Scent of a Mate 2
A Little Bit of Heaven
Hugh Marshall is disgusted when his father gives him an
ultimatum. Mate with the daughters of a neighboring pride or lose
his baby brother. Hugh decides to run with both of his brothers.
He just has to save a family of white Bengal tigers staying in his
father's territory before that can happen. Hugh is shocked when
he discovers that the sweetest of the men he rescues, Kye Hara, is
his mate, and that means Hugh is an alpha.
Forced to run for their lives, Hugh takes his new family and races
to the only place he knows they might be safe, the home of
another alpha. Stellan Mihos promised him safety, but will that still
hold true when the man discovers Hugh is now an alpha in his own
right? And just how pissed is he going to be when it's discovered
that Stellan's brother and beta, Neumus, is also Hugh's mate? Will
he help them or turn them over to those hunting them?
With his family growing every time he turns around, will Hugh be
able to keep them all safe from those that want them dead? Or
will he lose his new mates before he even has a chance to claim
them?
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Shape-
shifter
Length: 50,577 words
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN
Scent of a Mate 2
Stormy Glenn
MENAGE AMOUR
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour ManLove
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN
Copyright © 2012 by Stormy Glenn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-636-3
First E-book Publication: October 2012
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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express written permission.
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to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of A Little Bit of Heaven by Stormy
Glenn from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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Amanda Hilton, Publisher
DEDICATION
To my fantastic Yahoo group who all jumped in and suggested
names when I needed help with naming this new series. Congrats to
Vicky for suggesting the winning name.
I hope everyone enjoys the Scent of a Mate series.
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN
Scent of a Mate 2
STORMY GLENN
Copyright © 2012
Chapter 1
“I want them gone!”
Hugh Marshall lifted his head off his pillow and looked toward his
bedroom door. Was someone shouting? At this hour? The clock on
the nightstand said that it wasn’t even four in the morning. Who the
hell was up at this time of night?
Maybe he had imagined it. He had arrived home just an hour
before and barely dragged himself inside the house and up the stairs
to his room. He was exhausted, having been on a diplomatic mission
for his father, Alpha Aldo Marshall.
Hugh hated diplomatic missions, mostly because his father didn’t
know the first thing about compromise. He usually ended up trying to
keep from having his throat cut rather than work out whatever
business his father wanted.
“I don’t fucking care how you have to do it. Just do it!”
Damn! Someone was yelling. Hugh groaned as he rolled to the
side of the bed and swung his feet down to the floor. He was grateful
that he hadn’t had the energy to fully undress as he pushed himself to
his feet and started toward his door. He had stopped showing off his
bits and pieces years ago.
A Little Bit of Heaven
9
He started to open his door when a soft click behind him caught
his attention. Hugh stiffened and then glanced toward his closet door
as it slowly opened. As soon as he saw collar-length black hair and a
set of vivid blue eyes, Hugh relaxed.
“He’s lost his mind this time, Hugh,” Boone, Hugh’s brother, said
quietly as he stepped through the secret passage between their rooms.
Hugh was in no way surprised when his youngest brother, Simon,
walked out of the closet right behind Boone. “He’s talking about
killing an entire family just because they stopped in town for a few
nights.”
Hugh’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “What family?”
“I don’t know their names, Hugh, but they’ve been staying at the
Main Street Hotel for the last three days.”
“Are they shifters?” Hugh asked.
Boone nodded. “Yes, but they came and informed Father that they
would be in town for five days, just as required by law. They are here
on some sort of business with a couple of stores in town.”
“They’re craftsmen, the entire family,” Simon said. “They’re
hoping to contract with a few of the stores here in town so that they
can sell their crafts here. They’ve been going to all of the prides up
and down the coast doing the same thing.”
Hugh frowned. “Have they broken any laws?”
“No, in fact they seem to go out of their way to stick to them.”
“Then why is Father so pissed?” Hugh grew even more confused
than he already was when both of his brothers looked away. “What
am I missing?”
“They’re white Bengal tigers,” Simon replied.
And that explained it all.
“Fuck!” Hugh pushed his hand through his collar-length black
hair in a frustrated gesture. A lot of shit was about to come down, and
Hugh wasn’t sure who’s head it was going to land on. He suspected
no one would be safe from the fallout.
10
Stormy Glenn
Aldo Marshall was not known for his tolerance of any shifter kind
other than lion. And god forbid that someone was human. They
usually ranked lower down on the list. Aldo hated them all, but he
hated humans even more.
“Okay,” Hugh said as he dragged his hand down his face. Gods,
he was so fucking tired. “If Father goes through with this plan of his,
you know that he will be sanctioned. He might even be removed from
his position as alpha.”
Boone snorted. “Now, there’s an idea.”
“I don’t want to be alpha, Boone. You know that.”
“You may not have a choice, Hugh,” Boone said. “If Father does
this, the council will replace him, and since you’re being trained to
take over for him, they will choose you to replace him.”
“Not gonna happen, bro.” Hugh was adamant. The thought of
taking over for his father as alpha of their pride gave him hives. He
enjoyed his training when he was younger because he was dumb and
didn’t understand exactly who his father was. He was just happy to be
spending time with the man.
As he grew older, Hugh had learned what it meant to be the son of
the alpha, and he hated every damn minute of it. He often wished he
had been adopted out. He didn’t want to be related to Aldo Marshall.
The man was a monster.
And being trained as the alpha’s replacement was hell. Aldo
expected Hugh to be just like him. Any sign of weakness was severely
punished. And any show of compassion or emotion was considered a
weakness.
Hugh had the marks to prove how deranged his father was. Hell,
half the members of their pride had whip marks left by the alpha. The
man ruled with an iron fist, and destroyed anyone that went against
him, which meant not many did.
Hugh froze when he heard footsteps coming toward his door.
When they stopped right outside his door, he waved his hand at his
brothers, hoping they would hurry back into the closet. It was a
A Little Bit of Heaven
11
hidden passage that their father did not know about, and the three
brothers hoped he never did. It was often the only way that they could
communicate without their father knowing.
He heard the closet door click closed just as his bedroom door
opened and his father stepped in. Hugh knew he had no way of
explaining what he was doing standing in the middle of the room in
his boxers, so he said nothing. That was usually his best course of
action—keeping his mouth shut.
“You were late getting back,” the alpha said.
“Negotiations with Alpha Mihos took longer than expected.”
Hugh fully expected the ugly sneer that swept over his father’s
face. Aldo hated Alpha Stellan Mihos for the simple reason that the
man had mated, not only with two mates, but two male mates.
Procreation was the only reason that people took mates in his
father’s mind. If a man could get pregnant, then it would be perfectly
acceptable. The more cubs that could be produced for the pride, the
stronger the pride.
His father had provided three cubs through Hugh’s mother, but he
suspected there were a few more siblings in the pride. He just couldn’t
prove it. There were at least four other men in the pride that looked a
lot like Hugh and his two brothers. They also had strong positions
within the pride. Three of them were enforcers, and one was a tracker.
“The council should have hunted him down long ago. The man is
a disgrace to prides everywhere.”
Yeah, that was the usual response to anyone that didn’t think like
his father—call out a hunt on them. Hugh tried to ignore his father’s
words as he walked over to his bed and then turned to stare at him.
“It’s very late, Father, and I’d like to get some sleep. Is there
something more you wanted?”
“You will be in my office at nine o’clock in the morning to meet
your new mates. Do not be late.”
Hugh’s mouth dropped. “My new what?”
12
Stormy Glenn
“Your mates,” Aldo said. “I brokered a deal with the alpha of the
neighboring pride. In exchange for a large part of their territory, and
an assurance that you will be alpha of both prides when the time
comes, Alpha DeLuca has agreed to mate you with his two oldest
daughters. Boone is to be mated to his youngest daughter at the same
time. I am still working on a deal with Alpha Hamilton for Boone’s
other mate and Simon’s mates.”
“You can’t choose our mates.”
A moment later, Hugh rubbed his sore jaw as he picked himself
up off the floor after his father smacked him across the face. He
quickly hid the hatred in his eyes by dropping them to the floor. Hugh
was sure that his father thought he was being respectful.
If only he knew.
“The DeLuca pride, especially the alpha’s family line, has a high
rate of cubs. Two mates will increase that number. I will have my
grandcubs by the end of the year or someone else will take your place
as next in line for alpha.”
Hugh curled his lip up, the urge to tell his father exactly what he
thought of that plan on the tip of his tongue. But then his father
continued speaking, and the man’s words stole whatever Hugh was
going to say right out of his mouth.
“We have an issue, and I want it dealt with before Alpha DeLuca
arrives with his daughters in the morning.” Alpha Marshall folded his
hands behind his back and began pacing around the room. “There is a
family of white Bengal tigers staying at the hotel in town. I want them
gone. I don’t care how you do it, just do it.”
“Did they announce themselves and request the customary amount
of time to be in our territory?” No matter how many times he had
been forced to do his father’s bidding, he refused to break any council
laws. If his father wanted to get his ass put in prison, so be it, but
Hugh didn’t plan to be behind bars for any reason.
