He heard

the approaching pursuers as Olin turned to him. “Cliff,” Olin said quietly. “There’s a river

below, but it’s a long fall.”

Zoe shifted and added, “It is, but we can’t outrun these assholes any other way. I just

hope it’s deep enough.”

She turned and took a running leap while both Keegan and Olin yelled her name. Zoe

was silent as she went over the side. Olin bounded to the edge and watched as Keegan laid

Dallas down.

“I think she lived,” Olin said, sounding as relieved as Keegan felt. “Unless you bob back

up and wave when you die in situations like this.”

“Go,” Keegan said gruffly. “I’ll follow.”

Olin touched his cheek. “What about Dallas? You can’t leap off a cliff with him.”

“Why can’t I?” Keegan asked. “I’ll hold onto him, wrap around him. We don’t have a

choice.”

“S’sweet,” Dallas mumbled. “Gonna—” He shifted and Keegan pointed at the ledge.

They had a minute at the most.

“Go!”

Dallas stumbled and more fell than leapt. Olin went immediately after. Keegan waited

for them both to surface, Olin getting a handful of Dallas’ nape and pulling him out of the

way.

Keegan jumped, pushing away from the ledge, his wolf rising to the surface and taking

over mid-fall. When he hit the water, he was all animal. Seeing Olin trying to keep Dallas

afloat, Keegan reached them and shifted yet again. “I have him.” He grabbed a handful of

Dallas’ fur and tried doing a backstroke of sorts, kicking his feet and using one arm to swim

with, the other still keeping Dallas from drowning.

Olin and Zoe helped, and they managed to stay alive as they remained in the river.

Keegan saw a few of their pursuers glaring down from the cliff’s edge and knew they’d

likely seen him shift. There was nothing he could do about it now.

After what seemed to be hours, Olin broke the silence while they floated and swam.

“God, I hope there’s no piranhas in this river,” Olin got out between strokes. “Or

anacondas. I saw this movie once…”

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Keegan was tempted to get out of the water, but once he’d got Dallas to float, the river

was the quickest way for them to travel. There was the chance they’d be hunted down, but he

thought they’d be safe for a little while at least. It would take time for the humans to get

down to the river, then they’d have to follow.

Though if they had a boat… Keegan started guiding Dallas to the shore. “We need to

get out.”

“It’s going to be dark in the rainforest soon,” Olin said as they reached the opposite side

of the river from where they’d jumped. “I don’t like the idea of spending the night out here.”

“How bad are you hurting?” Keegan asked.

Olin grimaced. “My face and side both ache, but I’ll live. Well, unless this water

contains some kind of killer bacteria, or we get captured.”

“Neither of those things will happen.” Keegan would make it so, one way or another.

“Zoe and I will shift and keep watch.” Keegan hefted Dallas partially out of the water.

Zoe made it to land and shifted. “Got him.” She hooked her hands beneath Dallas’ arms

and pulled him up.

“You next.” Keegan waited for Olin to get out, giving him a push on the ass to help.

Then he got out himself. “How far do you reckon we floated?”

Zoe shrugged. “I’m way better with flight time miles than floating miles.”

“We were in the water for a good while,” Olin offered. “Couple hours at least. My legs

are not happy about having to work right now.”

Keegan chuckled despite their situation. “Sea legs, isn’t that what they’re called?”

“We’ll just settle for calling them spaghetti legs.” Olin plopped down on his butt.

“What now?”

“Now we find a safe place to rest for the night, then I’ll get us something for dinner.”

He gave Olin an apologetic look. “We can’t have a fire.”

“I’m not eating raw meat,” Olin said firmly before grimacing. “Especially not after what

I saw today.”

Keegan sat back on his heels. “You’ll need your strength.”

Olin shook his head. “I’m not a shifter. I—”

“But you can be,” Keegan cut in with, the idea both making his dick want to shrivel up

and grow hard. “And you’d be able to run faster, keep up with us.”

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Olin’s eyes bugged. “Uh, ow? No? And Dallas’ messed up. He can’t run.”

“I’m going to scout out a little ways and let you two discuss this in private.” Zoe tipped

her head towards Dallas. “And Olin, Dallas is hurt, that’s true, but by tomorrow he’ll either

be able to keep up, or he’ll be dead. If his brain is fucked up, it’ll only get worse. If it isn’t, he

should be healed enough to keep up.”

Zoe left them and Keegan studied Olin. “This is about surviving. Of course I want you

to be one of us, but I’d rather it have been offered in a different situation. One where we had

enough time to establish a relationship that you truly wanted.”

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Chapter Thirteen

What could he say to that? Olin averted his gaze and instead started fussing over

Dallas, checking his pulse—“Where in the hell do I feel for a pulse on a wolf?”

“Olin, look at me.”

Olin liked to give the orders, but he found himself once again following Keegan’s, just

as he had in the jet and at the cliff’s edge. He looked into Keegan’s brown eyes and his own

pulse leapt.

Keegan brushed a hand down Dallas’ fur. “Dallas is fine. He’s going to be fine. Right

now, this is about you, and me, and us surviving. I wish it was just about us, but the fact is,

it’s not. People are after us, and we haven’t a clue why. We don’t know where we are other

than the obvious, a rainforest in Brazil. We don’t know how far away our enemies are, or if

anyone will realise something has happened to us and come for us. We can’t count on being

rescued. That’s doubtful, in fact, so we have to save ourselves.”

Olin got that, but he was scared, and being scared pissed him off, but snapping

wouldn’t do anyone any good. He watched Keegan stroke Dallas’ fur again and scowled.

“Stop petting him.”

Keegan did so immediately.

Olin felt like an asshole.

“It’s normal,” Keegan said quietly. “Mates are very possessive. We don’t like to share,

at all. I’d have got irritated if you’d been petting Dallas. I didn’t mean anything by it, really

wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. His fur is very soft.”

Olin knew that. He’d been feeling all over Dallas’ neck trying to find the pulse point.

“He is. Pretty colour, too.” The pale grey was almost silver, actually, and Dallas’ ears and

paws were tipped in black.

Keegan didn’t seem thrilled to hear that, though. Olin touched Keegan’s arm. “I like

your dark grey better, though. You have white right here.” He leaned over Dallas and

touched Keegan’s neck right above his Adam’s apple, then traced down to the middle of his

chest. “To about here, and a white spot on your left hip.”

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“That’s from an old wound,” Keegan said in a strained voice. “The one on the hip.”

Olin wanted to ask more, but Dallas began to wake, whimpering softly as his paws

flexed. Olin made a mental note to find out what had happened to put that pained note in

Keegan’s voice.

“Dallas, it’s okay.” Keegan glanced from Olin to Dallas, then back again. “We’re not

done talking about shifting.”

“I know.” Olin wished they were, but the fact was, Keegan had very valid points. It was

hard to refute them considering that Olin wanted very much for them to all survive. Add to

that, he’d heal much faster, and with the way his side ached, along with his face, it was

almost worth whatever other pain he’d go through if it meant healing fast like shifters did.

Dallas whined and his eyes rolled back when he opened them.

“Stay awake,” Olin demanded. “Don’t you dare pass out again.”

Keegan snuffled softly, as if he were holding back a laugh.

Olin shot him a pointed look then focused on Dallas. “I don’t want to die and I doubt

you do, either, so get up and get better, damn it.”

Dallas huffed, his chest heaving, and he blinked until he was staring right at Olin. It

was then he realised that Dallas’ eyes were the same colour as his fur. It was an odd but

interesting combination.

Keegan growled and Olin almost snickered. He knew how Keegan felt. Olin hadn’t

liked Keegan appreciating Dallas’ fur. “Are you feeling like you’re going to be able to stay

awake?” he asked Dallas.

Dallas rolled onto his belly from his side. Wobbly, he still managed to get up on all

fours.

“Good—” he caught himself before he said ‘boy’. That was his term for Keegan when

they were fucking and Olin was in Dom mode. “Wolf. Good job.” Olin stood as well. “Let’s

get moving, and I’ll think about what you said, Keegan, I promise. I’ll even use logic and

keep my emotions out of it.”

“Which means you’re agreeing with me,” Keegan murmured, his face and neck

flushing pink. That rosy colour spread down to his chest, too.

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Olin didn’t answer, because Keegan already knew what he’d say. There wasn’t one

logical reason to argue against it, other than the fact that Olin was freaked out over the biting

part.

They were joined by Zoe shortly after setting out. Olin didn’t speak much. Dallas

stumbled several times but kept upright, and he seemed to become more and more alert as

they walked.

When evening came and the rainforest grew dark, Olin knew it was time to step up and

do what needed to be done. Not just for his own sake, but for everyone he was travelling

with. He was now the slow one, the weakest link, and he could cost them their lives.

What was a temporary, and hopefully little, pain compared to increasing their

likelihood of getting out of this mess in one piece?

* * * *

Marcus stepped out of the shower with Nathan. “I’ll get the damned door, and God

help whoever it is if it’s not an emergency.”

“It’s probably just Keegan checking in, but his timing fuckin’ sucks,” Nathan griped.

“I’m never going to get a chance to go through with this when I actually have the nerve.”

Marcus frowned at Nathan. “Look, I don’t know why you have it in your head that we

have to do it. I’m perfectly happy with you topping.”

Nathan frowned right back. “Because, as I’ve explained twice now, I hate being afraid

to do something, and I know you’ve wanted to fuck me.”

“It’s been a passing thought,” Marcus admitted, “but not one that has to happen. I am,

at heart, a happy bottom.” He wrapped a towel around his hips and left the bathroom before

their front door was rattled off its hinges. “Calm down,” he snapped, “Or I’ll calm your ass

down for you.”

“Sorry, sir,” Dana called back through the door. “Sorry, sorry.”

Marcus sighed and unlocked the door. He opened it and started to ask what the

damned emergency was, suspecting that she was overreacting. There’d been no racket at the

compound. He refrained when it was clear from the expression on Dana’s face that

something was really wrong.

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“Keegan’s plane crashed,” she said immediately, her eyes welling. “Ryder has been

trying to call you. He doesn’t know more than—”

“Where?” Marcus asked harshly.

Dana shook her head. “I don’t know. I— Ryder said you need to call him.”

“No shit,” Marcus barked, his insides clenching at the idea of Keegan dead and gone

forever. Dana’s stricken look cut him, too. “Come in and sit. I’ll… I’ll call Ryder.”

“What’s going on?” Nathan asked, rushing into the hall.

Marcus turned to him and tried not to let his voice break. “There’s been—” It broke

anyway and he had to clear his throat to try again. “The jet crashed.”

“Keegan,” Nathan whispered, placing a hand over his mouth. His eyes gleamed with

forming tears.

Marcus shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m calling Ryder right now.”

Nathan nodded. He zipped forward and took a quick hug before stepping out of

Marcus’ way. “We left our phones in the bedroom,” he muttered. “Fucking stupid of us.”

Marcus left Nathan to get Dana situated. He found his phone and saw that he had

several missed calls from Ryder. Marcus called him back and snapped out a “What the fuck

happened to my captain?” the second Ryder answered.

“I don’t know,” Ryder replied, sounding as upset as Marcus was. “He found his mate

here. Olin, the guy who was supposed to do the security for you.”

The use of past tense hit Marcus like a kick to the gut. So did the fact that Keegan hadn’t

told him about Olin being his mate. “What else?” Marcus demanded. “What the hell is

happening? I know that jet didn’t have a mechanical failure. The company that did the

maintenance there is the best one in business.” He barely kept back from putting the blame

on Ryder. Marcus knew his own pain and anger were making him borderline unreasonable,

but he would control it. He wouldn’t strike out against Ryder.

“That’s just it, I don’t know who or why anyone would do this,” Ryder said. “There’ve

been several challenges to me, but they’ve been direct and I’ve won.”

“Obviously,” Marcus muttered. “Where did the plane go down?”

“I’m not sure,” Ryder admitted. “It disappeared, went off the grid.”

“Then how do you know it went down?” Marcus asked, his anger growing along with

his fear for Keegan and the jet’s crew.

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“Because there’s a news report about the jet found wrecked in the jungle,” Ryder

explained. “It’s your plane, Marcus. I know it can’t be traced back to you, but it’s yours. I’d

know it anywhere. There were no bodies found at the wreck site at the time of the news

report.”

“So they could have survived,” Marcus surmised, feeling slightly less horrible. “They

escaped and—”

“There were hundreds of bullet holes,” Ryder cut in with. “And the plane was burning.

The fire hadn’t been extinguished when the news was on.”

“Bullets,” Marcus repeated. And fire. That could mean there were bodies… “No. I

refuse to believe Keegan would die that easily. Why the fuck was someone shooting the

plane? How did it just vanish?”

“I don’t know, but I tried Keegan’s and Olin’s phones. They went right to a recording

saying the lines were shut off. Someone with power and money had to do that, Marcus.”

Ryder was pointing out the obvious.

“But why? Why try to get to me through them? I wouldn’t negotiate.” He’d storm

wherever they were holding his pack members and kill everyone who’d had a hand in

capturing them.

“Maybe it’s not about you,” Ryder said quietly. “Maybe it’s retaliation for something

that happened here.” Ryder inhaled and went on to explain about murderers he’d caught

and had punished with death sentences, as well as the attack on Olin. “Olin also thought the

jaguar was a shifter.”

“That I did know about, but there’s no such creature.” Marcus immediately doubted his

own words. “Then again, there are stranger things under the sun. Have you sent guards

out?”

“I have. They should be at the wreckage soon.”

Marcus grunted and gestured at Nathan. “Pack our bags and get us a private jet ready

to roll. Rent it or do whatever, I don’t care, but we’re leaving immediately.”

“Okay.” Nathan grabbed his own phone.

“We’ll be there soon. I’ll text you with the details. You send me the exact location of that

jet. We’re going there.”