“Yes, yes.” The alpha waved a dismissive hand at Hugh. “They
followed all of the council laws, but I still want them gone before
A Little Bit of Heaven
13
morning. I don’t care what you have to do, just make sure they are
either gone from my territory before Alpha DeLuca arrives or dead
and buried. If Alpha DeLuca finds white tigers in our town, he may
refuse to allow his daughters mate with you or your brother.”
Damn, that made Hugh so sad.
Not.
“If they didn’t break the law, Father, I can’t make them leave.
And if they announced themselves and asked for the required time in
the pride’s territory, I’ll be sanctioned by the council if I harm them in
any way.”
Alpha Aldo’s face darkened as he raised it to glare across the
room at Hugh. He raised his hand in the air, and Hugh braced himself
to be hit again. He knew better than to dodge his father’s fists. That
just got him beat worse. But then the alpha slowly lowered his hand
and a malicious smile spread across his lips. And that scared Hugh
more than his father’s raised fist.
“Get rid of them or your brother will pay for your insolence.”
Hugh ground his teeth together. His father knew full well that he
would do anything to keep his younger brother safe, especially from
their father. Hugh had taken more than one beating in Simon’s place.
“I’ve already brokered a deal for you and Boone. If this other deal
goes through, as I am sure it will as Alpha Hamilton is the one that
approached me, then that will bring four new females into our pride.”
Aldo looked quite pleased with himself, and Hugh wanted to throw
up. “Alpha Hamilton wants Simon to join his pride, but I’m sure I can
make other arrangements if your brother is not available.”
“Not—” Hugh swallowed hard, a cold shiver of dread sinking into
his body. “Not available? Why wouldn’t he be available?”
The malicious smile was back, and it was even more evil this
time. “Don’t do as I ordered and you’ll find out.”
Hugh watched his father turn and storm out of the room. Even
though it hadn’t been put into words, he was under no illusions what
14
Stormy Glenn
his father meant by his cryptic words. If he didn’t do exactly what his
father wanted, Simon would pay the price, most likely with his life.
“I’m thinking it’s finally time to implement that plan of ours,
Hugh.”
Hugh turned to see Boone and Simon standing just inside the
room. Boone looked angry. His lips were pressed tightly together and
pulled down at the corners. Simon just looked terrified.
“It’s time to bail, bro.” Boone clenched one hand into a fist. The
other he wrapped around Simon’s shaking shoulders. “If he’s already
picked out our mates, I’m not sticking around to meet them.”
“You do realize what you’re saying, right?” Hugh had to be sure.
He and his brothers had hatched out a plan to leave the pride years
ago when they realized that all three of them were gay. They refused
to be forced to be mated to females just so that they could provide
more cubs for the pride. Hell, they just plain out refused to be mated
to females.
“I do, and I’m not letting Father send Simon away to some other
pride. He’d never survive it, and you know it.”
Hugh did know it. He loved his brothers more than life itself, but
he had a special soft spot for Simon. Both he and Boone did. Simon
wasn’t just the baby of the family. He was special.
He was an omega.
Omegas were so rare in prides that Hugh had never even met one.
They were the glue that held a pride together. They made the alpha
more approachable and acted as the go-between for the pride.
They created feelings of peace and calm wherever they went and
were totally dedicated to the welfare of the pride that cared for and
protected them. And when a pride did discover that they had an
omega in their midst, they were usually the most protected of all the
members of the pride.
And Alpha Aldo Marshall had no idea that his youngest son was
an omega. Hugh had every intention of keeping it that way. And that
A Little Bit of Heaven
15
meant that Boone was right. It was time to implement the escape plan
they had discussed over the years.
“Pack whatever you don’t want to leave behind, but pack light.
Just take the essentials, including a few changes of clothes. Anything
we don’t take with us we can buy once we get where we are going.”
Boone’s eyebrows peeked. “Where exactly are we going?”
Hugh grinned. While he might not have discussed things with his
brothers in a couple of years, he had still been planning. His recent
trip to meet with Alpha Mihos was for more than brokering a deal for
his father. The man had connections.
“I have a place in mind, but I won’t discuss it within these walls.”
Boone nodded and then pulled Simon back toward the hidden
passage in the closet. “We’ll go pack.”
“I’m going to pack a bag and then give it to you,” Hugh said.
“Father needs to see me leave the house to go do his bidding. I want
you and Simon to sneak out and meet me at the end of the road.”
“Got it.”
Hugh waited until the secret door in his closet closed and then
grabbed the bag he had hidden under his bed. It was already packed
with most of the things he needed to take with him. There were just a
few personal items left to grab—the only picture of his mother that he
had been allowed to keep after she died, a necklace that had been
handed down through his family for generations, and his little book of
contacts that he had built up over the years.
Everything else could stay here and rot.
Hugh quickly got dressed in faded jeans, a simple white button-
down shirt, and his brown cowboy boots. He grabbed his leather
jacket out of the closet and pulled it on and then headed for the hidden
passage. He knocked twice and then waited for the door that led into
Boone’s room to open. Once it did, he handed his bag to his brother.
“You guys about ready?”
“Yeah, Simon is just getting his coat.”
16
Stormy Glenn
“Okay, go out the window like we used to when we were kids and
meet me down by the road. And stay hidden until you know it’s me. If
Father even suspects that you two are leaving with me, we won’t be
around to see the next sunrise.”
“We’ll be there.”
Hugh nodded and then climbed back out of his closet when the
secret door closed. He shut the closet door and then made his way to
the middle of his room. Hugh cast one more look around the room,
hoping he didn’t forget anything important. He knew the second his
father learned he had taken off, everything in his room would be
destroyed.
He’d miss his room, his books and trinkets, the view outside his
window seat. He’d even miss some of the members of his pride. Not
all of them thought like his father. But enough did that Hugh didn’t
feel an ounce of guilt in leaving. This wasn’t his pride, and it never
would be.
Hugh walked out of his bedroom, knowing he would never be
back. Well, hoping he would never be back. If his father caught wind
of what he and his brothers were up to, Hugh had no doubt that the
man would do everything in his power to stop them, even kill them.
Hugh almost stumbled when he saw his father standing at the
bottom of the stairs. He breathed in deeply and then gently blew the
breath out as he walked down the stairs. He had to play it cool.
“Do you want me to follow them to the edge of our territory and
make sure that they leave?” he asked, hoping his father said yes. It
would give him a few hours’ lead on the alpha.
“If you must.” Alpha Aldo looked very disapproving as he crossed
his arms over his chest. Hugh knew the man would prefer that he just
kill whatever shifters had pissed him off. “Just make sure you’re in
my office by nine o’clock.”
Hugh barely retained himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he
headed for the door, but as he got there, he paused with his hand on
the door, and glanced back over his shoulder at his father.
A Little Bit of Heaven
17
“Do you really expect me to mate with two women I’ve never
met?”
“They’re good, respectful women,” Aldo said. “They know their
place. They will not interfere in whatever… err…”—Aldo sneered as
he looked Hugh up and down—”extracurricular activities you choose
to pursue.”
For a moment, abject fear filled Hugh as he wondered if his father
knew he was gay. Hugh quickly dismissed that idea. There was no
way that his father could know. He never indulged anywhere near his
father’s territory, and he’d certainly never been with anyone more
than once.
He also knew that his father had several mistresses inside the
pride. He had started sleeping around even before his mother passed
away. The man was a letch.
“Unlike you, Father, I refuse to cheat on my mate. The only
extracurricular activities I will be involved in are darts at the bar,
sparring with my brothers, reading books, and making the occasional
dessert.”
Aldo sneered. “You’re just like your mother, always reading and
cooking. You should have been born a girl.”
“Maybe.” Hugh grinned. “But then you never would have been
able to make a deal with Alpha DeLuca for his daughters, now would
you?”
Hugh stepped out of the front door and closed it behind him
before his father could argue, and Hugh knew his father would argue.
Well, he’d yell and shout, and maybe smack Hugh a few times for
being disrespectful.
He heard his father’s loud roar as he headed for his truck, and
smiled. He never ever expected to get the last word where his father
was concerned, and yet he had. Unfortunately, he knew if he didn’t
warn the people his father wanted gone, and then hightail it out of
town, his father would get the last word.
18
Stormy Glenn
Hugh climbed into his truck and started it. Keeping one eye on the
road ahead of him and the other on his rearview mirror, Hugh drove
away from the only home he had ever known. And he couldn’t say he
was sad about it. In fact, the farther down the driveway he drove, the
happier he began to feel.
When he stopped at the end of the driveway, his brothers hurried
out of the darkness of the trees on the side of the drive and climbed
into the truck. Simon got into the back of the king cab. Boone climbed
into the front passenger seat, tossing Hugh’s bag in the back.
“Everything go okay?” Boone asked.
“So far,” Hugh said as he got the truck moving again and turned
onto the main road heading into town, “but Father may suspect
something. He cornered me before I could get out the front door.”
“That’s not good,” Simon said from the backseat.
“No, it’s not,” Hugh replied, “so keep an eye out the back
window. If you see headlights, let me know. That bastard is not going
to let us go without a fight.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
19
Chapter 2
Kye Hara pushed his long hair back from his face and tucked it
behind his ear as he went to answer the door. He peeked through the
keyhole first to see who was pounding on his door at this early hour.
He had been awake, but still, it was very early.
And he did not recognize the rather tall man on the other side of
the door. He was pretty sure he would have remembered if he had
ever met a man that looked like that. He looked strong, and tall, and a
bit scary.
“Can I help you?” Kye asked through the door. He wasn’t so sure
answering the door to strangers was in his best interest.
“Alpha Marshall sent me.”
Kye liked the deep voice that replied, but he did not like the idea
that Alpha Marshall sent anyone. Kye hadn’t liked the alpha since the
moment he met him. The disdainful glare the alpha had given him and
his family made Kye’s skin crawl.
Considering that he was in another pride’s territory, keeping the
door shut wasn’t an option. He’d have to let the man inside. But that
didn’t mean he had to do it alone.
“Please wait.” Before the man could reply, Kye hurried across the
room and knocked on his brother’s door. A moment later, a bleary
eyed Kumiko answered the door a moment later, rubbing his eyes.
Kye didn’t even wait for his brother to say anything. He just grabbed
him by the wrist and started dragging him toward the door. “Hurry,
Kumiko, the alpha has sent someone to speak with us.”
Kumiko’s eyes were huge as he looked down at Kye and then at
the door. “Alpha Marshall?”
20
Stormy Glenn
“Yes.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes.” Kye made a shooing motion with his hands. “Now go. I’ll
wake Yuji.”
Kye heard his older brother stumble toward the door as he hurried
to the room he shared with his other brother, Yuji. There were three of
them, and Kye was the youngest of all of them. Kumiko was the
oldest and Yuji was born second. They still treated Kye like the baby
of the family even though he was twenty-three years old.
“Yuji, wake up and get dressed.”
“Wake me in a couple of hours,” Yuji murmured as he tried to
bury his head in his blankets. “It’s not even light out yet.”
Kye rolled his eyes and hurried to get Yuji’s clothes together, and
then tossed them onto his brother’s twin bed. “Get dressed, Yuji.
Alpha Marshall sent men to talk with us.”
“What?” Yuji exclaimed as he jackknifed in bed. He blinked, and
then rubbed his eyes, then blinked again. “He did what?”
“Alpha Marshall sent some men to talk to us. I suspect our time
here in this town has come to an end.” Kye pulled his faded jeans up
his legs and then buttoned them before reaching for his sweater. “Get
dressed and help me gather our stuff. I don’t know how much time we
have before they kick us out.”
As soon as Kye was dressed, he rushed around the room and
gathered their stuff, shoving it into the bags they had brought. He had
done this before. He knew the routine. Grab the most important items
first—their identification, laptops, their crafts and supplies, and their
money. After that came the clothes and hygiene items. They weren’t
as important as their craft items.
While his brother was getting dressed, Kye set the packed bags on
the bed and crept over to the door. He cracked it open and peeked
through the small slit in the door to the main room of their hotel suite.
Three men stood talking with his brother, Kumiko, and they were
the biggest men Kye had ever seen. Kumiko looked like a child
A Little Bit of Heaven
21
standing next to them, which would make Kye look like a toddler as
he was several inches shorter than his brother.
Kye paled when he realized one of the men was looking directly
at him. He’d been caught, plain and simple. He felt his face go from
ashen to pink. He glanced over his shoulder at his brother to see him
tying his shoes. Good, they could run if they had to. It wouldn’t be
anything new. They had had to do it before.
Kye never understood that.
They followed the rules set down by the council. They never went
into another alpha’s territory without presenting themselves and
requesting the customary five-day leave time. Usually, they were
allowed to stay for the allotted time, but a couple of times they had
immediately been run out of town. Once, they had actually been
hunted as they ran.
Kye really hoped this wasn’t such an occasion.
Kye opened the door and stepped out, hoping to learn what was
going on. The more prepared he was, the easier it would be to escape.
As he stepped into the small hallway between the room he shared
with Yuji and Kumiko’s room, he ran smack into the hardest wall he
had ever hit. Large hands grabbed him before he could fall back onto
the floor.
“Whoa, I have you.”
Kye’s eyes snapped up at the deeply rumbled tone, and then up
some more. He had to tilt his head all of the way back to see into the
large man’s face. “My apologies,” Kye said quickly, afraid he was
about to be squashed like a bug. “I was not looking where I
was…going.”
Gods, what was that wonderful smell?
It was divine. Kye sniffed the air. He glanced around, sniffing
some more as he tried to pinpoint exactly where that intoxicating
scent was coming from. He had never smelled anything so wonderful
in his life. It was like a combination of mountain air and jasmine.
22
Stormy Glenn
“No apologies needed, little bit.” The man chuckled. “I hope I
didn’t hurt you.”
“No, not at all.” Kye smiled as much as he could, considering the
state he was in. His skin was suddenly tight and itching. He felt an
almost overwhelming need to rub his hands up and down his arms.
“Please, excuse me. I must speak with my brother.”
And find out where that wonderful scent was coming from.
When Kye went to step around the massive wall of flesh standing
in front of him, he realized that he couldn’t. The man’s shoulders
were almost as wide as the hallway. Kye felt flustered. There was no
way that he could move the man on his own. And if the stranger
decided not to move, Kye couldn’t do anything about it.
“Excuse me, please,” Kye tried again. His mother always said
politeness was best when in a tough situation, and they didn’t get
much tougher than this.
“My apologies this time, little bit.” The man slid to the side, but
there was still barely enough room for Kye to squeeze past. “I was
just a little astonished that you have no scent. I was under the
impression that you were a white Bengal tiger.”
Kye’s breath caught in his throat as he slowly raised his widened
eyes to the man standing beside him. He licked his lips as he tried to
form the words that where hanging on his tongue.
“You”—Kye suddenly had a fist-size lump in his throat—“you
can’t smell me?”
“No.” The man’s black eyebrows drew down deep over his
forehead. “I can’t even tell if you’re human.”
“I’m not,” Kye whispered. “I’m a white Bengal tiger like you
said.”
The man’s frown deepened as he regarded Kye almost as if he
were trying to solve some puzzle. “Then I should be able to smell
you.”
“Are… are you an alpha?”
A Little Bit of Heaven
23
The man stared for a moment and then threw his head back as his
deep laughter filled the room. Kye was thrilled that he had made the
big man laugh because laughter meant he probably wasn’t going to
have his ass handed to him. But he was still confused.
“No, I am not an alpha,” the man finally said once he got his
amusement under control. “I was being trained to take over for my
father when he steps down, but I am not an alpha yet.”
“But you are being trained as an alpha?” That was the only way to
explain Kye’s insane urge to rub himself all over the handsome man
who couldn’t scent him.
“I was.”
Kye’s eyebrow quirked. “Was?”
“As of tonight, I am no longer associated with the Marshall
Pride.”
Kye heard the sorrow in that statement and felt it in his heart. “I’m
sorry.”
“I’m not.”
Kye wasn’t sure that was true. “I’m Kye Hara.”
“Hello, Kye Hara.” The man started to grin again, which made
Kye’s stomach flutter. “I’m Hugh Marshall, but my friends just call
me Hugh.”
Gods, Kye hoped he was included in that group. “My friends call
me—” Kye frowned as he glanced down at his hands, picking under
one of his nails. “Well, I don’t really have any friends, but my
brothers call me Kye.”
“Everyone has friends, little bit.”
“Everyone would like to have friends,” Kye corrected. “That does
not necessarily mean that they have them.” Kye shuddered when the
man’s massive hand reached down and tucked his hair behind his ear.
“I’d like to be your friend, little bit.”
“I’d like that, too.” Kye started to lean toward the powerful man
when his brother’s loud yell reminded him where he was. Kye felt his
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Stormy Glenn
face flush again as he turned away from the most handsome man he
had ever seen and faced his brother.
“Get our bags,” Kumiko said sternly. “It is time for us to go.”
Kye pressed his lips together to keep from shouting at his brother.
He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay and get to know Hugh better.
But he knew he couldn’t. Kumiko was the oldest and always looked
out for him and Yuji. Kye needed to do as his brother said.
Kye nodded and turned to go back into the bedroom. He stopped
when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced up over his
shoulder—and then up. Gods, this man was tall. He seemed like his
wide shoulders could block out the sun.
“I’m sorry about this, Kye. My father wanted us to run you out of
town, and even though that is kind of what we are doing, it’s for your
own safety. If my father finds you in town after sunrise, there’s no
telling what he might do, and I’ve seen him do some pretty nasty
things.”
That did not sound good.
Kye nodded that he understood, and he did. White Bengal tigers
were rare. Most of the prides in North America were made up of
lions. While many prides were accepting of others, just as many were
not.
“I’m going to grab our bags,” Kye said as he turned to head into
his room.
“Need some help?”