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“I will. I’ll meet you at the airport. Maarten will stay behind and watch over the pack

here.”

Marcus hung up and listened as Nathan demanded and got a private jet lined up for

them. Once assured that was handled, Marcus went and gave Dana a brief rundown. “No

mourning Keegan yet. I refuse to believe he’s dead until I see a body.” Saying that made him

feel queasy, but Marcus ignored the sensation and continued. “We’ll more than likely be

unreachable, especially if we have to shift and hunt. If we’re not back in a week, and you

haven’t heard from us, then send guards. Meanwhile, please get a hold of Aidan. He and

Zane just left yesterday and I need them back here, despite how much Aidan hates filling in

for me.”

In fact, Aidan would want to go in Marcus’ stead, which was why Marcus added,

“Actually, wait until we’re in the air, that way Aidan can’t argue about coming back and

taking over.”

“Yes, sir,” Dana said, bucking up like the guard she’d trained to be. “You’re right,

Alpha Anax. Keegan wouldn’t just roll over. He’s out there, somewhere.”

“And I’ll find him,” Marcus promised. He saw Dana out then returned to the bedroom.

Nathan had a duffle packed already and was getting dressed.

“He’s not dead,” Nathan said firmly. “Fuck that. We’ve lost too many of our pack.

Keegan isn’t going to be another one.”

“He has a mate.” Marcus took a pair of boxer briefs out and started putting them on.

“He didn’t tell me.”

Nathan came over to him and caressed Marcus’ cheek. “Don’t be hurt. I know it’s

tempting to give in to that feeling, because I feel it too, but we don’t know what was going on

that kept Keegan from telling us. He’s been so stressed and growing more so every day since

the attack on the compound. He’s never been able to forgive himself for the deaths of the

other guards even though we know it wasn’t his fault. We’ve been worried, which is why we

manipulated him into this trip.”

“To give him a break and we might have instead got him killed,” Marcus ground out.

“He’s not dead,” Nathan snapped at him, narrowing his eyes. “He absolutely isn’t.”

Marcus wanted to believe that, but he was scared of giving himself—and Nathan—false

hope. “I’m trying to believe that. I am, Nathan, but even if he’s not, someone was shooting at

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the plane, a lot of people it sounds like, and weird shit has been going on in Ryder’s area. Just

because Keegan survived, if he really did, doesn’t mean he’ll still be alive when we find

him.”

“Fuck that shit,” Nathan snarled, his entire personage lighting up with outrage. “Stop

that negative thinking right now!”

And Marcus remembered all over again one of the reasons he loved his fiery-tempered

mate. Nathan wouldn’t roll around in self-pity and doubt. “Yes, sir.” Marcus cleared the bad

thoughts from his mind. It wasn’t easy, but he did it because it was what his mate demanded

of him. Then he finished getting dressed, and left with Nathan at his side.

Keegan was about to have the most powerful shifter in the world covering his back, and

Marcus would leave a trail of bodies behind him should anyone get in his way.

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Chapter Fourteen

It wasn’t that Keegan was looking forward to what they were going to do. Not all of it,

anyways. He had no objection to having Olin suck his cock or to sucking Olin’s. He shouldn’t

even be fretting over the pain. He had liked the pain Olin gave him so far. A lot.

But this was different. It was his dick that would be feeling Olin’s teeth, and in return,

he had to cause Olin pain. Both of those things were harder to accept.

It’ll mean his safety. We can shift, hunt, run. Wolves don’t need the rest that humans do. Not

nearly as much.

“I’m going to take Dallas to the water,” Zoe said shortly after they’d stopped. They’d

found a thick overhang, lower to the ground, that would provide shelter should they need to

get out of the frequent rains. The water had felt good at first, washing away the layers of

sweat and grime, but Keegan had had about had enough of it already.

“Be careful,” Keegan told them. “We’ll…”

“We’ll join you soon,” Olin finished for him. “And I promise not to scream like I’m

dying.”

Dallas yipped as if he was laughing and Zoe chuckled. “Glad I don’t have to do what

you two gotta do.” She waved and shifted before loping away with Dallas trailing behind

her.

Keegan turned to Olin. “I wish the situation were different, that I…” Gods, why was it

so hard to express his thoughts?

“It is what it is,” Olin said, unbuttoning his wet jeans after pulling off his shirt.

“Wishing for it to be anything else is just a waste of time.”

“How romantic,” Keegan sniped, embarrassed that Olin wasn’t on the same

wavelength as him. He hated being vulnerable.

“Hey,” Olin said softly, surprising Keegan with the concern in his voice and thoughts as

they bled into Keegan’s mind. “No, I wasn’t trying to be a dickhead. That just happens. I

meant it’s okay, okay? So it’s not the ideal place and time, but you know, and I know, that

this would have happened eventually. We’d grow closer, and I would let go of my anger and

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shifters for stealing my brother, and being stronger and all that shit. I’d get past it in the

future at some point—but I’m past it now, because I have to be, and maybe that’s better.”

Olin reached for Keegan and wrapped his arms around Keegan’s neck. He stood up on

his tiptoes and his erection rubbed hot and firm against Keegan’s. “I don’t get to brood and

be a grumpy asshole. I just have to let it go, the anger and shit. Why’s that bad?”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Keegan blurted out, his lips so close to Olin’s that his mouth

watered for a taste of the man.

Olin shrugged. “Can’t be helped, right? And with the way a shifter heals, maybe this

sore jaw and the bruising will go away a hell of a lot faster. Make it quick, then make it so

much better that I forget about the pain.” Olin licked Keegan’s lips and Keegan’s dick leaked

pre-cum. “How big of a bite? How deep and hard?”

Keegan’s cock wasn’t so thrilled with those questions. “Just enough to draw blood,

right as we’re coming. We’ll need to be locked together, mentally, feeling everything the

other one feels.”

“Yeah,” Olin huffed, laughing quietly. “Wouldn’t want to have to do a repeat.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Keegan agreed, fitting an arm beneath Olin’s firm ass. He lifted and

Olin’s mouth was on his, Olin kissing him like he was laying claim to Keegan all over again.

Keegan moaned and slowly sank to the ground, telling himself that they couldn’t be too long,

couldn’t linger as he’d like to do. There’d been no sound of pursuers, but he knew it was

only a matter of time. Someone wanted them bad enough to take out the jet, to set this whole

elaborate kidnapping attempt in motion. They wouldn’t give up easily.

And so he forced himself to turn his head and roll them onto their sides. “I’m sorry,” he

murmured before sitting up and swapping sides so that he had Olin’s dick right in his face.

Keegan fisted the base of it. Olin had such a nice cock, thickly capped with a wider swath to

it in the middle. It curved upward, which meant good things for Keegan’s prostate.

Keegan licked from right above his hand to the leaking tip and moaned.

“Yes,” Olin hissed. “Fucking suck it, boy.”

Keegan shivered and opened his mouth. He blew on the tip and lapped at the slit. Olin

growled and hooked his leg around Keegan’s neck.

“Suck it,” he demanded, pushing at Keegan with that leg.

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Keegan let his head be shoved forward, welcomed Olin taking control of him again.

Olin moaned and thrust hard, no gentle beginnings for him. Keegan gulped and almost

gagged, but he forced the reflex back. He wanted Olin to do that, to fuck his face and make

him gag, make him take everything Olin had with rough, hungry thrusts sometime.

For now, he concentrated on linking his mind to Olin’s. That Olin wanted to take his

mouth in such a way was clear in Olin’s ardent visions of it happening. Olin sucked Keegan’s

dick in, no little licks or teasing suckles, just full-throttle sucking and flicking his tongue

around the hard length.

Keegan cried out around the cock in his mouth as pleasure swamped him. He couldn’t

think, not with Olin doing such wondrous things to his shaft. Keegan managed to reseal his

lips and suck while Olin eagerly did the same.

With each of them sharing what they felt, the pleasure was more than doubled. It grew

exponentially with each suck, each flick of tongue and caress of balls. Olin was rougher with

Keegan’s, tugging, pinching the skin and pulling the hairs there, while Keegan carefully

palmed Olin’s.

Olin grunted and fucked his mouth faster, chasing the climax that was beginning to

build. Despite the fear that didn’t quite dissipate, Olin was tumbling towards that

pleasurable centre.

Keegan was right with him, and when Olin pushed two dry fingers into his asshole,

Keegan’s mind went white with ecstasy. His canines had dropped, and instincts took over as

he and Olin bit in synchronised perfection.

For him, the pain added to the ecstasy. Olin cried out at it, a softly muffled sound that

Keegan ached to hear. He pushed the wondrously blissful sensations he felt towards his

mate, and Olin took them in, that cry turning from a pained one to one of profound relief as

Olin’s cum filled Keegan’s mouth.

Keegan had never come so hard in his life, not even when Olin had fucked him either

time, and those had been very intense climaxes. This, though, was on an entirely different

level. He and Olin had shared an equal exchange of blood, semen and pain, as well as

pleasure.

Keegan licked away every last bit of Olin’s spunk before releasing his cock. Then he

licked the little bite mark where he’d nicked the tender skin of Olin’s cock.

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“Oh, God,” Olin moaned, shivering after he had quit sucking on Keegan’s shaft. “I—”

Sometimes it could take a while for a newly made shifter to reach an accord with his or

her wolf. A wolf would demand survival, though, and Keegan had faith in that primal need.

There wasn’t time to wait, not more than an hour or two at most.

But Olin didn’t even take that. He whimpered, a sound that struck Keegan to his soul,

then his body contorted, muscles spasming, tendons popping, bones cracking and giving

way as something new and powerful was introduced to Olin’s DNA.

Olin turned terrified eyes to Keegan, and Keegan shoved up to kneel at his head. “It’s

fine,” he soothed, brushing back the hair on Olin’s head. “It won’t hurt after this time, at least

not very much.”

That had the terror turning into irritation, which made Keegan smile. “Just let it

happen. Fighting will make it worse.” That’s what he’d heard, anyway, from others who’d

had to turn their mates.

Olin stared at him for a moment, then his eyes rolled back as his body bowed, Olin’s

spine bending and reshaping. It was a horrible thing to watch, really, and Keegan hated

himself in that moment for bringing such torment to his mate.

Then Olin shuddered and his body rapidly gave up the battle against shifting. He

howled as he finished morphing into a fine golden brown wolf. Keegan shifted as well,

wanting to be able to hear his mate, uncertain if they would be able to communicate mentally

if they weren’t both in the same form. Most mates couldn’t, but there were exceptions.

“That was way worse than the bite,” Olin immediately thought. “At least my jaw doesn’t feel

like it’s fractured now, though. And if it hurts that bad to change back, I’m going to be a wolf forever.”

Keegan managed a wolfy chuckle, but he felt like shit for having put Olin through so

much.

“Stop it, or I’ll kick your ass,” Olin ordered. “I’m a damned fine-looking wolf from what I can

see of your vision of me. We did what had to be done, and I’m glad of it. It’s over with. Um. Will it

hurt when I turn back into a human?”

“I don’t think so,” Keegan replied, wishing he had a better answer than that. “I’m sorry. I

just don’t know, but I’d think the worst was over. Your body has been reconfigured, or your DNA has,

or both of them. You know what I mean.”

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Olin let his tongue loll out and he sniffed the air before pricking his ears back in a

playful fashion. “So do I get to sniff your ass now?” Then he leapt where he stood. “Oh! Can we

fuck? Can we fuck like this? I’ve seen other shifters do it!”

“Right now?” Keegan asked, amused and turned on at the same time.

Olin didn’t answer in their thoughts. Instead he circled around Keegan. Keegan lifted

his tail and promptly had a cool nose poked at his hole. If he squeaked a little, he figured it

was okay.

Olin licked him, then without hesitation he mounted Keegan. This was another thing

Keegan hadn’t done before, fucked anyone while he was in his wolf form. It wasn’t the

wisest thing for them to be doing, considering the fact that they were on the run—but he

didn’t hear Zoe and Dallas coming back yet, and as horny as he and Olin both were, they

wouldn’t take long.

The feel of Olin’s cock pushing into him was an exquisite experience. It burned and

pleasured Keegan at the same time. Olin’s weight on his back was erotic as hell, and when

Olin snarled and began thrusting frantically, sinking his length in deep, Keegan howled and

pushed back for more.

Olin bit his nape, holding him still while fucking him. Keegan clawed at the ground, his

body filled with so many good feelings he couldn’t stand it. He didn’t last more twenty

thrusts before he was spurting his seed on the rainforest’s floor.

Olin growled and pumped into him a few more times. He bit deeper, and cum jetted

from his cock into Keegan’s ass. Olin whined and released Keegan’s flesh a few moments

later. He backed off Keegan, and the loss of that thickness inside him made Keegan want to

beg for another round.

Then he saw it—big, as black as the night itself, with those strange eyes. Olin saw it too,

and froze, gaze locked on the jaguar.

Keegan lowered his head and growled at the cat. It was perhaps twenty feet away,

lowered almost onto its belly, watching them. How long had it been there?

Olin moved to stand beside Keegan. He growled as well, baring his teeth at the jaguar.

The beast yawned and made a sound that almost sounded like a laugh.

“What the fuck?” Olin thought. “That’s the same jaguar. It is.”

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“I’m inclined to agree, and even admit that you were probably spot on when you said it’s a

shifter. There’s something about its eyes…” They held a human’s intelligence alongside that of a

wild beast. Keegan saw it often enough in the eyes of every shifted wolf he’d known.

Perhaps he’d missed it before just because he hadn’t thought a jaguar shifter could exist.

“What the hell does it want?”

“Maybe to play with us, like a cat plays with its prey,” Keegan surmised.

“Do you think it had something to do with what happened to us? I mean, it was there when I

was attacked on Ryder’s pack lands. Now it’s here. Seems suspicious as hell to me.” Olin pawed at

the dirt and the jaguar snorted.