When Kye turned to answer the man, he was a little shocked to
see Hugh standing right behind him. He took a step back, but Hugh
only followed him. Kye felt the corners of his mouth start to twitch as
he did it again, and Hugh stepped forward once again.
“Do you dance often?” Kye couldn’t help asking.
“Actually, I’m a horrible dancer,” Hugh replied. “But I’m willing
to learn.”
There was a twinkle in Hugh’s light-brown eyes that told of his
amusement with the situation. But they were also filled with
A Little Bit of Heaven
25
confusion as Hugh sniffed at Kye again. “I don’t understand why I
can’t smell you. Have you used something to mask your scent?”
Kye sucked in his lower lip and chewed on it. He was fairly
positive that he knew why Hugh couldn’t smell him, but he wasn’t
sure he should say anything. He knew next to nothing about this man
beyond his name and that his father was an asshole. If Kye told Hugh
what he knew, what would the larger man do?
“Are you sure you’re not an alpha?” Kye whispered anxiously.
Hugh just had to be an alpha because that was the only way to explain
it. Only an alpha couldn’t scent their mate. The lack of scent in a mate
was the way for an alpha to tell when they had met their mate. It kept
other alphas from trying to claim them before their true mates found
them.
“Sorry, little one, but I’m not.”
“Damn!” Kye just couldn’t keep the word from slipping out. He
had been so sure that Hugh was an alpha. It would explain why Hugh
couldn’t smell him and why Kye was so drawn to the man.
“Is that a problem?”
Wow, how to answer that?
“Uh, no, it’s not really a problem, I guess. It’s just that—” Kye
licked his lips, not sure how to proceed. He really didn’t want to make
this guy angry and he wasn’t sure how Hugh would react to what Kye
suspected. “Well, it’s—”
Kye jumped when Hugh suddenly grunted and then grabbed the
back of his head as he turned. Kye peeked around the large man to see
one of the others that had come with Hugh standing behind him.
“What did you do that for?” Hugh snapped as he rubbed his head.
“Because you’re being a fucking idiot,” the stranger answered.
The man leaned forward and tapped Hugh on his forehead. Brave
man. “Think, Hugh. Why can’t you smell him when I can? What is
the one instance where a lion cannot smell someone?”
Kye stiffened, his body filling with tension, as Hugh slowly
turned to look down at him. Kye gave into his need to rub his hands
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Stormy Glenn
up and down his arms, and the he took a step back. He wanted space
between him and Hugh in case he needed to run, because Hugh did
not look happy.
Well, he didn’t exactly look mad either, more perplexed. His dark
eyebrows slanted in a frown. It matched the frown in his lips. Kye had
no idea what the man was thinking. Except for the confusion on
Hugh’s face, there was no other outward sign of the man’s emotions.
He almost jumped out of his skin when Hugh lifted his hand and
lightly fingered a loose tendril of hair on Kye’s cheek before he
cupped Kye’s chin tenderly in his warm hand. “Mate, huh?”
Kye nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
“I guess that makes me an alpha, then.”
“I’m sorry,” Kye said because Hugh did not sound happy about
the prospect.
The beginning of a smile tipped Hugh’s lips. “I’m not. I never
wanted to be an alpha, but for you I will.”
Kye was unprepared for the hand that grabbed him and pulled him
flush against Hugh’s muscular body. He let out a very unmanly yelp,
and then groaned when Hugh’s sweet scent enveloped him.
Standing this close to Hugh, the aroma of mountain air and
jasmine was everywhere. It poured into Kye’s pores and saturated him
with the scent. It was glorious. Kye wanted to bathe in the exotic
fragrance. He wanted to roll in it and wrap every inch of his body in
Hugh’s scent.
“You smell so good,” Kye whispered, forgetting that lions had
superior hearing until Hugh’s chest rumbled with laughter. Kye felt
his face flame as he peeked up at the man.
“I’m glad you think so, little bit, and I cannot wait to discover
how you smell.” The line of Hugh’s mouth suddenly tightened.
“Unfortunately, that will have to wait. We don’t have much time to
get you and your brothers out of town before my father discovers I’m
not exactly doing what he ordered.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
27
Kye tried to push back from Hugh, but the arms locked around
him kept him right where he was—pressed up against Hugh. Kye
frowned and pushed back again until Hugh’s hold lessened, not
enough for him to get away but enough for him to look up at the man.
“Just what exactly did your father order you to do?”
“Make sure that you and your brothers were gone by nine in the
morning.”
Okay, Kye was even more confused now. “That doesn’t sound so
bad. If we leave now, we’ll be gone by morning. How can your father
be upset with you then?”
“Kye,” the man behind Hugh called out, “our father doesn’t
accept anyone not like him. While he may have phrased things in such
a way that he sounded like we are simply to escort you to the edge of
our territory, that is not what he wanted.”
“Then what did he want?”
A muscle flickered angrily in Hugh’s jaw. “He wants you dead.”
Kye’s brow creased with worry. “That’s not good.”
“And that, little bit,” Hugh said, “is why we must leave now.
Once my father figures out that my brothers and I have left, and he
will, he will also figure out that we have no intention of killing you
and your family. He will send enforcers to carry out the job.”
“Okay, then I suppose we really do need to go.” Kye started to
push away from Hugh only to find himself still trapped within the
man’s arms, and Hugh didn’t look like he had any intention of letting
Kye go. “Uh, this works a whole lot better if you let me go.”
“Nope.” Hugh’s grin was infectious. Kye found himself smiling
despite the danger of the situation he was in. “Boone, would you help
Kye’s brother gather their bags and carry them out to their car?”
“Sure thing, bro.”
Kye could hear the amusement in Boone’s voice as the man
walked past him and Hugh, but he couldn’t turn to look. He was too
mesmerized by the heat igniting in Hugh’s brown eyes. Had anyone
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ever looked at him like that? Ever? Hugh looked like he wanted to
devour Kye.
“So, um…” Kye felt the need to fill the silence with something.
He just couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
“Damn, you’re adorable.”
Kye cocked an eyebrow. “Adorable?” He wasn’t sure whether to
be insulted or not. Adorable was nice, but Hugh could have been
talking about a puppy, not a mate. He wanted to be sexy, sensual, hot,
handsome, gorgeous, striking. Hell, he’d even stand for beautiful. But
adorable?
“Would you let me brush out your hair sometime?” Hugh asked as
his fingers raked through the long strands. “It’s beautiful.”
That was better.
“If you want to.”
“I want to.” Hugh grinned again, his eyes dropping down to
Kye’s. “I can think of a lot of things I want to do to you.”
Kye suddenly felt like he didn’t have enough air in his lungs. He
inhaled deeply and tried to get his lungs to work, and his brain,
because it was pooling in his groin. “That sounds good.”
“My brothers and I have a plan to get away from my father,”
Hugh said, suddenly sounding very serious. When Kye looked at him,
he realized that whatever amusement and tender feelings Hugh might
have been feeling were gone to be replaced by a stoic look. “Will you
come with me?”
“You’re asking me?”
Hugh’s head snapped back. “Of course I’m asking. I would never
force you to do anything you didn’t want to do.”
Kye’s heart melted all over the floor at Hugh’s words. He couldn’t
remember the last time someone had actually asked him for
something. True, his brother Kumiko had his best interests at heart,
but the man usually just ordered Kye to do stuff. He didn’t really ask.
But Hugh had asked, and Kye knew he couldn’t deny his mate.
“I’ll go with you, but I have to make sure my brothers are safe first.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
29
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Kye smiled and patted Hugh’s broad chest, almost swooning at all
of the rippled muscles he could feel through the man’s shirt. “You’ll
make a good alpha.”
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Stormy Glenn
Chapter 3
Hugh was too startled by Kye’s words to offer up an objection. He
knew he was being trained to take over the alpha position after his
father stepped down, but he never actually thought he’d be one. He
just never saw himself that way.
And now, it looked that he had no choice. He knew what the
legends said. An alpha was the only one that couldn’t smell his mate.
That was one sure way that an alpha could tell that they had met their
mate, the lack of scent. But it only happened with alphas, which
meant that Hugh had to be an alpha.
And he now had a mate—an incredibly sexy five-foot-nothing
mate, with long chocolate brown hair that fell in gentle waves to the
curve of his ass. It was the most exotic thing Hugh had ever seen, and
he couldn’t wait to wrap his hand around that luscious hair as he
fucked the little man into the mattress.
But first he needed to get his mate to safety. As much as he
wanted to claim Kye right then and there, protecting his mate came
before anything else. And that included keeping Kye’s brothers safe.
If anything happened to Kumiko or Yuji, Hugh had no doubt that Kye
would be devastated, and that was just not acceptable. Nothing that
would hurt his little mate was acceptable.
That didn’t mean that Hugh had to let Kye get more than an inch
away from him, though. Hugh wrapped one of his arms around Kye’s
tiny little waist and pulled the man firmly into the curve of his body
as he turned to look at his brother.
Boone had a curious smirk on his face, one that told Hugh the
man was vastly amused by Hugh’s situation. He did, however, have
A Little Bit of Heaven
31
several bags in his hands. Yuji stood next to Boone with his own
bags, his gaze ping-ponging between Kye, Hugh, and Boone as if he
was trying to figure out why Kye was in Hugh’s arms.
“Is that everything?” Hugh asked as he nodded toward the bags
the two men held.
Yuji nodded. “The rest of our stuff is still in the car.”
Hugh kept Kye glued to his side as he turned and walked back
into the main room. Kumiko’s eyes instantly swung over to them, and
a snarled frown moved over his face.
“Kye!” the man snapped. “What are you doing?”
Hugh stiffened to his full height. A growl rumbled through his
chest as every protective instinct in his body went on full alert. “You
do not speak to him that way.” No one was allowed to speak to Kye in
that manner, not when he was around.
Kumiko regarded him with impassive coldness. “You do not tell
me how to speak to my brother.” He pointed to a spot on the floor
right in front of him. “Kye, come.”
“He’s not a dog!”
“No, he is a white Bengal tiger,” Kumiko replied. “And he is my
responsibility. He will do what I tell him to do.”
Hugh could feel Kye shaking and tightened his hold around the
delicate little man. “He is no longer your responsibility. He is mine.”
Kumiko’s eyes narrowed. “You do not get to decide that.”
“The hell I don’t.”
Hugh suddenly realized that Kye and his brother were about as
distant in personalities as they could possibly be. Kumiko was a
bundle of fire. Kye was sweet and innocent. Kumiko looked like he
was ready to take on the world. Kye needed to be protected from the
evils of the world.
He also realized that he had to deal with Kumiko in a totally
different manner than he dealt with Kye. His beautiful mate needed
gentle handling. Kumiko needed his ass kicked.
“Kye is my mate, and that means he is now my responsibility.”
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Kumiko opened his mouth like he was going to argue and then his
eyes dropped to Kye, and his mouth snapped closed. The silence in
the room as Kumiko stared at his brother was heavy and
uncomfortable. Hugh had no idea what the dynamics were between
the brothers, but he could guess.
Kumiko was used to caring for and protecting his brothers. He
was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Kye was no longer
his responsibility. Hugh could understand that. He felt the same way
about his own brothers, especially Simon. When the time came for
Simon to be with his mate, Hugh doubted he would feel any different
than Kumiko.
“Is this true, brother?” Kumiko finally asked.
Kye nodded. “It’s true.”
“I see.”
Hugh frowned. That wasn’t a response. “I will care for Kye
always, Kumiko. Once it is safe for me to claim him, our souls will be
bound together for all of eternity. His care and safety will always be
my first priority.”
Hugh knew he had spoken the right words when a sad little smile
crossed Kumiko’s face. “You harm him and no one will be able to
save you from me.” It was a warning, pure and simple, one that Hugh
accepted openly.
“On my life.” Hugh smiled as he hugged Kye to him, happiness
unlike anything he had ever experienced before in his life sweeping
through him. He had found his mate, and just when he was about to
begin a new phase in his life.
Granted, the future was uncertain, and things would be rough for a
while. There were exactly four people in his new pride, if that was
what he had. And where they were going to live and establish a pride
was totally up in the air. But he had his mate and his brothers, and if
they could get out of the pride’s territory in time, he would be free of
his father.
In Hugh’s mind, things didn’t get much better than this.
A Little Bit of Heaven
33
“We need to go,” Boone said as he stepped toward the door.
“Father will figure out that we flew the coop pretty soon, and he’s
going to come looking for us. This is the first place he’s going to
look.”
“Right,” Hugh said as glanced down at his mate. “Do you have
everything you need?”
“Yes.”
Hugh nodded to his brother to head out. “Simon, I want Kumiko
and Yuji between us. Bring up the rear. Shut and lock the door behind
you.” Hugh walked over and turned the television set on to create
noise in the room, hoping it might confuse his father if he did indeed
show himself.
Boone opened the door and started out, Kumiko and Yuji right
behind him. Hugh walked out next with Kye wrapped tightly in his
arms. He sniffed the air the second he stepped outside, making sure
there were no other shifters in the area. When he smelled nothing but
the normal city smells, he continued walking toward his truck.
Once there, Hugh opened the driver side door and lifted Kye into
the seat. At Kye’s curious look, Hugh patted his thigh. “You ride with
me.”
“But—” Kye’s worried eyes strayed to his brothers, who were
climbing into the four-door sedan parked next to Hugh’s truck.
“Boone and Simon will ride with them until we get where we are
going.” Hugh smiled to reassure his mate. “Not to worry, little bit, we
will keep your brothers safe.”
Kye cocked his head to one side, a frown marring his forehead.
“Why do you call me little bit?”
Hugh chuckled as he shooed Kye across the seat and climbed into
the truck. “Because, compared to my size, you are a little bit of
nothing.”
A giggle filled the cab of Hugh’s truck, and he was frozen in his
spot, mesmerized by the alluring sound. It was the most beautiful
thing he had ever heard, filled with pure happiness and joy. It made
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Stormy Glenn
Hugh suddenly feel calm in the middle of a dangerous situation, and
he was filled with the knowledge that he could handle anything
thrown at him as long as he had Kye at his side.
Hugh reached across the cab of the truck and grabbed Kye’s hand
in his. “You’re an omega.” It wasn’t a question because Hugh already
knew the answer from living with his brother Simon his entire life.
“No, I told you. I’m a white Bengal tiger.”
“You’re also an omega, little bit.”
Kye’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Omegas are there for everyone, but especially the alpha. They
help their pride when they are feeling bad, making them happy with
the simple touch of a hand. They calm the pride and act as mediators
between members. They keep people from feeling aggression.”
“Omegas are myths.”
“No, baby, they are not. My brother Simon is an omega.”
Kye leaned forward to peer past Hugh to the car next to them. “He
is?”
“Yes, he is, although only Boone, Simon, and I know that. I think
maybe our mother knew also, but no one else does. We don’t
advertise that fact.”
“Why not?” Kye asked as he glanced at Hugh.
“Because my father is a ruthless bastard, and he would never let
Simon have any peace if he knew that he was an omega. He would
lock Simon away and never let him have a life of his own just so he
could keep Simon to himself.”
Hugh felt like just as much of a bastard as his father when he saw
tears well up in Kye’s brown eyes. He quickly pulled Kye into his
arms, resting his chin on the top of Kye’s head as he stroked his hands
up and down the man’s back in a soothing gesture.
“Shh, little bit, it’s not that bad. Being an omega is a good thing.”
“Not if I’m going to be locked up.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
35
Hugh inhaled sharply at what Kye had gotten from his words. He
leaned back and grabbed Kye’s chin in his hand, tilting his head up.
“No one is ever going to lock you up, Kye. I won’t allow it.”
“But, you just said—”
“I told you what my father would do if he ever found out about
Simon. I am not my father. I will never lock you up or try to use you
for my own gain. You’re my mate, and that means your happiness and
well-being come before anything else, even that of our pride.”
Hugh smiled at the astonishment covering Kye’s face. “Do you
remember the legend of the omega, little bit? As my omega, you will
help keep me calm even in dangerous situations like now. I feel like I
can conquer the world just because you laughed. It was the most
beautiful sound I have ever heard.”
“Yeah?” Kye asked on a breathless whisper.
Hugh’s lips stretched into a wider grin. “Yeah.”
Kye nibbled on his bottom lip for a moment and then asked, “So,
you’re not upset that I’m an omega?”
“I’m delighted that you’re an omega. It means that our pride will
be stronger because of you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll help me rule the pride better. Just having you at
my side will bring me happiness and make me want to be a better
alpha. But as an omega, you’ll help balance my aggressive nature.
You’ll make me more approachable to our pride members, risking my
wrath to intercede for them. Having an omega mate will mean that
we’ll have a happier, more satisfied pride.”
“Wow.” Kye’s eyes were huge. “That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“It is, but you can handle it, and anytime that you feel
overwhelmed, just say something to me. As my mate, my ultimate
goal is to make you happy and keep you safe, even from the needs of
the pride or myself.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Kye, I do.”
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Stormy Glenn
“You are the most amazing man I have ever met.”
Hugh chuckled. “Why is that, little bit?”
“You just met me. We haven’t even known each other an entire
day. Hell, we haven’t even known each other for more than a couple
of hours, and yet you seem so willing to put my needs ahead of
yours.”
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be between mates, Kye.” Hugh
licked his lips as he tried to figure out how to explain his beliefs to the
man. Then he heard Kye’s soft inhale and watched his eyes darken as
they dropped to Hugh’s mouth.
Hugh suddenly found it hard to breathe. He might not be able to
scent his mate, but he had no problem smelling the arousal filling the
cab of his truck. Hugh groaned, the heady fragrance overwhelming
his common sense.
Hugh wrapped long lengths of Kye’s hair around his hand and
tilted the man’s head to one side and slanted his mouth over Kye’s.
The first tentative touch of Kye’s lips sent Hugh’s senses spinning.