“Obviously it isn’t afraid of us at all. I’m impressed, but also…”

“A little freaked out?” Olin guessed. “Why isn’t the kitty scared of the dogs?”

“Let’s see if it stays that way.” Keegan opened his muzzle up and howled for his pack

mates. Zoe and Dallas answered almost immediately, from less than half a mile away.

The jaguar narrowed its eyes and yowled as if annoyed. It stood up, and Keegan almost

stepped back when he saw just how big the beast was. Bigger than he remembered, certainly.

With a flick of its tail, the jaguar was gone, darting off into the night. Zoe and Dallas

arrived within minutes, and Keegan shifted so that they could talk. The others did the same,

though Olin hesitated, wavering, worried about the pain. Keegan buried his hand in Olin’s

thick coat. “Try it, please.”

Olin blew out a harsh breath that sent his lips flapping, then he shifted, and in seconds

was the gloriously naked man Keegan wanted to pounce on. He touched Olin’s jaw, his side

where he’d had the stitches. None were there now, and he had a thin scar that now looked as

if it’d been there for years. Olin looked down at his side. “It’s fine?”

Keegan inspected his side and his face before grinning. “Yeah, not even a bruise. I guess

the shift had to fix it, what with all the adjusting your bones and skin had to do.”

“Yay. I don’t ever want to hurt like that again. Not the jaw, not the first time shift,

either. Never.” Olin tipped his chin down and glowered at him. “You got that?”

“Got it.”

“Now that you two have that figured out, what happened?” Zoe asked. “Beside the

biting thing. That obviously worked.”

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“There was a jaguar.” Olin filled them in on what had happened there and the day

before. “It’s the same one,” he added. “Big, too big to be a natural jaguar. It’s bigger than

Keegan, even.”

As much as that jabbed at Keegan’s pride, it was true. Once the jaguar had quit trying

to appear smaller, when it had stood to its full height, the damned thing had been huge.

“I want to say it isn’t possible, but there’s weird things happening all over the world.

Look at the weather. Mother Nature likes to throw us some zingers, the crazy bimbo.” Zoe

held her hands up towards the sky. “Don’t zap me, that was bragging, not criticism.”

“Maybe it’s the height of egotism to believe we’re the only blessed breed,” Dallas

added. “God, don’t make me think. My brain still wants to explode.”

“The knot on your temple is smaller,” Zoe said. “Keegan, your knife wound looks a lot

better than I expected. What’s up with that?”

Keegan glanced down at it and ran his hand over the puckered scar. “Huh. I didn’t

even… It hasn’t been hurting for the past hour or so. Weird. I heal fast, but not ever this fast.”

“Maybe it was the river,” Dallas suggested. “I felt better when I came to after that.”

“There are stranger things…” Zoe said again.

Keegan let the matter go. He could wonder about it all he wanted to, but he didn’t

know the answer to either his or Dallas’ accelerated healing. “We should keep going. We can

kill something when we are hungry.”

“So, like now?” Dallas asked. “I’m starving, seriously. Think my body expended a lot of

energy keeping me alive.”

Keegan’s stomach was trying to gnaw on his backbone too, now that he was paying

attention. He said so, and it was decided—food was the first focus, then they’d get clear of

anyone hunting them, permanently.

Not that they’d be careless. Keegan reminded them to be on the watch for the jaguar as

well as psycho assholes trying to capture them.

This time, when Olin shifted, there was no long, drawn-out transformation. One minute

he was a man, looking skittish about what would happen. The next, he was a beautiful wolf

bouncing in the air as he celebrated a pain-free shift. Keegan yipped at him, sharing in his

joy, then the hunt was on.

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If there hadn’t been people tracking them, Keegan would have gone after the jaguar. He

burned with the need to know more about the creature. Was it the only jaguar shifter? Where

did it come from? Were there more? And what the fuck did it want with them? Keegan kind

of thought they were just a source of amusement for the fucker.

He asked Olin to follow his orders for the hunt, as Olin had no experience catching and

killing prey. Keegan wanted them fed as soon as possible, and he was glad that Olin didn’t

get mad over the request. Olin did everything Keegan asked, from taking his place in the

circle around the capybaras to attacking when told to, putting their prey out so that the

suffering on its part was minimal.

The taste was funky, but Keegan ignored it. Olin held back until finally, jowls watering

and dripping spit, he moved in and nibbled on the carcass. Keegan could feel his repulsion

and his hunger, which won out. Olin ate quickly, eyes almost closed.

“I’m going to block this from my memory,” he thought shortly thereafter. “I ate part of a

giant rat. A bloody, still-warm giant rat. Raw.”

“It’s good to have a variety in your diet,” Keegan assured him, which got him an evil glare.

Keegan just did his best to grin, then they were moving again, going who knew where, just

away from the way they’d come.

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Chapter Fifteen

Nathan stood beside Marcus and examined the remains of the jet plane from a distance

in the early morning light. Since humans were involved, they couldn’t just walk up and

inspect it. If Keegan’s body was in there, it had to have been burnt.

“Stop,” Marcus rasped. “Don’t.”

Nathan erased the thought from his mind. Such depressing shit wasn’t helping Marcus

at all. He watched for a few more minutes. “You know, what are they gonna do if we walk

up there?” Nathan gestured at the swath of destruction and the jet itself. “Tell us to leave, if

they even notice us. We can do stealthy. There aren’t but a couple of people in uniforms

down there.”

“Our hair will likely give us away, or at the least make us stand out. Everyone has dark

hair, except for the bald guy.”

Nathan considered that for all of a second. “That’s weird. So we wear caps.”

Marcus stared at him for a moment, then a slow smile spread over his lips. “And just

where would we get the caps? From a couple of the men down there?”

Nathan had spied more than one guy down the hill from where they were lurking

wearing trucker caps or baseball caps, whatever they were called. “Why, dear, I do like the

way you think.” He turned to Ryder. “We’ll be back.”

“Let me come with you,” Ryder said. “Sissy and the rest of the guards can wait here.”

“Ryder, he’s my brother,” Clark said with a hint of desperation. “I even let Cory turn

me so I could help. Don’t make me stay behind. I won’t. I can’t.”

Marcus knew that Clark and Olin were twins, and had a strong connection much like he

had with his own twin, Aidan. “You can follow us, but let the three of us take the lead. Sissy

will remain here, like Ryder said, and wait for orders. Your mate needs to hang back, too. We

want as small a group going in as possible.”

Cory and Sissy didn’t appear to like that idea, but Marcus agreed. Nathan and Marcus

set off, Ryder and Clark behind them. The four of them worked their way down, careful not

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to attract any attention. Marcus pointed out three men. None were near each other. Of course

they aren’t. That’d make this easy. We should have got here quicker.

But the jet had had to land at an actual airport, and transportation out to the middle of

Bumfuck, Brazil, had taken longer than the flight over. It was just their luck that the

inspectors or whoever it was out at the wreckage site were early birds.

“At least they haven’t cleared it all away.”

“Point,” Nathan agreed.

“On three,” Marcus whispered. He counted down and they split up, each man heading

for his prey, with Clark trailing behind Ryder at a decent distance. Nathan reached his first,

and while he tried to make it painless, there really was no way to knock someone out

without hurting them. He dragged the man away from the crash site, about a dozen feet

back, then tucked his long red braid up and under the orange cap. A quick check showed

Marcus walking up as if he had every right to be there, black hat on over his white-blond

hair. Ryder wasn’t far behind, wearing a hat similar to Marcus’, and Clark hovered at the

edge of the scene before Nathan waved at him to move forward.

Nathan joined them, ignoring anyone who spoke to him or simply shrugging and going

on as if he had a job to do. He did. Marcus was sending out enough power to keep anyone

from fucking with him, and as usual, it caused discomfort for the humans. To a one, they all

moved away, seemingly unaware of what they were doing, their instincts just kicking in and

getting them away from the hunter in their midst.

There wasn’t much of the plane that wasn’t horribly burnt. The scent of it was offensive,

making Nathan’s nose burn and his eyes water. He couldn’t smell anything but that, not

even the humans, because the remains from the fire filled his nostrils.

He backed away a few steps, then a few more as Ryder and Marcus reached the ladder

leading to the exit door. Clark stepped up to stand beside Nathan, then turned on his heel

and sniffed.

Nathan did the same, then took three more steps away. What he smelt had him freezing

as a familiar scent reached him through the stench. “Keegan!”

“What?” Marcus wrenched around so fast that Ryder tripped trying to avoid colliding

with him. “Where?” Marcus demanded out loud, storming over to Nathan. He sniffed, and

the hunt was truly on. Nathan, Ryder, Clark, and Marcus had found the trail they had hoped

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to find. There were other scents, and Nathan recognised Zoe’s as well as Dallas’. The

humans’ scents were more confusing.

“They were followed,” Nathan surmised.

“All but one of the human scents is unfamiliar to me,” Ryder said. He pointed then

tapped a spot. “This. This is Olin.”

“It is,” Clark agreed. “Thank God. Thank God, I was worried he…” Clark shook his

head and swiped at his eyes.

Nathan and Marcus crouched and inhaled, familiarizing themselves with the one

human’s aroma. “Okay.” Nathan stood when Marcus did.

Marcus put a hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “I know you want to come with us, but you

need to go back. Get the guards organised, and follow us then. Nathan and I are going ahead.

Don’t argue with me,” he said when Ryder opened his mouth. “Be smart about this.” Marcus

looked at Clark. “You can follow us.”

Marcus’ tone made it obvious that he would brook no argument, and Ryder caught on

to that right away.

“Okay. We’ll catch up to you.” Ryder went back towards the other shifters they’d left

behind, and Nathan began to strip.

“We should have had him take our clothes,” he pointed out as Marcus removed his as

well. Clark didn’t offer to take them to Ryder, and Nathan couldn’t blame him for not

wanting to slow down the search for his brother.

Marcus tossed his clothes onto some dark, leafy plant. “Too late now.”

Marcus nude was a breathtaking sight. Nathan ogled him for a full minute while Clark

was undressing and doing who knew what.

“Can we go?” Clark asked. He shifted without waiting for an answer.

Without another word, Nathan and Marcus shifted.

They covered the ground at a fast clip. Whoever had pursued Keegan and the others

had been minutes behind. When Marcus and Nathan reached the cliff, Nathan’s stomach

dipped at the drop.

Clark whined and looked from Marcus to Nathan, waiting for one of them to make the

call.

“They have to have gone over it,” Marcus thought.

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Nathan sniffed around, hoping to find out that wasn’t the case, but there was no trace

of Keegan or the rest of his little group going in any other direction. “Yeah. Shit. I really didn’t

want to have to jump.”

“It’ll be fun,” Marcus promised. “As long as they survived it.”

“Ass,” Nathan returned, nipping Marcus’ shoulder in reproach. “That’s not funny.”

“They made it, honey. I feel it in my gut. Keegan’s alive. I don’t doubt it, not at all anymore.”

“Well, with that kind of confidence—” Nathan put all of his faith where it belonged, right

on Marcus. He backed up and was almost to the ledge when Ryder called out, “Wait!”

It was too late. Nathan’s feet wouldn’t and couldn’t grip the loose earth. He went

airborne, and Marcus was right there with him. He grinned at his mate. They were a couple

of crazy bastards, and falling was oddly freeing.

The hitting the water part sucked, though. Nathan’s breath was knocked out of him. He

scolded himself as he sank into the water. A belly flop was not the way to land.

When he surfaced, Marcus was already waiting for him, and they paddled downstream

as other wolves followed them. Nathan almost laughed when he thought of what a sight it

must be, to see so many wolves leaping off a cliff. If anyone but one of them saw it, they’d

flip out.

Ryder got out shortly after making his splash, and he kept pace with them on the shore,

nose to the ground. Nathan followed suit, as did Marcus, all of them on the far side of the

river. Clark was right there with them. Ryder barked an order to his guards, and Sissy along

with three others climbed up on the opposite of the shore. If Keegan had got out anywhere,

they’d find his scent.

It wasn’t long before they picked up the trail of more humans, the same ones who’d

been following Keegan from the jet. It set Nathan’s hackles up, and he couldn’t help but

growl off and on while they hunted.

After several miles, they caught their first scent of Keegan and his group again. Nathan

yipped, excited, hopeful, and he let out a howl along with Marcus, calling out to their pack

member.

And had their greeting returned with gunfire.

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Bullets hit the ground all around them and Nathan leapt back, as did Marcus, Clark,

and Ryder. Shit shit shit! That was stupid! In his excitement, he’d forgotten that danger of the

humans hunting his friend.

It was back in the river for them, even as Sissy and the other guards started to charge

up after the people with the weapons. Ryder snarled at them to back away. Bullets trumped

claws and teeth if the shooter had decent aim.

They made it to the other side of the river and were taking cover behind trees when a

spine-chilling sound tore through the rat-a-tat of gunfire. It was a guttural, primal sound that

held no humanity in it.

And screams followed it.

“Marcus…” Nathan’s fur stood on end. There was a predator out there, and it was

attacking the humans.

“That’s not a wolf,” Marcus concurred, reading Nathan’s thoughts. “Feline. The jaguar?”

As powerful as Marcus was, he could reach others with his thoughts when he wanted

to. The question was directed at Ryder.

“It… It sounds like one, amplified. They’re usually not nearly as loud.”

Marcus shared Ryder’s reply with Nathan.

Something told Nathan that they weren’t as alone in the world as they’d always

believed. He wanted to go back across the river and see if there was indeed a giant black

jaguar over there. Surely if there was, between him and Marcus, they could keep it from

attacking them. What animal wouldn’t be fearful of two wolves, one of them damned huge?

Nathan wasn’t as small as a regular wolf, but he was small by shifter standards, and his red

fox colouring certainly was unique.