The second, more sure touch, sent shivers of delight racing through
Hugh’s body.
Kye kissed like a dream.
Hugh’s tongue licked purposefully at Kye’s upper lip until he was
granted entry into the warm, wet cavern of Kye’s mouth. Sweeping
his tongue inside, Hugh brushed against Kye’s tongue and explored
the recesses of the man’s mouth.
He felt the slighter body move closer to his, melding against him.
Each soft curve of Kye’s body made Hugh’s pulse pound. Kye wasn’t
built with miles of muscle like Hugh was, but he did have definition.
It was just softer to the touch and more delicate, and Hugh found he
liked it more than he would have if he was touching someone more
muscular.
Kye was soft in all of the right places, and hard just where he
should be. And gods, the soft hollow at the base of his spine curved
into the tightest ass Hugh had ever had the pleasure to grab. Kye’s
A Little Bit of Heaven
37
gently rounded globes fit into Hugh’s hands like they had been made
from the same mold and then broken apart.
And now they were fitting back together.
Hugh jerked when he heard a horn honk. With a reluctant groan,
he pulled away from his mate’s mouth. Kye’s eyes were half lidded as
he panted lightly between his parted lips. Hugh stroked his thumb
over Kye’s kiss-swollen lips to sooth them.
“Gods, you’re beautiful.”
The most delightful smile spread across Kye’s lips even as his
face flushed with color. “No one’s ever called me beautiful before.”
“Then they were blind because you’re gorgeous.”
The horn honked again, a couple of times, as if the person
honking it was impatient. Hugh sighed and moved back to his seat
and started to buckle his seatbelt. “Buckle up, little bit. My brother is
reminding me that we need to get on the road, and as much as I’d like
to sit right here and continue to kiss you until the sun comes up, he’s
right.”
Once Kye was buckled, Hugh started his truck and pulled out of
the parking spot, heading down the main street of town. He wanted to
get out of his father’s territory as fast as possible, and that was a lot of
territory. It would take at least two hours to reach the boundary of his
father’s domain.
He had been gone from home for over two hours, which made it
roughly around six o’clock in the morning. The sun would be coming
up soon, and his father would be wondering why he hadn’t come
back. By the time they reached the edge of the pride’s territory, the
sun would be up and his father would most definitely be looking for
him.
They had a slim window of opportunity here. Very slim. Hugh
stepped on the gas, driving just over the speed limit as he hurried to
get them to safety. If they could reach the edge of his father’s
territory, they might have a chance to escape. If they were caught
within his father’s territory, they were doomed. His father could do
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Stormy Glenn
whatever he wanted to all of them, and Hugh had no doubt that they
wouldn’t enjoy it.
Escape was the only option.
But Hugh hadn’t put this plan of his into action without a few
ideas up his sleeve. As he drove down the road, he pulled his cell
phone out and dialed a number he knew by heart. He had memorized
it and then erased it from his phone in case his father looked through
his calls.
Hugh knew it was early, and the person he was calling would be
pissed, but it couldn’t be helped. Still, he winced a little when he
heard a loud bark come across the phone when Stellan Mihos
answered.
“What?”
“Alpha Mihos, it’s Hugh Marshall.”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Yes, I do, and I apologize for the early hour, but I need to know
if that offer of yours is still open.” Hugh held his breath as he waited
for the man to reply. If Alpha Mihos said no, they were screwed. The
deal the man had offered him played heavily into Hugh’s plans.
“Yes.”
Relief rushed through Hugh. “Thank you, Alpha Mihos.”
“I think you’d better call me Stellan under the circumstances.”
“Yes, sir.”
Stellan chuckled. “Yes, Stellan,” he corrected.
“Right, Stellan. Thank you, Stellan.”
“Are your brothers coming with you?”
“Yes.” Hugh’s eyes cut to the sexy man sitting next to him. “As
well as my mate and his two brothers.”
“I don’t remember you mentioning a mate before.”
“I didn’t have one before. We just met.”
“Oh, well, congratulations anyway.”
“Thank you, Stellan.”
“When can I expect you?”
A Little Bit of Heaven
39
“Hopefully, in the next few hours. We’re heading for the border of
my father’s territory now. If he doesn’t discover we’re gone before
we get out, we’ll be there soon. If he does, well…” The rest of his
words were left unsaid, but he was pretty sure that the alpha knew
what he meant to say without him having to say it.
Kye was listening intently to his conversation, and Hugh didn’t
want to scare his mate any more than he had to. Kye knew they were
in a precarious situation, but the less afraid that the man was the better
Hugh would feel. Already, the need to protect Kye was riding him
hard. His lion was clawing at his insides, trying to get out so that he
could shift and destroy whatever threat there was to their mate.
“I understand,” Stellan replied.
Hugh’s relief was overwhelming. “Thank you, Alpha.”
“Stellan.”
Hugh grinned. “I’ll get it eventually.”
“I’m sure.” Stellan chuckled. “I’ll have some rooms made up and
waiting for you. Is there anything else you require?”
“No, you’ve been more than generous, Stellan. I can never thank
you enough. Getting my mate and my brothers to safety is my most
important worry right now.”
“As it should be.”
Hugh said good-bye to the alpha and hung his phone up. He
glanced over at Kye when his mate tugged on his sleeve, arching an
eyebrow at the gorgeous little man.
“Who was that?”
“That, little bit, was Alpha Stellan Mihos.”
Kye’s eyes widened. “I’ve heard of him. He’s a very powerful
alpha.”
“Yes, he is, which is why we’re joining his pride.”
“We are?”
“Yep. I was sent to see him on business for my father. I’d heard of
him or course, but once I met the man in person, I learned what type
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of alpha he really is. I told him of my troubles with my father and
asked to join his pride if I had to leave my father’s pride. He agreed.”
“Will he lock me up when he discovers that I’m an omega?”
“No!” Hugh snapped, and then sighed when Kye cringed back.
“I’m sorry, little bit. I didn’t mean to snap at you. No one is going to
lock you up. I already told you that. If Alpha Mihos thinks he can
lock you up, we’ll find another pride to join. I won’t have anyone
taking you from me.”
“There’s something else you need to consider, Hugh.”
Hugh turned to Kye in surprise, as much from his words as from
his use of his name. It was the first time he had ever heard his name
spoken by his mate, and he couldn’t even begin to describe the
feelings it inspired in him. Joy was somewhere near the top of the list.
“What, little bit?”
“You’re an alpha and Stellan Mihos is an alpha.” Kye worried his
lower lip again, a gesture Hugh was coming to see as something he
did when he was nervous. “Two alphas cannot be in the same pride.”
Hugh’s jaw dropped. He had never even considered that, mostly
because he never thought he’d be an alpha after leaving his father’s
pride. Alpha Mihos could see his mere presence in his territory as a
challenge to his position.
Hugh turned to stare out the front window, wondering how in the
hell he was going to save his mate and his brothers from this situation.
They were totally and utterly fucked, and Hugh couldn’t see a way
out of it.
“Call him back, Hugh. Warn him before we just show up. Maybe
he can still help us.”
“Yeah.” Hugh rubbed his hand down his face and then reached for
his phone again. Alpha Mihos was going to be pissed that he had
called again so early in the morning, but Hugh would rather the man
be pissed over the phone than in person.
“It’s a good thing I’m already up, Hugh, or I’d start to get upset
that you keep calling me at this hour.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
41
“I do apologize, Stellan, but my mate reminded me of something
that I needed to discuss with you before we arrive.”
“I’m listening.”
“When I found Kye, I discovered that I might be an alpha.”
“I see,” Stellan replied, and it didn’t sound like a good reply.
“And you discovered this how?”
“I couldn’t smell Kye.” Hugh expected a lot of things out of his
reply to Stellan’s question—anger, resignation, maybe even
resentment. He never expected the alpha to start laughing. “Alpha
Mihos?”
“I do apologize, Hugh. I had a few problems of my own when I
met my mate, Benji. Since I was raised by humans and not in a pride,
I wasn’t aware of the lack of scent in an alpha mate. It caused me to
deny my mate for three years and almost lose him. And while that
was a while ago, I can still fully understand your situation.”
“Oh.” Hugh still didn’t know where that left him. “Kye says that
two alphas can’t be in the same pride.”
“No, he is absolutely correct. My lion wouldn’t understand it and
would see your presence as a challenge to my authority over my
pride. That is why visitors are required to present themselves and
request the customary time period to be within any alpha’s territory.”
“Shit!” He knew they were fucked. “I will go somewhere else if
you’d prefer.” Hugh just hoped that Stellan didn’t prefer it. His entire
plan hinged on being able to join the Mihos Pride.
“I can give you the customary five days to figure things out,
Hugh, but not a day longer. And you must respect my authority or my
lion will see it as a challenge.”
Hugh gulped even as his heart sank. “I understand, Alpha Mihos.”
“Not to worry, Hugh, I have a few ideas. We’ll get you and your
new pride through this.”
“My new pride?”
Stellan chuckled. “Well, I assumed that your brothers and your
mate would want to stay with you.”
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“I sincerely hope so, but that is up to them. They may feel safer
with your pride.”
“Well, we can discuss that with them when you get here.”
“Thank you, Alpha Mihos. I really appreciate this.”
Stellan chuckled again, and Hugh began to relax—a little. He
didn’t think he’d fully relax until he knew what they were going to
do.
“I think you can still call me Stellan. We are on equal terms now.”
Hugh blinked in shock. Stellan was right. If he was an alpha, just
like Stellan, then he was on equal footing with the man. He just didn’t
have a pride like Stellan did. Hugh smiled as he glanced at his mate
and then into the rearview mirror to the car full of people behind him.
Maybe he did have a pride. It was just a small one.
“Thank you again, Stellan. My pride and I will be there in a few
hours.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
43
Chapter 4
Kye’s eyes fluttered as someone’s hand on his shoulder shook him
awake. He opened his eyes all of the way and looked up to see a
handsome man staring down at him. For a moment, Kye couldn’t
remember where he was or who the gorgeous man was.
And then everything came flooding back.
“Hugh,” he breathlessly whispered.
“Hey, little bit, it’s time to wake up. We’re almost to the edge of
my father’s territory. Just a few more miles and we’ll be in Alpha
Mihos’s territory.”
“And we’ll be safe there?” Kye asked as he sat up and pushed his
hair out of his face. He knew he should have braided it. It was all over
the place.
“Yes, we’ll be safe with Alpha Mihos’s pride, although I don’t
want you mentioning that you’re an omega to anyone unless I tell you
to. And don’t say a word about Simon. While Alpha Mihos has
offered us the customary five days in his territory, I have no idea how
he might react to the news that we have two omegas with us.”
“I won’t say a word, I promise.”
Kye gratefully took the hand that Hugh held out to him. He was
mesmerized by the differences in the sizes of their hands. Kye’s hand
was practically swallowed up by Hugh’s, which was huge and had
calluses on the palm.
“Do you work a lot with your hands?”
Hugh sent Kye a smile. “I do. I like to work with wood, building
things.”
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“What sort of things?” Kye asked as his heart started beating
faster as excitement filled him. Kye worked with his hands as well.
He made crafts—pottery, sewing, jewelry, his brothers and he made it
all. They had quite the lucrative business selling their handmade crafts
to stores all over the United States.
“Mostly restoring old furniture, but I occasionally help repair
pride houses and such.”
Kye’s eyes widened. “You restore old furniture?”
“Yes. There’s just something about putting new life into old
furniture that I love, especially since older furniture is so well built. It
was made to last a lifetime, but often, people just toss the stuff when
it gets a little bit old. They don’t understand that it just needs a little
tender loving care to breathe new life into it.”
“We make crafts,” Kye said, getting even more excited at the
prospect that his mate used his hands to create stuff. It was a talent not
many people understood or supported. His old pride certainly hadn’t,
which was one of the reasons why he no longer belonged to that
pride.
“I remember something about that, but I don’t remember exactly
what you make.”
“Handmade stuff mostly. Kumiko likes to work with pottery.
Yuji’s specialty is jewelry.”
“And you, little bit? What is your specialty?”
Kye felt his face burn as he ducked his head. “I sew.”
“Yeah? What do you sew?”
Kye’s head snapped up at the interest he could hear in Hugh’s
voice. That wasn’t exactly the response he expected from the man.
Sewing wasn’t exactly a widely used talent by men, although it
should be. In Kye’s mind, everyone should know how to sew to some
extent.
“I make all sorts of things.”
“Like?”
A Little Bit of Heaven
45
Kye sighed. His mate wasn’t going to let him get out of
answering. “I make mostly custom-made bedding like quilts and
embroidered sheet sets and stuff. But occasionally, if an order comes
in, I’ll do some bead work on a wedding dress or something.”
“What’s your favorite thing to make?”
Kye blinked. Had he heard Hugh right? The man was really
interested in knowing? “I…err…I guess I like it all, but there’s
something special about piecing together a bunch of fabric and
making it into something useful like a quilt.”
Hugh suddenly chuckled. “You’re just like me, little bit. You like
to take something someone else would find useless and make it into
something useful.”
Kye began to smile at his mate’s response. He had never really
seen his craft making like that. He just did it because he loved it.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Hugh squeezed Kye’s hand. “Maybe one of these times we can do
something together.”
Kye wasn’t sure where woodwork and restoring furniture and
sewing might work together, but he was willing to try for his mate.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, maybe if I get a chance to restore an old bed, you could
make a bedding set for it complete with sheets and a quilt. I’d bet that
would sell pretty well.”
Kye perked up at the idea. “That would be a great idea. I could
even make some bed pillows for it with some embroidery around the
edges. And I’ll bet Kumiko could make some vases to match.”
“Sounds like a plan to me, little bit.” Hugh laughed again. “We’ll
have to make sure that you have a good sewing room wherever we
end up.”
Kye’s eyebrows shot up to the top of his forehead. “I get an entire
sewing room?”
“Sure, why not? This is what you do for a living, isn’t it?”
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Kye nodded, too astonished to speak. He had always dreamed of
having his own sewing room, but there had never been a place for it.
When he lived with his old pride, there wasn’t room. Now, that was
even more so as everything he used to do his crafts fit into suitcases in
the car.
“Well then, you’ll need a place to create, won’t you? I like having
a shop where I can work, although most of the tools I use have been
in storage for the last few months.”
“Why?”
“My father didn’t approve of my hobby. He felt that it took my
attention away from my training to be an alpha. I was only allowed to
work at my hobby when he was away on business. And since he’s
been sending me to handle his business for the last few months, I
thought it was better to store everything where he couldn’t destroy it.”
Kye inhaled softly as a sudden thought hit him. “You didn’t store
everything in your father’s territory, did you?” Because if Hugh had,
Kye doubted he would ever see it again.
“No.” Hugh shook his head. “That’s one of the reasons we’re
heading to Alpha Mihos’s territory. I made a deal with him to store
my stuff at his family estate while I got things back at home settled.”
“How did you get it there?”
“Little bit by little bit, actually. My father has wanted the western
edge of Alpha’s Mihos’s territory for some time now. He wants to
expand and make our territory larger. I was sent to speak with the
alpha several times and was able to take a little stuff with me each
time. There are still a few items at home but nothing that can’t be
replaced.”
“All of my stuff is in the car.”
“All of it?” Hugh glanced into the rearview mirror, and Kye knew
he was trying to figure out how it all fit in the small four-door sedan.
“Yes. When we left our pride, we weren’t allowed to take much
with us. We do have a small workshop and storage a few towns over.
A Little Bit of Heaven
47
Luckily, it’s not in pride territory, so we only have to worry about the
humans.”
“Why did you leave your pride, little bit?” Hugh asked. “I thought
you were just out on a business trip.”
Yeah, that was what Kye pretty much thought that Hugh believed.
He and his brothers didn’t advertise that they were lone shifters. That
could get them hunted down and killed faster than almost anything.
But he guessed that Hugh had a right to know, considering the
situation they were in and because the man was Kye’s mate.
“We’re kind of our own little pride.”
“Just the three of you?”
Kye grimaced. “Yeah.”
Hugh sighed and dropped Kye’s hand to rub the bridge of his
nose. “Tell me what happened, Kye.”
“We kind of had to leave our pride because Kumiko got caught
kissing the son of our pride’s beta.”
Hugh’s eyebrows shot up as he turned to stare at Kye. “Kumiko?”
Kye started chewing on his thumbnail as he nodded. He was
pretty sure that Hugh wasn’t against two men being together
considering that they were mates and then there was the fact that the
man kissed like a wet dream come to life.
But he could be wrong.
“He wasn’t doing anything wrong, really. And it was just one little
kiss. It wasn’t like they got caught in bed together or anything.” But it
had been close. The only reason they hadn’t been caught was because
they had already gotten dressed after messing around. Kye just wasn’t
sure if that was information he should share.
“I was just surprised that it was Kumiko that got caught. He
doesn’t seem like the type.”
“The type?” Kye snapped. “What exactly does that mean?”
Hugh glanced over at Kye. He seemed surprised by Kye’s sudden
outburst. To tell the truth, Kye was surprised as well. He didn’t yell as
a general rule. Besides the fact that it was rude and he didn’t like the
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way it made his stomach knot up, outbursts like that usually ended up
getting Kye’s ass handed to him.
“I didn’t mean anything by that, Kye. I was just surprised is all.
Kumiko seems kind of strung tight. I just can’t picture him letting his
hair down enough to actually get involved with someone. He’s pretty
intense.”
“He just has a lot of responsibilities,” Kye protested. “And living
in our old pride, we had to hide our true selves. They didn’t accept
same-sex relationships. If we became involved with someone, we had
to keep it quiet. If the alpha found out, which he did in Kumiko’s
case, whoever was involved was banished from the pride.”
“Yes, I’m uniquely qualified to understand exactly how that is.