But would the jaguar give a shit what colour or size he was?

“Let’s go.” Marcus’ decisive tone thrilled Nathan. He wanted to see the feline and hoped

it was the jaguar they’d heard about.

They crossed the river within seconds, but by the time they reached the shore, the only

sounds they heard were a few gurgles of dying men. Nathan ran after the funky scent of cat,

but the beast was gone, and unless he wanted to risk Marcus’ wrath—because he’d run off

without a thought to his safety—then he’d best stop his pursuit.

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Of course, Marcus was growling at him anyway. Nathan turned his nose up and trotted

past him. “Shouldn’t we be following Keegan?”

“You…” Marcus frowned. “Don’t think there’s not going to be a lecture. There will definitely

be a lecture about putting yourself in danger. Soon.”

“Of course there will be,” Nathan returned resignedly. “Now can we go?”

“Remember, there’s more humans ahead. There’s two dead ones here. That means six more to

go.”

Nathan wouldn’t forget again, but looking at the mutilated bodies, he had to wonder.

“Maybe the evil kitty killed them and left them up ahead somewhere. One can hope.”

* * * *

Being a wolf was kind of cool. Olin was really beginning to enjoy it now that he’d got

past the eating a dead rat thing. Nobody would ever convince him that a capybara was

anything other than a giant rat.

He pushed the thought aside before he made himself ill. It was amazing, the way the

wind carried so many different odours. All of them strong, and impossible for him to sort

out. With time, he suspected that would change, but for now every scent hit him at the same

time. His vision was sharper, and whereas he’d once thought wolves colour blind, he now

knew that the shifter variety weren’t. Everything looked a hundred times crisper, and he

could see for much greater distances than he could as a human.

And hearing? As with the sense of smell, it was almost overwhelming. He’d learn to

cope, though. Filter out what he didn’t need.

Olin saw birds and snakes, rodents and all sorts of reptiles as they made their way

through the rainforest. Even the rain itself didn’t do much to dim his newly improved senses.

He didn’t like the way his coat felt heavier with the water, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Dallas and Zoe were both bringing up the rear now that Keegan didn’t have to slow

down for Olin. When they could, Olin and Keegan loped side by side, but when the pathway

narrowed, Keegan took the lead. They’d travelled through the night, and the morning

sunrise had been so beautiful, Olin had been stunned by it.

Now he was tiring, but didn’t want to complain. He wouldn’t be the weak one

anymore—a fact that he could now admit had been part of his grudge against shifters. The

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situation they’d ended up in had forced Olin to face some truths about himself, and he was

glad of it. Otherwise, he doubted he’d have come around to being okay with shifters, and

being turned, for a good while.

Of course, he hated that they were in danger. At least Dallas and Keegan were both

recovered.

Keegan nosed him and Olin realised that he’d shared every thought with his mate,

including the one about being tired. He would have groaned, but Keegan stopped and so did

he.

They shifted and waited for Zoe as well as Dallas to do the same. Once they were all

human, Keegan stretched, and Olin admired every firm, fuzzy inch of his body.

“I think we could all use a nap,” Keegan said right before yawning so big that his jaws

popped. Olin cringed at the sound. Keegan winked at him. “Didn’t hurt.”

“Good to know.” Olin looked at the other two of their group. “Y’all tired?”

“I could use more than a nap, but that’ll work for now,” Dallas mumbled, already

making his way to a thickly leaved tree.

“I wouldn’t pick that spot,” Keegan said. Dallas froze in his tracks.

“What am I not seeing?” he asked, body tense.

“Big snake,” Keegan answered. “Look on the limb almost above your head.”

“Fuck,” Dallas yelped, stumbling backward as he spotted it.

“Is that an anaconda? A boa?” Olin asked. “I don’t think I know the difference or if

there is one.”

Zoe stared at the snake. “Um. I think boa? Anacondas are maybe not in this continent?

But I wouldn’t place a bet, because that’s a big fucking snake, and a big fucking snake is a

snake is a snake.”

“An ophiologist would disagree with you,” Olin couldn’t help but say. At the confused

look that got him from Zoe, he shrugged. “Yeah, I have a shitload of useless knowledge like

that stored up here.” He tapped his head. “An ophiologist is someone who studies snakes.”

She frowned. “I thought it was a herpetologist.”

Olin shook his head. “No, well, in a way, but a herpetologist is more generalised, sort

of. It refers to people who study reptiles and amphibians. It’s not as specific.”

“Thanks for sharing. Now I, too, will contain that useless knowledge,” Zoe joked.

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“Any time. Glad to be of service.”

“If you two are done, can we find somewhere to rest?” Dallas asked. “My head hurts.

I’ve never had a headache before in my life. Guess I’m not a hundred per cent healed.”

Keegan shot Olin a worried look.

“What?” Olin asked silently.

Keegan glanced at Dallas. “That whole head injury thing. What if he has headaches from now

on? Or if he has some other problems that show up at another time?”

“Then he does, and we, along with anyone else who cares about Dallas, help him deal with it.”

Out loud, Olin said, “We could take half-hour naps in shifts of two. That way no scary snakes

or anything else creeps up on any of us.”

“Sounds good.” Zoe put an arm around Dallas’ waist. “We’ll take first naps.”

“Okay.” Olin had been going to suggest that, but it was better coming from Zoe. Dallas

didn’t seem to be insulted by it. “How about over there?” He pointed to a spot that didn’t

appear to have anything waiting to kill them around it.

Zoe and Dallas found the place they wanted to nap on, and Olin sat beside Keegan.

“Should we shift?”

Keegan shrugged. “We can. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to find food again once we’ve had

our nap.”

Olin’s stomach lurched but he was very hungry. “It’s true, you know. I’ve always heard

you’d eat anything if you were hungry enough.” He pressed a hand to his belly. “Do you

think we’ve lost the fuckers that were hunting us?”

Keegan licked his lips and nodded. “Yeah, I think so. They’d have to have some

excellent trackers to find us, and even so, there’s bound to be dozens of animals that walk

over our tracks. Plus we ran for a lot of the way. They can’t keep up with that.”

“We’ve got to be getting close to being out of here.” Olin grinned. “I might be able to

hold off eating a freshly killed critter if I knew there was human food in the near future.”

That got a soft chuckle from Keegan. “Yeah, well, unfortunately I don’t know if that’s

the case. We know we’re not running around in circles, but we don’t know where we went

down. Zoe wasn’t given coordinates, just the order to land at that particular airstrip. There’s

no telling where we are, but we will make it out.”

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“Do you think anyone’s looking for us yet?” Olin asked. He kind of hoped not, because

Clark would be sick with worry.

“Yes, I do,” Keegan said after a short while. “Marcus wouldn’t accept that I was dead

without seeing it for himself. He’ll kill anyone that he finds had a hand in this.”

Olin shivered. “He sounds like a pretty badass guy.”

Keegan smirked. “You’ve no idea. Ryder is a strong Alpha Anax, don’t get me wrong,

but Marcus could break him. Marcus seems to grow more powerful every day. It’s not a case

of hero worship, either. I think it’s just that he has a good heart, a solid core, and the

unbending will to unite shifters and bring about change for the good. He’s going to be

immortalised in the history of our kind.”

“Sounds like hero worship,” Olin grumbled, thinking he might not like Marcus just

because Keegan seemed damned close to besotted.

Keegan had him by the chin in an instant, had his lips slamming down on Olin’s the

second after that. “Does it feel like I’m besotted with him?”

The sudden flood of Keegan’s adoration flowed into Olin, and it was all for him. There

was respect and admiration for Marcus, but not a shred of anything that could be deemed

sexual or a crush.

“Can you two lovebirds keep it down?” Zoe asked. “I hear slobbery lips smacking. If I

can’t get some, neither can you two.”

“M’gay or I’d fuck you,” Dallas mumbled drowsily. Keegan snickered and Olin

wondered what the joke was. He found out quickly.

Zoe slapped him on the butt. “Don’t flatter yourself, baby. You’ve got the wrong

equipment. Unless you have an actual vagina and clit on you somewhere.”

Dallas blinked at her then shrugged and closed his eyes. “Nah.”

Zoe curled up beside Dallas. “Quiet,” she said, and Olin mimicked zipping his lips.

Soft snores followed shortly thereafter. Olin leaned against Keegan and enjoyed the

peaceful setting. There were weird things in the rainforest, but he was less scared of them

now than he had been. Now that he was a shifter.

The rain began to fall, a gentle mist that almost tickled when it landed on his bare skin.

Olin snuffled and got close to Keegan.

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“We can let them sleep the whole hour. Dallas needs it, and taking a break is good enough for

me.”

Keegan didn’t answer, but when a half-hour had passed by Olin’s estimation, neither of

them roused the other two.

The rain tapered off, and the steamy humidity made the air feel like mud when Olin

inhaled. He knew it wasn’t, but it seemed harder to breathe anyway.

“New Mexico is dry. Hot, too, but at least there isn’t this kind of humidity,” Keegan thought.

Olin tried to recall where his employer had offices. New Mexico didn’t ring any bells.

“Guess I’ll have to find another job. Armoured doesn’t have offices in New Mexico, and anyway, I

don’t want to be flying out all over anymore. Can’t be good to have to take nerve pills so often.”

“You didn’t have them on the jet,” Keegan reminded him.

“Didn’t want you to think I was a pussy. Then I went ahead and freaked out.”

“Which kept me from having the meltdown I usually do on a plane. I understood what you were

going through and focusing on helping you helped me, too.” Keegan sighed and rubbed Olin’s

back. “I hate being out of control but when I hand that over to you, when I give everything to you, I

feel freer than I have since I was a kid.”

Olin remembered then. He’d wanted to ask… “What happened? Did something bad

happen? You said the white spot in your fur was from an accident, and you got… You got upset, I
think.”

And was getting so again, though he was trying not to. Olin could feel Keegan’s inner

turmoil, the way he fought with himself not to shut Olin out of his mind.

“I let my brother die.”

The sudden, emotionless admission had Olin pulling back to look at Keegan. “I don’t

believe that,” he whispered before he could stop himself and keep the denial to a mental one.

Keegan stared back at him with guilt in those dark eyes. “It’s true,” he said so quietly

that the words barely had sound. Then he reverted back to their more private, completely

silent speech. “It’s why I want to control everything. I didn’t used to. I had no control, really. No

backbone, no will, I guess. My brother Tyler, he was the one who made the decisions and took the lead.

He was three years younger than me. Funny, huh? You’d think he was the older one, but no.”

“What happened?”

“I was supposed to be watching him,” Keegan explained. “Being the big brother and all. Our

parents were out in the Rockies. The would go, leave us alone for days, sometimes weeks. Before you

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get mad about that, it wasn’t abnormal in our pack, and shifter kids can be very self-sufficient.”

Keegan looked down at his hands. Olin did, too, and saw that they were trembling.

“I was twelve, Tyler was nine. He’d just had his birthday the day before. I made him a cake with

candles and all. He was so happy. Mom and Dad didn’t think about things like that. We were wolf

shifters, not humans, after all, but it meant the world to Tyler. I even managed to get together enough
money to buy him a gift—a used handheld game system he wanted and a game.”

Olin could feel the pain rising up in Keegan from the memories, even as Keegan

experienced the happy memories, too. “You don’t have to explain. I don’t want you to if it hurts

you.”

“It’s always going to hurt me,” Keegan said out loud, his voice as rough as cedar bark.

“Tyler was so excited about the game, I let him stay up and play it all night. He eventually

wanted to go outside. Tyler was very active, like shifter kids are. He wanted to play fight like

in the video game. I told him no. I was a lot bigger than him by that point. Tyler was almost

delicately built, like our mother.” Keegan smiled a little, a sad smile that made Olin ache for

him.

“I told him I’d done enough to keep him entertained, and he said he would go find

someone who wasn’t such an asshole. He wasn’t being a jerk. We were just kids,” Keegan

added. “Just kids, and I was supposed to take care of him, but I didn’t want to argue or play,

and it was easier to let him go do what he wanted.” The smile vanished. “After it got dark,

about six hours after he left, I started to worry. Sometimes Tyler would run off for a night,

and I’d have to hunt him down.”

“Keegan—”

“I found him, every time, and I found him that night, too. He’d been beaten. Just a kid, and

someone had broken his neck, left him broken and battered…”

Olin didn’t realise he was crying until the tears dripped onto his chest. “I’m sorry. I am

so sorry.”

“I killed them, of course. Two humans, males, old enough to know better. Found out that Tyler

had caught them poaching on the pack lands, hunting deer out of season, and Tyler being Tyler had

challenged them to a fight. A nine-year-old… Shifters think they’re invincible. We’re told that, but it’s

not true. That kind of conceit gets us killed. It got Tyler killed, and that was my fault. I never reined
him in. Never told him we were fallible. I never taught him control, restraint. I should have. I should

have been man enough—”

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“You were twelve!” Olin protested.

Keegan growled softly. “Twelve in years, maybe, but I’d been raising Tyler since he’d

been born more often than not. He was my responsibility.”

“He was your parents’ responsibility,” Olin argued. “You both were, shifter world or

not!”

“Guys?”

Olin turned to find Dallas and Zoe both watching them warily.

“Sorry. Guess nap time is over.” Keegan stood up. “We need to get going.”

“This isn’t finished,” Olin said as quietly as he could. The words would not be

contained and compartmentalized to their mental bond.

“It is. It was over twenty-one years ago.” Keegan shifted, and Olin wanted to thump

him on the nose and make him listen.

But Keegan had been carrying that guilt for over two decades. It wasn’t going to be

removed with a few well-spoken words and a hug.

Olin shifted. He had his whole life—their whole lives together—to help Keegan see that

he wasn’t the one who should have been held responsible for Tyler’s life, or his death. Olin

could be patient when he needed to be.

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Chapter Sixteen

Evening found them still in the rainforest. Keegan had been in a funk since telling Olin

about Tyler hours ago, and he couldn’t seem to shake it. He knew Olin would harangue him

over it and try to convince Keegan that Tyler’s death wasn’t his fault. The thing was, Keegan

had believed it to be true for so long, and that belief had driven him to be the man he was

now. He was a dependable, determined, tightly controlled man and the exception to that was

when he relinquished all control for Olin.

What would he be if he ever did let go of the guilt? The very thought was too much for

Keegan to process. He needed to let go of it. Instead he tried to figure out who was after them

and why, but nothing he came up with fit.

Gradually, he became aware of changes in the rainforest. Sounds filtered in that weren’t

those of nature. He hesitated and so did Olin and the others. Keegan shifted and could still

hear the sounds. “Voices,” he whispered.

Olin shifted, followed by Zoe and Dallas. “We’ve reached a village, or town, whatever!”

“Finally,” Zoe huffed. “I think we definitely took the scenic tour.”

“Like we went sideways instead of straight across,” Dallas added.

Keegan turned to them. “Are you criticizing my directional skills?”

“What directional skills?” Zoe asked, wearing an innocent look.

“I wasn’t,” Dallas said. “She was. Don’t let that face fool you.”

Zoe smiled sweetly and stepped on Dallas’ toe. “Narc.”

Dallas hissed and hopped on his uninjured foot. “I’d call you a bitch—”

“But then I’d have to beat you,” Zoe finished.

“Exactly,” Dallas agreed. “Ass.”

“Are you two done?” Olin put enough exasperation in his voice that it made the

question a rhetorical one. “Because I’d like a nice, long bath, and a shower to rinse off the

filthy bath water, and food, warm, cooked food, lots of it, and chocolate. Alcohol, too. Some

rum, maybe.”

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Keegan bit his lip then released it. “Um. Alcohol won’t have near the effect it did before

you became a shifter.”

“Great,” Olin huffed. “Now I kill small animals and large rodents, eat them, and can’t

get drunk to drown out the memories.” He turned a stink eye towards Keegan. “The things I

do for you, bud.”

The teasing shook Keegan out of his funk like nothing else had been able to. He felt

lighter, and the urge to play with his mate had his wolf bouncing inside him.

“We don’t have money to rent a room,” he said. “Not that I want to burst your bubble

or anything.”

Olin pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re going to have to wait until

someone comes and gets us?”

“There might be some vacation houses if this is a coastal town like I think it is,” Keegan

temporized. “Smell the salt?”

Olin sniffed, then did it again. “Yeah, I do. So if we can find a house, villa, casita,

whatever, as long as it’s empty for now at least, we can crash for a while.”

“Yes.” Keegan would try to find somewhere for Olin to have at least a shower and some

hot food. “We need to be quiet from here on. I don’t really want us to run into people when

we’re all naked and raunchy smelling.”

“Okay,” everyone agreed.

They carefully approached the town, alert for anyone suspicious in case their pursuers

had somehow figured out where they’d turn up. Keegan knew he was being paranoid, but

the whole thing with having their flight hijacked and all didn’t make sense and was fucking

with his head.

Patience and stealth brought them to an isolated home with a hammock on the porch. It

appeared to be empty, and Keegan couldn’t detect any recent scents around it, not human

ones. The place was white with brown trim, two storey, and hopefully a rental that would

have the water and electric on in case a tourist wanted to use it for a night or more.

“Come on, it’s safe,” he said. He still circled the house once before trying the back door.

It was locked, as were the windows and front door. “Up you go,” he said to Olin. “On my

shoulders and try to get up to the balcony.”

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“I’m not a gymnast, but okay.” Olin climbed up him and leapt. The push-off sent

Keegan back a step, but Olin was scrambling over the balcony railing. “Bingo,” he called

down, then a few seconds later the back door was opened. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

“You’re such a dork,” Zoe told him as she slipped inside.

“I have dibs on getting clean first,” Olin yelled before taking off after her. “Don’t you

dare get in that shower!”

“I have to pee,” she yelled right back at him. “If you want to follow me into the

bathroom to make sure that’s all I do, go for it.”

“That’s disgusting,” Olin snapped. “You’re nasty.”

“Prude,” Zoe shot back at him.

“The water might not even work,” Dallas pointed out.

Keegan turned a knob above the kitchen sink. It groaned and sputtered but water came

out of the faucet. “Works.”

“Oh, God, is there food?” Olin asked. “Please tell me there is!” He ran to the refrigerator

and opened it. “Score! Eggs and some kind of other stuff that might be edible. I don’t know

the local fruits and veggies very well.” He shut the door and opened up the freezer. “Meat!

That’s meat! And there’s ice cream, oh my God, chocolate ice cream!”

Keegan hadn’t smiled so big in years. Olin’s excitement was fun to watch.

“He’s pretty cool,” Dallas murmured beside Keegan. “I’m glad you two found each

other.”

“Thanks.” Keegan beamed at Olin as he rushed up to Keegan. “Food? Shower?”

Olin laughed and practically danced as he did so. “A food shower would be awesome,

but I’ll settle for one with clean water.” Then he ran a finger down Keegan’s chest. “Care to

join me?”

Keegan did, very much. He had to take care of something first. “I need to call Marcus,

then I’ll join you if you’d like to get the water started.”

“Deal.” Olin darted off, and Keegan took a moment to admire his body, particularly his

butt and leanly muscled thighs.

Dallas gave a low whistle and Keegan would have glared but he couldn’t begrudge

Dallas his admitted admiration. “He is a stud,” Dallas added after the whistle. “Short, but a

stud.”

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“He’d break your kneecaps for that short comment.”

“That’s why I waited until he was all the way up the stairs and said it quietly, too.”

Dallas waved him off. “Go see if the phone works. I’ll get stuff out and start getting a meal

together.”

“I can help,” Zoe offered as she came back into the room. “I was so tempted to start the

shower downstairs, but figured Olin would bust the door down and drag me out of it.”

“Sounds like something he’d have done.” Keegan left them to the food preparation and

found a phone. It took him a couple of attempts to figure out how to make an international

call. Once he had managed it, his hand shook as he held the receiver to his ear. When

Marcus’ phone went to voicemail, Keegan started to leave a brief message, then realised he

didn’t know the address or phone number for where he was.

Somehow he’d gone from being smart, organised, and in control to being a moron.

Keegan snorted and went through drawers in the living room where an entertainment centre

and desk were. He found an advertisement for the place with rental prices listed and the

address. The phone number probably didn’t belong to the rental, so he wouldn’t leave that.

Hopefully Marcus’ caller ID would catch the number.

Keegan dialled Marcus’ cell again, and when it went to voicemail, he left what

information he had and added that he had a mate, and Dallas as well as Zoe were with him

and Olin. He hung up and tried Nathan’s phone, and left the same message. He was positive

that they were looking for him and that was why they didn’t answer their phones. Keegan

tried one last number, and when Dana picked up and he said her name, she did something

that shocked him.

She sobbed.

Keegan was flustered. He didn’t know why she’d done that, and didn’t feel he could

ask. When she did it again, he almost hung up but that seemed too asshole-ish a thing to do.

“Dana?” he finally settled on saying again.

“K-Keegan, I’m s-sorry,” Dana stuttered, a third sob interrupting the sentence. “We

didn’t know if you survived.”

“We did, me, my mate, Olin, Zoe, and Dallas. We’re all alive and well and hiding out in

a rental unit in a touristy coastal town almost at the edge of northern Brazil. I tried calling

Marcus and Nathan—”

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“They’re in Brazil,” Dana said. “They’ve been there since the night you went missing, or

maybe the early morning, rather. I haven’t heard from them since Sissy called me when

Marcus and Nathan were at the wreckage site. She said it might be a week before they were

able to call, depending on how far they had to go to find you.”

“Well, this is a fine mess, then. At least we’re out of the rainforest and able to rest. I

don’t know why—” He reined himself in before he could rant and asked a question he

should have asked sooner. “Have you heard anything about why we were almost abducted

in the first place?”

“Nothing. I don’t know who to ask, either.”

“Maybe Sissy’s mate, since her brother was Ryder’s predecessor. Surely she would

know of any rumours, or a way to find out about them.” It was the single lead Keegan could

think of.

“I’ll do that. If she’s out with Sissy, though, then it’s not going to do any good. They’ll

be out of reach and tracking you.”

“Shit.” Keegan ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, well try at least, and call me back.

Did the number here show?”

“It did,” Dana replied. “I’ll make the call and get right back with you.”

Keegan thought of Olin upstairs waiting for him. “Give me an hour to shower and eat.

Nothing will change until then, unless you do find out something urgent. Then call and Zoe

or Dallas will get me. And can you leave this number on Marcus’ and Nathan’s voicemails? I

didn’t know it.”

Dana gave him the number, which Keegan committed to memory. “Thanks, Dana.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re safe, Keegan, and congratulations on finding your

mate.”

“Thank you.” Keegan hung up, surprised and confused. He hadn’t thought he mattered

to his guards as anything more than the man to hand out the orders. Dana’s reaction said

otherwise, and he needed to think about that and his interactions with his guards.

Later, though. For now, he had a wet, sexy stud waiting for him. Keegan heard Zoe and

Dallas snickering as he jogged by the kitchen. Let them have their fun. I’m the one who gets to get

off with Olin.

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He reached the upstairs bathroom and entered then closed the door. Olin was already

in the shower, soap suds running down his back and chest, some gathering in his pubes as he

stroked his erect cock. “Thought maybe you were going to leave me to myself.”

“No.” Keegan didn’t say any more. He pushed the clear curtain aside and got in. “Can I

mark you?” he asked before he knew he was even going to do so. His brain wasn’t up with

his mouth, no surprise when Olin was standing there wet, willing, and eager.

“You mean bite me again,” Olin said. “Like I want to do to you. Deeper, with these

things.” He opened his mouth and flicked a tongue over one of his elongated canines.

“Yeah, only not on the dick, but here.” Keegan touched the perfect spot on Olin’s neck.

“Wasn’t so bad down south,” Olin told him. “Came like I hadn’t ever had an orgasm

before.” Olin raked him with a hungry gaze. “How does it feel when I fuck you? When I

have my dick so far up your ass I own you?”

“Like that,” Keegan said breathlessly, his own shaft achingly hard. “Like you own me,

and have branded me from the inside out. Makes me glad I never let anyone else have me,

not like that.”

Olin hummed and reached for the shower gel. “So, good then, you mean. It feels really

good.”

“Understatement. The Earth really does move when you’re fucking me.” Keegan felt a

bit goofy saying so, but he’d never experienced sex to the intimacy level he did with his

mate, which was as it should be.

“Cool. So here’s the deal.” Olin slathered the wash on him. “I’m going to scrub every bit

of grime off you, then we’re gonna play.”

“Dallas and Zoe are cooking—”

“Good for them. I want food, but I want you more.” Olin palmed Keegan’s balls.

“Remember your words?”

“We don’t need them with our bond,” Keegan pointed out.

Olin let go of his nuts. He had a stony expression in place, camouflaging the desire that

had just been there. “I asked you a question.”

Keegan gulped, that harsh tone doing good things to his cock. “Red stop, yellow hold

on.”

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“And green means it’s good.” Olin held his balls again. “This?” He began to squeeze

and Keegan couldn’t hold back a moan. “Tell me,” Olin demanded.

“Green.”

“Perfect,” Olin crooned as he tightened his hand around Keegan’s sac. “If it gets to be

too much…”

Keegan let his head fall back as he panted. He didn’t understand how he could crave

the kind of pain he was feeling. What kind of man enjoyed having such things done to him?

“My man,” Olin answered. “Because I like doing them.” He added more pressure, then

released Keegan’s balls, immediately following with a light slap to them.

“Fuck!” Keegan yelped, shoving his hand down to shelter his balls.

“Colour?” Olin asked, watching him closely.

Keegan panted and considered it. His cock was harder than ever, and he was tingling

all the way down to his toes. “Green,” he had to admit.

“Good boy. Now move your hand. The next time you do something like that and don’t

safe word, I’m going to slap your hand so hard you won’t ever try it again.”

It shouldn’t have turned Keegan on, but it did, so much. He moaned and spread his

legs apart, offering his mate everything while moving his hands behind him.

“Put them up,” Olin said. “Grab the bar above the shower nozzle.”

Keegan did so and Olin washed him off thoroughly, even cleaning his ass, much to

Keegan’s embarrassment and Olin’s amusement.

“I can put my tongue, fingers, and dick there but a little soap is traumatic?” he teased.

“It’s more personal.” That was the best Keegan could do to explain it. “Like I’m not

capable or…or… Or I’m completely yours to handle.”

“Which you are, aren’t you?” Olin eased the tip of one finger into Keegan’s ass. “And

you like it.”

Keegan did, and he even liked the burn the soap caused. “Yes.”

Olin withdrew his finger and rinsed Keegan’s pucker. “Glad to hear it.”

Keegan let himself be turned, touched, let Olin slick his fingers with conditioner and

push three of them into him without any more prep.

“Oh fuck,” he dragged out, wishing the aching stretch would stay forever. There was

just something about it, the little pain that fed a greater pleasure. “Olin.”

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“Stick your ass out for me,” Olin said, pushing on the small of Keegan’s back. Bent as

Keegan was, tipping his butt up wasn’t too difficult. He had one knee propped on the outer

side of the shower stall, his other leg bent so that his ass was aligned with Olin’s groin, and

his hands on the back lip of the shower stall.

Olin rewarded him with several jarring slaps to the ass. Keegan moaned and pushed his

butt up into each one of them, shivering with delight as his skin grew hot and sensitive.

“Such a pretty ass,” Olin murmured, then the spanks came even faster while he thrust

those fingers in and out forcefully.

Keegan was coming apart at the seams from it all, the finger-fucking and the spanking.

Olin was stronger now than he had been the last time he’d done this to Keegan, and Keegan

was capable of handling it. Craved it, actually.

“More,” he begged, and Olin paused long enough to stretch Keegan’s hole even wider

with another digit.

“I could fist you sometime,” he heard Olin say. “When we’re really alone and I have

enough lube.”

The words made Keegan’s heart race, made him feel skittish, but the need for that, for

Olin to possess him so fully was incredibly desirable.

“Like that idea, huh?” Olin peppered his ass and the upper part of his thighs with

spanks. He fingered Keegan slower, caressing his gland every six or seven thrusts. “God, you

should see how sexy you look.”

And Keegan did, the images coming to him from Olin. His ass was dark red, the skin

almost purple in places. The colour extended to his thighs, and his hole was stretched wide

around Olin’s fingers as Olin pumped them in and out faster.

Olin withdrew all but one finger and Keegan wanted to cry out in protest.

Would have, had Olin not kept the images coming, showing Keegan that he was lining

up his cock alongside that single digit. “Colour?”

“Green,” Keegan all but whined, anticipation tightening his throat. “Please.”

Olin pressed the tip of his cock against Keegan’s hole. “Take me in,” Olin rasped, then

Keegan’s ring was stretched, and stretched more as the thickest part of Olin’s cock breeched

him.

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Keegan mewled and dots danced behind his closed eyelids. He almost couldn’t stand

the fullness, but he couldn’t stand to not have it, either.

“So good,” Olin crooned as he ran his other hand over Keegan’s ass. “God, so fucking

good.”

He sank in slowly, so slowly that Keegan wanted to scream, but he didn’t. Olin was

being careful while pushing him in ways that Keegan had never imagined. When Olin was

finally in as deep as possible, considering the finger and hand taking up space, all Keegan

could do was hang his head and beg the man to move.

“Patience,” Olin said right before withdrawing almost fully and sinking back in just as

slowly as he’d done the first time. “Oh, yeah, that’s so…ungh.”

He didn’t go slow again. Instead fucked Keegan with savage little thrusts, using the

power of his body to drive his dick into Keegan. All the while, Olin kept that finger in place,

a second more private invasion that was driving Keegan to the brink of climax.

Olin slapped his ass, and the sting was sharp, wide-spreading, carrying pleasure-pain

throughout Keegan’s body.

And Olin did it again, then he grunted and hammered Keegan’s ass, animalistic sounds

spilling from him. Keegan wanted desperately to grab his dick but couldn’t risk losing his

balance. Olin barked mentally, telling him not to shoot his load or he’d regret it.

Keegan almost wanted to do it just to push Olin, but in the end, the need to please his

mate was stronger than his thoughts of rebelling. Olin cursed and curled around Keegan as

he spilled his seed into Keegan’s channel.

Keegan wanted to come, needed to badly, but he held himself still until Olin withdrew

both his finger and his cock. “Stay like that,” Olin ordered, and Keegan did, though he

wondered why he heard the conditioner being opened and squirted out, could smell the

fruity flavour of the stuff, but none of it was being applied to him.

Then Olin moaned and the sound of it set every one of Keegan’s senses on alert. He

opened his eyes and tried to see over his shoulder but it was no use. Olin moaned again, and

Keegan’s cock dripped. He gritted his teeth to keep from jacking off. He wouldn’t disappoint

Olin.

“Turn around.”

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Keegan had to stand up straight, which he did before manoeuvring around to watch

Olin. What he saw had his jaw dropping. Olin had his back to Keegan and was working his

ass open.

“You gave it to me, I’m doing the same for you,” Olin said roughly. “But I’m in charge

of how this happens.”

“Anything you want,” Keegan vowed. “Anything.”

Olin peered over his shoulder. “I want that big thing of yours in me, now.” He left off

fingering himself, and Keegan saw that he’d had three fingers in his hole.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I’ll go slow.”

Olin turned around and glared. “You’ll go how I tell you to.”

Keegan pressed his lips together but didn’t argue.

Olin hesitated as he looked at Keegan’s dick. “You’re going to bite me, and I’m going to

bite you, too. This needs to be face to face.”

He took Keegan’s hand and they got out of the shower. At some point, Olin had turned

the water off. Olin didn’t bother with towels for them. He led Keegan out onto the balcony

he’d come in on. A padded outdoor couch took up half the space. “Here, out under the moon

and stars.” Olin brought Keegan down onto the couch as he sat.

Keegan needed to kiss Olin in the worst way, and it would have been worth a slap or

two to the ass to get one. Olin parted his lips easily, eagerly, though, and with a hand to the

back of Keegan’s neck, he took over the kiss.

Olin rolled them over, the kiss going from hot to nearly violent as they fed off each

other’s need. Olin bit Keegan’s bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, then he rose up and

reached back to grab Keegan’s dick.

“Keep still.” Olin pressed Keegan’s tip to his asshole and took his sweet time sinking

down. “Fuuuuuuck.”

Keegan couldn’t tell if that was a good fuck or a bad one until Olin’s thoughts came into

him, the blissful sensations bright and strong.

“Touch me,” Olin said, not quite a plea but close to it.

Keegan’s ass burned as he moved, wiggling his hips while reaching for Olin’s nipples.

Unlike Keegan’s, Olin’s nipples were larger and startlingly dark in comparison to his paler

skin.

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And they were demanding tits, with Olin telling him to work them harder because he

couldn’t feel it.

Keegan trusted Olin not to let himself be hurt. He’d let Keegan know if anything was

too much. Keegan pinched and tugged as Olin took the rest of his cock into his body. Once

seated, Olin went to town on Keegan’s nipples, his rough treatment exactly what Keegan

needed.

“Enough,” Olin said a moment later, pulling back so that Keegan couldn’t easily reach

his nipples. “Hands over your head.”

Keegan laid his arms back and Olin resumed pinching and twisting his nipples. While

Olin did so, he also started riding Keegan’s dick, coming up and gliding down faster and

faster.

“Lose it for me,” Olin demanded. “Stop being so complacent.”

It confused Keegan for a moment. Olin wanted his submission so why order him to not

be submissive?

Then he got it. It was an order and being submissive meant following it. Keegan roared

as he grabbed Olin, one hand on a hip, the other one on Olin’s opposite shoulder. Keegan

pulled him down—ass, torso, and thrust like the beast he was inside.

And he found that sweet spot where he needed to bite. Keegan struck quickly,

savouring the give of flesh, the salt of skin and coppery tang of blood.

Olin moaned and his ass gripped Keegan’s dick so tightly that he couldn’t thrust. Cum

spurted from his cock, and Keegan had to stop biting in order to throw his head back and

shout his relief.

It was compounded when Olin bit him in return. Keegan felt the jolt of Olin’s powerful

release, smelt the semen that jetted from Olin’s cock.

He was boneless, utterly incapable of moving afterwards. Keegan couldn’t even open

his eyes. He murmured something about being fucked out, then sleep claimed him before he

could try to resist it.

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Chapter Seventeen

They’d pushed themselves hard, not stopping except for short breaks, and now Marcus

had what he wanted—the humans with their damned guns were surrounded. They just

didn’t know it yet.

They would, soon.

Marcus and the other shifters waited while the men and women settled in for a few

hours’ sleep. He’d heard them talking but didn’t understand the language. Nathan hadn’t

either, so what had been discussed was lost on them, and unless he wanted to shift and drag

Ryder or one of the guards off for an explanation, he wasn’t going to find out what had been

said.

Marcus wasn’t willing to take the time for that. Besides, he’d have his answers soon

enough.

Of the six guards, two took up positions to pull what Marcus assumed was first watch.

One male, one female, both armed with automatic weapons and knives, and gods only knew

what else.

“Easy-peasy,” Nathan thought. “We’ve so got this covered.”

Marcus looked at Ryder. “As soon as the woman falls asleep.” The female was obviously

tired, yawning while her eyelids drooped. She turned her back to the male guard and leaned

against a tree.

Waiting seemed pointless with her inattentiveness, but wait they did, and within

minutes she was slumping against the trunk of the tree.

“Go.” Marcus sent the thought out loud and clear to all of the guards and Ryder as well.

It was over in mere seconds, as he had known it would be. He and the other shifters

outnumbered the humans, and all but one was killed. Marcus shifted and went up to the

woman who’d fallen asleep on her watch. She stared up at him belligerently, but that

changed into a fearful look when she felt the power emanating off him.

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“Why?” he snapped out sharply. “What purpose would this have served?” He held his

hand up when someone—Ryder or Clark, maybe—started to translate. “Let her figure it out.

She knows what I’m asking.”

Sweat dripped from the woman’s brow into her eyes. Marcus waited and didn’t so

much as blink.

The woman began to talk, a rapid-fire jumble of sounds that Marcus could make neither

head nor tail of, but Ryder looked stricken, and some of his guards did, too.

Marcus waited until the woman had shut up, then he asked Ryder, “What did she say?”

“Drugs,” Ryder answered gruffly. “This is all about drugs.”

“God damn it.” Marcus wanted to hit something, but didn’t. “What about them? Are

you sitting on a mountain of cocaine out in the jungle?”

Ryder fired off a question and Marcus waited impatiently for an explanation. Finally,

Ryder gave him one. “The former Alpha Anax helped run drugs. He allowed the use of his

private jet—which went missing before I ever got here—and often had his guards smuggle

drugs over the border. Who’s going to think a wolf is a drug runner? Who’d even look for a

wolf here?”

“Who is this fucker and where can I find him?” Marcus asked harshly.

The woman shook her head. Sissy walked over and cracked her knuckles. “Since you

guys insist on being gentlemen, allow me to help out here.”

Marcus didn’t like to see violence, but it was part and parcel of the shifter society. He

wouldn’t let himself look away just because it made him uncomfortable to see a woman

suffer. And Sissy made the woman suffer, landing the right punches to maximize pain

without leading to unconsciousness. Every time she hit, she repeated the same question.

“Who is he?” Ryder said the first time.

Finally the woman cried out, and Marcus caught Roberto but it took him a minute to

process the last name. He was almost relieved not to recognise it.

“Robert Butler,” Ryder said. “I have no clue who that is.”

Another spate of words Marcus didn’t comprehend, then Ryder was shaking his head

and raising his voice. “There’s no way in hell. You’re lying!”

“What is it she’s lying about?” Marcus watched the woman steadily. “Because I don’t

think she is. Lying, I mean.”

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Ryder shook his head. “No, she has to be. She says he’s one of our kind, but I don’t

believe her. All of this is too…too human a thing to do. A shifter would come right at me and

try to wrest the pack away from me so he could do what he wanted.”

“Not if he feared you’d be more powerful than him,” Nathan said. “He’d try to make

you comply, or maybe get him some shifters to use. How he’d force them to work for him,

though, is a mystery.”

“Hostages,” the woman rasped when Sissy pulled back a hand. “Hostages, for you.”

She tipped her chin at Ryder.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at her. “What are we?”

“Lobisomem,” she spat out defiantly. “Demonio! Spawn de Satan!”

“I got the last one. Demon, too. The lobisomem?” Marcus asked.

“Werewolf,” Ryder supplied. “We’re many things apparently.”

“I don’t know Satan except for when I look into eyes filled with hate,” Marcus said as

he approached the woman. “Like yours. Why do you hate us?”

She pressed her lips tightly together and turned her head aside.

“Find out if this Robert Butler has hurt her, forced her to become…this.” Marcus

gestured to her. “Don’t kill her. Yet.”

“You think she’s telling the truth,” Ryder said as they walked away.

“There was no lie in her scent,” Marcus confirmed.

“There wasn’t,” Nathan seconded. “She was terrified, but hated us more than she

feared us. I see why you didn’t just let Sissy kill her.”

Marcus shrugged. “She might have to yet. A human with the knowledge of us never

sits well with me.”

“You would have let Harley live with the knowledge,” Nathan said. “Though if he’d

ever spoken of us, I know you’d have had him killed. Fortunately he’s now one of us since he

turned out to be Val’s mate.”

“A fortuitous occurrence for all involved. I don’t think it’ll repeat itself.” Marcus

glanced back at the woman who was being cuffed with her own materials. “No, I think that

one will put a dagger or bullet in one of our heads the first chance she gets, but I’m willing to

give her one chance. Just one.”

“And what will we do about Robert Butler?”

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Ryder spoke up. “I’ll handle him. This is my territory—”

“And it was my captain and crew he sent his psychos after,” Marcus cut in with. “I’m

willing to work with you, but I will not be leaving until he’s dead.”

Ryder didn’t argue. “Okay, I can agree to that. I want to see if he really is one of us. I

doubt it because all those guns they were carrying? Had silver bullets as ammo. A real shifter

would know it doesn’t matter if there’s silver in a bullet or not. Silver is just a metal like any

other. It’s where the bullet hits that counts.”

“I did not know they were armed with silver bullets,” Marcus mused. “That adds a

whole new level of crazy to this shit. Maybe Robert Butler isn’t a shifter after all. Or he is, and

he likes fucking with humans’ minds.”

“Only one way to find out.” Nathan grinned in a way that promised pain and fury was

on the way for someone. “We’ll have to ask Mr Butler.”

“And find any of his other…troops, or whatever you want to call them. Maybe we can

debunk him in their eyes, make them believe he’s a liar even if he is a shifter. That’d be easier

than killing all of them, though that works, too, if it comes down to it.” Whatever it took to

keep shifters safe in the world.

“I still don’t understand why he went after Keegan.” Ryder scratched his chin and

shook his head. “The jet? Maybe he needed it. Could be that he had access to my

predecessor’s jet and fucked it up or sold it, who knows. That, and he might have thought

any hostages would do.”

“Possibly. We won’t know for sure until we ask him. Maybe not even then.” Marcus

would hate that if it happened, but life wasn’t always so kind as to provide explanations for

all the bad shit in the world. In fact, answers were rarely gained, but he’d still try.

“Are we going to do that now?” Ryder asked.

“We’re going to find my captain, and friend,” Marcus replied. “We’re going to find my

pack members, including the new one I’ll be stealing from you.”

“Olin.” Ryder snorted. “He can be a real smart ass, and he had a hard-on for shifters—

not the fun kind, either. That he’s been turned into one boggles my mind. I wouldn’t have

believed it if we hadn’t found his scent.”

“Keegan is smart, and he knew it was their best chance for survival. A human can slow

a wolf down.” Marcus grinned. “I bet his powers of persuasion were put to the test.”

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“Or not,” Nathan argued. “His mate wouldn’t have wanted to put Keegan at risk.”

“True. Well, whichever way it went down, it’s done, and it’s time to bring my wolves

back home.” With him, no matter where he was. Marcus would have Keegan at his and

Nathan’s side, along with the other three, Olin, Zoe, and Dallas.

“Leave half the guards, or better yet, have them head back with the woman,” Marcus

advised. “We’ll need someone to pick us up when we find Keegan.”

“Gotcha.” Ryder asked Sissy to take care of their prisoner and to take half the guards

with her. “Clark, you can come with us, of course.”

Clark strode over and thanked him. Marcus looked Clark over. “Your twin looks like

you?”

“We’re identical,” Clark answered. “Except I’m better looking.”

“Sounds like you and Aidan,” Nathan said. “Marcus and his twin do the same inane

crap. It’s inane because duh, Marcus is sexier by far. I don’t care if he and Aidan are

identical.”

“Right. That’s what I say. Duh, I’m sexier if people would bother to really look.” Clark

laughed and it kept him from coming across as conceited.

“Okay, we’re not stopping until we’ve found them. Anyone too tired to carry on, follow

Sissy and her group.”

No one turned away at Marcus’ words.

As one, they shifted, and Marcus did too. He took off, nose to the ground, determined

to find Keegan before he rested.

* * * *

In the middle of the night, Keegan woke up, his skin prickling with awareness. He sat

up on the outside couch he and Olin had decided to crash on after having had a large meal.

The wind was slightly cool, but that wasn’t what had woken him. Keegan tipped his head

back and stared at the stars and the bright full moon.

And heard them, the distant howls coming from the rainforest. His wolf howled in

reply, though the sound never made it out of Keegan. His heart raced and he gently shook

Olin. “They’re coming.”

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Why it felt so good and made him so happy, Keegan didn’t know. He hadn’t thought

that Marcus would desert him, but still, the knowledge that the Alpha Anax was coming

thrilled him. It validated his worth, and Keegan knew that was stupid. It made him a needy

idiot, but there it was.

He’d needed to know he was more than a replaceable drone. Marcus could have done

just that, let Dana have his position and left Keegan behind.

But he hadn’t.

“Olin! Wake up!”

Olin sat up so fast his head almost smacked Keegan’s chin. “What is it?”

“Marcus and Nathan are coming. Listen.” He cocked his head and Olin did the same.

“We should tell Zoe and Dallas.”

“In a minute.” Olin listened and smiled. “It sounds like music with lyrics I never could

understand before, and suddenly I do. They’re calling out to you and me. To Zoe and Dallas,

too. I hear Clark.”

“And Ryder,” Keegan added. His excitement dimmed. “Will you really move to New

Mexico?”

“Yeah, of course,” Olin answered immediately. “Maybe I can convince Clark to move

there with Cory, too, but if not, I guess people have to live their lives however works for

them.”

“You’d miss him.”

“Horribly,” Olin confirmed. “So we’d have to fly out here and have him and Cory fly to

us kind of regularly. Oh hell. My usual tranquilizers won’t work, right?”

“Not now, sorry.” Keegan slid his arm around Olin and stood up, bringing Olin to his

feet. He shuffled them over to the balcony railing. “Listen to them. Don’t they sound

beautiful?”

“They do,” Olin murmured, allowing Keegan to cuddle him from behind. “Like Mother

Nature’s orchestra. Oh God, I’ve turned into a corny twit.”

Keegan nuzzled Olin’s neck. “Turned into?”

“Smart ass,” Olin retorted, pulling a few strands of Keegan’s leg hair.

Keegan was just bent enough for that to make him hard. “Your smart ass.”

“Mine,” Olin agreed.

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They stood, waiting, watching, listening, until the wolves went silent. They looked like

magical beasts as they slipped out of the tree line, their fur gleaming in the moonlight as they

moved soundlessly forward. Olin inhaled sharply when Marcus stepped out. Keegan

understood that reaction. Marcus was a sight to behold with that brilliant white fur. “That’s

your Alpha Anax.”

“He is, and the fox-coloured wolf beside him is his mate, Nathan.”

“I figured,” Olin muttered. Then he went perfectly still as Marcus raised his head and

stared right at them. Keegan felt Olin’s heart race, could smell the instinctive fear a less

powerful wolf had for the more powerful one. Olin would not go down easily. “I’m not

going to be any less of a smart ass just because he could possibly zap me with a laser-eye

stare.”

“He wouldn’t.” Keegan kissed Olin beneath the ear. “Now, let me take you downstairs

so you can meet your new Alpha Anax.”

Olin paused long enough to wrap their blanket around his hips. They’d not found any

clothes. On the way down the stairs, they heard Zoe and Dallas.

“Are we being rescued now?” Dallas asked.

“We rescued ourselves,” Keegan told him. “This is our welcome back party.”

Dallas squealed. “I love parties!”

“I think he meant— Never mind,” Zoe said with a huff. “Dork.”

Keegan opened the back door and stepped out holding Olin’s hand. He had to release it

when Marcus ran up to him and shifted. Keegan was lifted up in a hug that made his ribs

ache. “Glad you’re safe, Keeg,” Marcus whispered in Keegan’s ear.

He’d never called Keegan anything but Keegan before. The shortening of his name

caused Keegan’s eyes to fill, an awkward and unwanted reaction he rapidly blinked back.

“Thank you,” he got out in the little breath he had left.

Marcus patted his back then released him. “So, this is your mate, huh?”

Olin stood up a little straighter. “If you have to ask then you’re not as bright as Keegan

made you out to be.”

Keegan rolled his lips inward as Marcus held a hand up to the height that matched the

top of Olin’s head. “Am I missing something here? Are you five foot of attitude?”

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“I’m taller than that,” Olin said calmly, then he laughed. “Okay, okay. You’re top dog

and all.”

“You just had to push and make sure, right?” Marcus asked.

“Something like that. Maybe it’s just fun to poke the bear, so to speak.” Olin waved at

Nathan. “Hey, you’re about my height.”

Nathan pursed his lips as he looked Olin over. “I have a half inch on you.”

“Only because you have fluffy hair.” Olin ran a hand over his short locks. “Shave it off

and I bet I’m taller than you are.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at Olin. “We’re either going to become best friends or kill

each other.”

“They’ll be talking about our sex lives and comparing notes in no time,” Marcus

predicted.

Keegan knew he turned red. Marcus smirked at him. “You know my secrets.”

Keegan could only agree since it was the truth. Marcus wouldn’t think less of him for

submitting to Olin.

“Olin!” Clark ran up to Olin and hugged him. Keegan smiled at the brothers even as he

ached for his lost one.

Marcus clapped a hand to Keegan’s shoulder and drew him near, then whispered so

that no one other than Keegan could hear him. “Be happy. You deserve it. You can’t keep

punishing yourself because of Tyler’s death.”

Keegan closed his eyes for a moment, the urge to weep for his brother coming on him.

In all the years that had passed, he hadn’t done so. Hadn’t thought he deserved that much of

a release from his pain and guilt.

“You do,” Olin thought, slipping an arm around Keegan’s waist. “And when the time is

right, you’ll have it.”

Olin was right. Keegan found a smile and let the joy of being with his pack and his mate

fill him. Tonight was about new beginnings for him, and for his Olin.

The ghosts of the past would wait for a little while longer.

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Epilogue

Keegan and Olin eventually returned to their couch, but the sun was going to rise

within a couple of hours and sleep seemed unattainable. Keegan was still flattered and

thrilled to have Marcus come for him. Like all good wolves, he had strived to please his

Alpha. That he’d done so was undeniable. Marcus had found him and called him ‘Keeg’

every time he’d addressed Keegan.

“He seems like a decent guy,” Olin said as he lay back. “I think I can get along with

Nathan, too. I like guys who don’t walk off in a huff if I give them shit. They just fling it right

back.”

“Kind of a gross analogy that reminds me of monkeys,” Keegan couldn’t help but say.

“Speaking of monkeys, your ass wasn’t even pink anymore when we went downstairs.”

Keegan cursed and reached behind himself to poke at his ass cheeks. “Shit. I didn’t even

think about it! What if…?”

“So what?” Olin countered. “If someone finds out that you like submitting to me, is it

the end of the world?”

“No,” Keegan drawled. “Just might make some people not respect me. I’m not saying

that’s right. You and I both know it’s not, but shifters are especially judgmental, some of

them, anyway.”

“So those ones would flip to find out that their Alpha Anax is a big ol’ bottom, right?”

Keegan propped himself up to look Olin in the eyes. “Why would you say that?”

Olin rolled his eyes. “Please, bud. I can tell. He just is, and it doesn’t mean jack shit

about his power or ability to lead. Even I can feel that he’s loaded with Alpha mojo.”

“Yet he’d be challenged more often if the word got out.”

“It’s not anyone else’s business, but I get the point. This shit’s why people’s sex lives

should remain private for the most part.” Olin shrugged. “I mean, the occasional fuck around

others is okay. I’ve seen shifters doing that before pack runs, during pack runs, after pack

runs—there’s always some pair or trio fucking. For the most part, though, it’s not anything

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anyone else should be a part of. What I mean is, I won’t act all toppy around others. Much.

I’ll try really hard not to.”

Keegan had to kiss Olin for that earnest attempt at honesty. “Thank you. I don’t care if

you get toppy. Most people will think that’s just you being bossy.”

“That’s okay then. Bossy I can live with.” Olin sent him a wicked grin. “Like this. Suck

my dick.”

Keegan sat up and crawled between Olin’s legs. He ran his hands down Olin’s lean

thighs then scooped his hands under Olin’s ass. It didn’t take much to lift him and bring that

beautiful cock to Keegan’s mouth.

“Yeah,” Olin rasped, rolling his own nipples between his fingers. “More.”

Keegan took him in deep. He tugged on Olin’s hips, and Olin held him at the nape.

“Over.”

They rolled, and Olin straddled Keegan’s shoulders, a knee on either side of his neck.

“Open that pretty mouth wide.”

Keegan did, and Olin thrust right in, pushing into his throat.

“Fuck yes,” Olin hissed. He rotated his hips while Keegan formed a tight seal with his

lips. “Mm, that’s about perfect.”

“About?” Keegan got two handfuls of Olin’s ass and pulled.

Olin grunted and began fucking Keegan’s mouth. “You like this. Like me taking over

your mouth as much as I like doing it.” Olin buried one hand in Keegan’s hair and gripped

Keegan’s throat with his other hand. “Like me holding you still for it.”

Keegan moaned, because yes, he liked all of those things. While Olin wasn’t squeezing

his throat, the weight of his hand on Keegan’s neck spiked Keegan’s excitement to new

levels.

Olin thrust harder, his balls slapping against Keegan’s chin. “Yeah,” Olin said over and

over. “God. Damn.” He gave Keegan what he’d fantasised about, taking his mouth roughly

and eagerly.

Keegan gripped the couch cushion and revelled in being wanted, in the freedom he had

found in giving himself to Olin.

Olin pushed his cock into Keegan’s throat and moaned as the first hot spit of semen left

him.

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174

Keegan swallowed and Olin hissed before pulling back, letting the rest of his release

land on Keegan’s tongue. “Good boy.” Olin stroked his hair, then moved down and spat on

Keegan’s dick. “Raise the leg beside me.”

Keegan lifted his right leg and Olin went right for his hole, pushing two fingers into

him. Keegan arched, his cock throbbing along with his pucker.

Olin licked Keegan’s tip then started to stroke him with a grip so perfect that Keegan’s

balls drew tight after the fourth or fifth time that hand ran up and down his length. That,

combined with the way Olin was drilling those fingers into him, was forcing needy little cries

from him.

“Give it up,” Olin said, dragging the tips of his fingers over Keegan’s gland.

Keegan did so, spectacularly, shouting, his lungs burning as he came.

“So good for me,” Olin praised, pumping Keegan’s dick relentlessly. He kept stroking

until Keegan was ready to beg him to stop.

But didn’t, because his shaft grew hard again under Olin’s skilled touch.

Olin stood up and held his own cock in hand. “I’m going to fuck you now, out here

with you bent over this couch, face up so you can see this beautiful sunrise.

And Olin did, giving Keegan a view that would forever be embedded in his memories.

It wasn’t of the sky, either, though the oranges and pinks were exquisite.

They couldn’t compete with the adoration in Olin’s eyes as he watched Keegan, the

sweet curve of his lips as he smiled, the blush that raced over his skin as he came, losing

himself to the pleasure that Keegan’s body gave him.

Their journey together was just beginning, and it had got off to a violent, weird start,

but they’d both flourished. Olin had conquered his fears and dislike for shifters, and Keegan

had begun taking the steps he needed to in order to forgive himself and maybe even

someday admit that he alone didn’t carry the guilt for Tyler’s death.

But for now, they had each other, and a new mission to accomplish—helping Marcus

and Ryder track down and deal with Robert Butler.

Once that was done, they’d say goodbye to Brazil. Clark had promised to visit often.

Keegan hoped that he and Cory would move and join them eventually.

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All of those things were worries for another day, though. For now, Keegan curled up

with Olin beside him, and they lay together in peaceful silence as the sun and Earth brought

forth a brand new day.

Coming Soon from Totally Bound Publishing:

www.totallybound.com

Mossy Glenn Ranch: Riding and Regrets

Bailey Bradford

Released 4

April 2014

Excerpt

Chapter One

Noel Cuthbert parked his Honda Fit in his Aunt Gertie’s driveway, frowning at the lack

of protection for his baby. “This won’t do at all.” There wasn’t a garage or even one of those

cheesy metal carports. Just…open space. “Ugh.”

So far, he wasn’t impressed with Montana. “The last best place my ass,” he said,

referencing one of the many slogans he’d heard used for the state. “Does seem like it’s the

last place, period. Nothing but mountains and cows and pickup trucks.”

Well, he’d wanted to come, so he needed to shut up. Noel turned the car off and

unbuckled. It was almost dark, and he kind of wanted to see the sky. That was one thing he’d

definitely enjoyed on the week-long drive from California. He’d seen some amazing night

skies. Something told him that Montana would offer him one that was simply stunning.

“State has to have something going for it.” He got out and gathered his laptop bag from

the passenger seat. After he had his luggage, too, Noel headed up the sidewalk to the house.

The sidewalk itself was indicative of the whole neighbourhood. Worn, cracked in

places, in serious need of weeding. Looked almost like it’d be easier to tear the whole walk

up and re-pour new cement for it, rather than patch the cracks.

Not that Noel was volunteering, no way. He wasn’t built for manual labour. His gently

sculpted muscles had taken forever to find beneath the flab he used to carry. That was the

hardest he could work, and while he was proud of his slimmed down body, it’d really only

caused him more trouble than not.

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Noel sniffed. Who’d known that trying to get himself in shape would attract all the

shallow assholes right to him? It’d been flattering at first. After all, he’d been the shy, fat boy

who’d been teased in school up until then. To find men coming up to him and hitting on him

once he’d lost weight and toned up some had been kind of addictive.

And okay, he’d maybe developed a bit of an ego for a while there, but that had been

well and truly demolished after the last disastrous relationship.

“Ugh. Just don’t even go there,” he muttered to himself. He’d got used to his own

chatter on the drive. The quiet had been unnerving when he’d grown sick of his playlists.

Beside the sidewalk, Noel noticed dead plants. Some kind of flowers, though he didn’t

know what type they were. Other than dead, obviously. Crumbling edging, uneven and

appearing to be made of faded brown or black plastic, ran parallel to either side of the walk.

The rest of the yard seemed okay, if in need of a mowing. Rose bushes surrounded the porch,

and at least those plants appeared to be thriving. Over-thriving, even. Noel was pretty sure

they needed to be pruned, or maybe groomed with a blow-torch.

He heard the squeak of the door just before Aunt Gertie stepped outside. “Noel

Cuthbert, you get up here and give me a hug!”

All of the troubles that had been riding on Noel’s shoulders fell away, at least for a few

minutes as he rushed up the stairs. They groaned beneath his feet and he hoped that the old

wood wouldn’t give way on him. The porch itself wasn’t any more stable. The wooden slats

were bowed all over, and a couple were even missing.

“Aunt Gertie

” Noel stopped in front of his aunt. She wasn’t much shorter than his five-

ten, maybe five-eight or so. They were close enough in height that he didn’t have to stoop to

hug her, anyway.

“Come here, boy,” she said gruffly as she reached for him.

Noel barely had time to set the bags down before he was pulled into her surprisingly

strong embrace. “Hi.”

Gertie smoothed her hands in circles over his back. “I’m sorry for whatever hurt you,

honey, but I’m so glad you’re here.”

Noel almost laughed at that, but he was afraid he’d end up sobbing if he opened his

mouth just then.

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“You don’t have to tell me, not ever, but if you want to, I’ll listen. You know I will.”

Gertie kissed his cheek then, keeping one arm around him, leant back enough to push the

chunk of hair back off his brow. With the dimming light, it was impossible to make out the

colour of her eyes, but Noel didn’t have to. He saw her eyes every time he looked in the

mirror, the grey-rimmed green identical, just like the shape of their eyes and the thick, dark

lashes framing them. He’d always looked more like Gertie than his dad or mom.

“Whatever it is, we’ll make it better,” Gertie vowed fiercely. “No one gets to hurt my

baby boy.”

Noel, at twenty-five, was hardly anyone’s baby anything, but the words still warmed

him and for the first time in ages, he truly felt loved.

“Thank you, Aunt Gertie.” He had to stop speaking then as his eyes and nose burned

with the threat of tears.

“Oh, honey, someone’s done a number on you. If I ever do find out the name of that

man, or, God help me, men, I’m gonna go to prison.” She grinned in a way that was all teeth

and anger. “Be worth it. No one gets to hurt you.”

Noel sniffled. He was not going to cry. He hadn’t cried since— No. No going there ever

again.

“I ought to smack Richard upside the head, and Marcy, too,” Gertie continued. “Your

parents are about useless. It’s a miracle you, Josephine and River turned out to be such good

people, considering.”

“It’s because we had a fabulous aunt to help us when we were growing up,” Noel told

her. “If you hadn’t lived with us all those years, there’s no telling how many prison sentences

we’d all be serving.”

Gertie chortled at that and stepped back a foot or so. “Now, I could be modest, but it’s

true that I stayed in California for you kids. Once you moved out, there wasn’t a reason for

me to live in that hell-hole with those two parents of yours. I guess they’re still alive.”

“Last I heard.” Noel wasn’t even hurt by the fucked up relationship, or lack of, that he

had with his parents. “I don’t keep in touch. Neither does Josie or River. I’m assuming the

parents are still doing whatever it is they want to with no concern for us.”

Gertie tipped her nose up and sniffed. “You know, we weren’t raised up to be such

selfish shits. Your daddy was always like that, though. Richard would do whatever it took to

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have his way and get what he wanted. Never did care who he hurt. I figured when him and

your mom hooked up, they’d kill each other, they were so alike.” She waved a hand. “Well,

whatever. They ain’t ever gonna change, and you kids came out great despite having a

couple of sociopaths for parents. Now, come in here to the kitchen and let me feed you.

You’ve got plumb scrawny.”

“I’m svelte,” Noel protested as he was tugged along to the kitchen. He inhaled and the

scents of garlic and basil made his mouth water. “Pasta?”

“You know it. Just ‘cause I live in cowboy country doesn’t mean I’m all about steak and

taters now. I like my Italian food more than ever, and I’ve got damned great at cooking it.”

For the first time since Gertie had moved away, Noel honestly felt like he was home—

even if he was in an ass-backward state that was surely filled with homophobes. “I’ve missed

you something awful.”

Gertie turned her glistening eyes on him as her bottom lip trembled. “Oh, baby boy.

You know I missed you kids, so much. Leaving was the hardest thing ever, but I…” She

swiped at her left eye as tears leaked onto her cheek. “Well, darn it. I swore I wasn’t gonna

cry, but I had to leave, you know. You kids had your own lives. There wasn’t any need for

y’all to worry about visiting me when you had things to do, and I sure as hell couldn’t

handle Richard and Marcy anymore.”

“Not that they were ever around much to begin with.” Noel hugged his aunt,

impulsively, tightly, burying his nose in her auburn hair. “You gave up years of your own

life for us, living with Mom and Dad.”

Gertie slapped him on the butt, hard enough to surprise a squeak out of him. “Now

don’t you even start that crap. I didn’t give up nothing. You kids mean everything to me.

You know I can’t have kids, and I love ’em so much, that’s why I have the daycare. But you,

Josie and River are the babies I never had myself. When Marcy asked me to move in after

Josie was born and I saw the way she was with that baby, holding her like she was some kind

of weird thing, I had to say yes. I’ve never regretted,” she said fervently. “Never.”

Noel knew that Gertie couldn’t have kids of her own, though he’d never asked why.

It’d seemed rude to pry, and in the end, the reason didn’t matter. “I’m selfish, maybe, but I’m

glad we had you.”

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“You kids deserved better parents than you got, but I like to think I made a difference.”

Gertie sniffled then smiled brightly. “Well now, that’s enough of the mushy business. Unless

you’re going to give me names for the jerks I need to break in two, we’re going to drop the

serious stuff and have a nice meal while I convince you to move here permanently.”

“I love you a lot, Aunt Gertie, but a town like this…” It wouldn’t be a place that took

kindly to someone like him, out and proud and more than a little swishy, as his ex had called

him. His ex was such a dick.

Gertie’s face lit up and she winked at him. “Oh, now, son. You don’t know this town or

the people here. And there’s this ranch that hires from every spectrum of the rainbow. Take a

seat at the table.”

Noel pulled out a chair and sat. “Are you sure you don’t need me to help?”

Bertie snorted at him.

“So you’re telling me there’s a ranch full of gay cowboys?” he asked instead as she set a

large bowl of salad on the table.

“Not just gay,” Gertie corrected. “I told you, the whole rainbow. Now, I don’t go asking

people if they’re gay or whatever. Never understood how anyone thought they had the right

to that kinda information. I mean, no one goes up and asks people if they’re straight. Just

stupid.” She added a platter of warm garlic bread to the table. Noel’s stomach growled.

“Hungry boy,” Gertie said. “You always loved food, and that’s not a bad thing.”

“I love it too much, which is most definitely a bad thing.” Noel cringed when he

thought about those painful years when he’d been overweight. He knew first-hand how

hateful people could be.

“It was a source of comfort.” Gertie added the pasta dish. “You want water, soda or

milk?”

“Water, please. I don’t drink soda or milk.” Noel figured he was going to get a

questioning look over that and he was right. “Soda’s all sugar and the diet stuff is bad, too.

Milk has too many antibiotics that come through from the cows—I don’t care what anyone

says, that stuff doesn’t just vanish from the milk. There’s those, and growth hormones, and

who knows what else in it. Organic milk is expensive. It has too many calories, too. I drink

low-cal almond milk when I want something like that.”

“Almond milk,” Gertie huffed. “You stayed in California longer than you should have.”

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Noel laughed and as soon as Gertie took her seat, he dished them out some pasta while

she put salad in smaller bowls for each of them. “So, about this ranch. Are you telling me

there’s available men, then?”

“I’d think so,” Gertie answered. She forked some salad into her mouth and chewed it.

Noel wrinkled his nose at her. “Not sure I’m ready for another man.” There was a

reason he’d invested in a Fleshlight, after all. It wasn’t just strictly for getting off, but

hopefully for keeping him from doing something stupid, like turning to another man. For

anything.

Gertie pointed her fork at him. “Now you stop that kind of thinking right there. You’re

young. Heck, I’m only forty-five, and I’m young. Well, young enough. I haven’t given up on

love and you ain’t going to, either.”

“If you say so,” Noel muttered. “You’ll find Mr Right, but I won’t.”

Gertie cocked her head and smirked. “Noel. Don’t matter to me if it’s Missus or Mister,

as long as my heart trusts them. You get past that cynical stage, and you’ll find that you still

need love, too.”

Gertie’s personal disclosure didn’t really surprise Noel, and as she’d said, making a big

deal out of it was foolish. Noel let it pass along with her other claim, that he’d get past the

cynical stage. She’d left out the hurt, scared, and angry stages.

Noel wasn’t sure he’d ever move past all of those.

Order your copy here

About the Author

A  native  Texan,  Bailey  spends  her  days  spinning  stories  around  in  her  head,  which
has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are
reserved  for  pounding  away  at  the  keyboard,  as  are  early  morning  hours.  Sleep?
Doesn’t  happen  much.  Writing  is  too  much  fun,  and  there  are  too  many  characters
bouncing about, tapping on Bailey's brain demanding to be let out.

Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from
hand at any  given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence
can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any
circumstances.

Email:

itsbaileybradford@yahoo.com

Bailey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and
author biography at

http://www.totallybound.com

Also by Bailey Bradford

Breaking the Devil

Southwestern Shifters: Rescued

Southwestern Shifters: Relentless

Southwestern Shifters: Reckless

Southwestern Shifters: Rendered

Southwestern Shifters: Resilience

Southwestern Shifters: Reverence

Southwestern Shifters: Revolution

Southwestern Shifters: Revenge

Southern Spirits: A Subtle Breeze

Southern Spirits: When the Dead Speak

Southern Spirits: All of the Voices

Southern Spirits: Wait Until Dawn

Southern Spirits: Aftermath

Southern Spirits What Remains

Southern Spirits: Ascension

Southern Spirits: Whirlwind

Love in Xxchange: Rory’s Last Chance

Love in Xxchange: Miles To Go

Love in Xxchange: Bend

Love in Xxchange: What Matters Most

Love in Xxchange: Ex’s and O’s

Love in Xxchange: A Bit of Me

Love in Xxchange: A Bit of You

www.totallybound.com

Love in Xxchange: In My Arms Tonight

Love in Xxchange: Where There’s a Will

Leopard’s Spots: Levi

Leopard’s Spots: Oscar

Leopard’s Spots: Timothy

Leopard’s Spots: Isaiah

Leopard’s Spots: Gilbert

Leopard’s Spots: Esau

Leopard’s Spots: Sullivan

Leopard’s Spots: Wesley

Leopard’s Spots: Nischal

Leopard’s Spots: Justice

Leopard’s Spots: Sabin

Leopard’s Spots: Cliff

Mossy Glenn Ranch: Chaps and Hope

Mossy Glenn Ranch: Ropes and Dreams

Mossy Glenn Ranch: Saddles and Memories

Mossy Glenn Ranch: Fences and Freedom

Yes, Forever: Part One

Yes, Forever: Part Two

Yes, Forever: Part Three

Yes, Forever: Part Four

Yes, Forever: Part Five