My father believes that mating should only be to produce cubs, and
then only by members of the opposite sex. He also believes there are
two types of women. The ones you mate who know their place and
look the other way when you fuck the ones you don’t mate.”
Kye shivered in disgust. “Sounds like your father and my alpha
would get along just fine.”
“Right?” Hugh chuckled. “Maybe we should introduce them. My
father can find mates for his other kids in your pride.”
Kye gaped at Hugh. “You have other siblings?”
“Well.” Hugh shrugged. “I’m not positive that I have more
siblings, but my brothers and I have suspected for some time that my
father had other children. There are a few men in the pride that look a
lot like us, and their mothers are all single women in the pride that my
father has been involved with at one time or another over the years.”
“Gods, your mother must hate your father.”
“My mother is dead, and has been since I was a child.”
Kye’s heart ached for the sadness he could hear in that statement.
He reached over and settled his hand on Hugh’s arm. “I’m so sorry,
Hugh.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago, and I’m glad that she never
lived to see what a jerk my father turned out to be.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
49
“I’m still sorry. I know what it’s like to lose a parent. Both of my
parents died a few years ago in a car accident. They were hit by a
drunk driver.”
“I’m sorry, Kye. I know how that feels. My mother died in a car
accident as well, although it wasn’t a drunk driver. She lost control of
the car we were driving in during a bad snow storm and crashed.
None of us were found until it was too late to save her.”
“How old were you?”
“Just a kid really, barely ten years old.”
“I think that’s maybe why Kumiko is so serious all of the time. He
was barely twenty years old when our parents died, but he had to
grow up early and take care of me and Yuji.”
“I suppose that explains it then.”
Kye thought about it for a moment and then continued with his
thoughts. “Kumiko isn’t easy to get to know, but once you have his
friendship and trust, he will fight to the death for you. He may seem
intense at times, but he really is a good guy. And after so many years
of caring for me, it’s going to be hard for him to stop.”
Hugh smiled and patted the hand Kye had on his arm. “I’ll try and
remember that when I’m dealing with him, little bit. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“Just remember that I prefer you to be just the way you are. I love
your sweet nature.”
Kye felt his face bloom again as he buried it in Hugh’s arm, and
he wondered if that was something that was going to happen a lot
around his mate. The man seemed to get him to blush at the littlest
thing. It was embarrassing as all hell.
Hugh seemed amused by it, if his laughter was anything to go by.
Kye raised his head, ready to stick his tongue out at Hugh when the
truck suddenly swerved and Kye found himself pinned to the seat by
Hugh’s big beefy arm.
His eyes quickly snapped to the front window when Hugh started
swearing, and then dread filled him when he saw the two large, black
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Stormy Glenn
SUVs blocking the road. Several really big men stood directly in front
of the SUVs. They looked to be almost as large as Hugh, only more
menacing.
“Stay here and lock the doors after I get out,” Hugh said tightly.
“Don’t open the door for anyone except me or one of our brothers.”
Hugh grabbed Kye’s chin and raised his face up, staring intently
down at him. “Is that understood?”
Kye swallowed hard and then nodded his head. “Be careful.”
Hugh leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Kye’s lips before
nodding. “I’ll be back, little bit.”
Kye’s heart clenched in his chest as Hugh climbed out of the
truck. Hugh tapped the window and pointed to the locks. Kye
unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted across the seat to hit the lock
switch. Hugh nodded, sent him a small smile, and then turned to face
the four men blocking the road. As he stepped out in front of his
truck, Kye saw Boone join his brother.
Gods, two against four. It didn’t seem fair. Kye wondered where
Simon was and glanced over at the other vehicle just in time to see
Yuji tugging on Kumiko’s arm as his brother tried to climb out of the
car. Simon was in the backseat yelling at Kumiko.
Kumiko pulled free and slammed the car door closed, and then
walked up to join Hugh and Boone. Hugh glanced down at him and
opened his mouth as if to say something. Kye saw Kumiko’s lips
move in response, but he couldn’t hear what his brother said. Hugh
stared for another moment and then nodded his head before turning to
look at the four men blocking the road.
Kye couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on. He scooted
as close as he could to the window and then rolled it down a crack. He
wanted to hear everything.
* * * *
A Little Bit of Heaven
51
Hugh could feel his stomach clench and roll as he approached the
four men preventing their escape. He didn’t like the idea of Boone or
Kumiko being involved in the fight he could see coming, but neither
man would go back to the safety of the vehicles.
Hugh couldn’t really blame them. They were in a fight for
survival, and that meant the survival of every member of their little
family. Although, he did find it mighty interesting that Kumiko
demanded to be allowed to fight. The man was no bigger than a fly,
but somehow, Hugh was pretty sure he had the inner strength to
defend his brothers to the death.
He just hoped it didn’t come to that.
“Otto.” Hugh stopped several feet away from the four men and
addressed the biggest one. Otto was also the most dangerous one. Otto
was his father’s chief enforcer. Hugh had seen the man fight, and
even he wasn’t sure he could beat Otto in a fair fight. Hell, he wasn’t
even sure he could beat Otto in an unfair fight. The man was a very
powerful lion.
“Your father sent us, Hugh. He demands that you come home.”
“I’m afraid that I can’t do that, Otto. I have other plans.”
“It wasn’t a request.”
Hugh smirked. “No, I’m sure it wasn’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m
going to do it.”
“He’s the alpha of our pride, Hugh. You have to follow his
orders.”
“Nu-uh.” Hugh shook his head. He knew he was most likely
talking himself right into a battle, but he had to try to reason with
Otto. The man might be a fighter, but he always struck Hugh as
having a brain to go with all of his brawn. “I’ve left the pride, Otto. I
no longer see Aldo as my father or my alpha.”
Otto cocked his head, a deep frown marring his features. “Why
would you do this?” Otto asked. “You know without a pride you will
be deemed a lone shifter. You will be hunted down and destroyed.”
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Stormy Glenn
Hugh pointed his thumb back over his shoulder to the two
vehicles behind him. “That’s my pride, Otto, and it may be a small
pride, but it’s still my pride. Even Alpha Mihos has acknowledged it
as my pride. I am not a lone shifter.”
“You’re joining the Mihos Pride?” Tre asked as he stepped up to
stand next to Otto.
“No, like I said, I have my own pride now. And as of a few hours
ago, I became alpha of that pride.” Out of the corner of his eyes, Hugh
could see Boone’s mouth drop open. He smirked again. He was pretty
sure that Boone hadn’t had the time to connect all the dots until now.
“But you’re not an alpha yet,” Otto insisted. “You’re still in
training until Alpha Marshall steps down.”
Hugh had the strong urge to roll his eyes except he wasn’t about
to take them off the four men in front of him. “Let me explain it to
you in terms that you can understand. I met my mate, and he had no
scent for me. However, he has a scent for everyone else. Does that tell
you anything?”
“Yeah.” Otto frowned. “It tells me you’re an idiot. You know
your father has arranged mates for you from the DeLuca Pride. They
should be arriving at your father’s house any time now. He’ll go
ballistic if you choose your own mate and mess up his plans.”
“Notice that little word you used—arranged. My father arranged
for my mates. They are not my true mates, and therefore they will
never be claimed by me. I have met my true mate, and I will accept no
one else.”
Tre had a curious expression on his face as he took another step
toward Hugh, and it was one that Hugh couldn’t immediately
decipher, which set his teeth on edge. He hated not being able to tell
what someone was thinking.
“You really couldn’t scent him?”
“Nope.”
“Can I meet him?” Tre’s eyes moved beyond Hugh to the vehicles
behind him. Hugh was ready to tell Tre to go to hell until the man
A Little Bit of Heaven
53
glanced back at him, and this time, Hugh could read the need in the
man’s eyes. “Please? I promise no harm will come to him from my
hands.”
“Tre!” Otto exclaimed and started to reach for him.
Tre quickly stepped out of Otto’s reach. “I want to meet him.”
“You heard what the alpha said,” Otto snapped. “If we don’t
return Hugh before Alpha DeLuca arrives with his daughters, it’s our
heads.”
Tre shook his head as he took another step back. “Hugh said his
mate is a man.”
That seemed to stop Otto in his tracks. The angry expression on
his face slipped away, and one of extreme confusion flickered across
it. Otto took a step to the side so that he could see past Hugh. “Your
mate is a man?”
“He is,” Hugh replied. He wasn’t positive revealing that bit of
information was in his best interest, but the need on Otto’s face
suddenly mirrored the need he had seen on Tre’s face. The men no
longer seemed like they wanted to fight, and that was all that Hugh
cared about. “Both of you step over there, and I will bring him out. If
any one of you makes a move toward him, I will see it as a threat
against my mate and act accordingly. Understood?”
Surprisingly, all four men nodded. Once Tre moved over to Otto’s
side, Hugh turned and walked back to the truck. He frowned when he
found the window cracked and Kye’s head leaning toward it. Kye just
shrugged and hit the locks.
Hugh opened the door and grabbed Kye’s hand, helping him down
from the tall truck. “These men are from my old pride, little bit, and
they want to—”
Kye held up his hand. “I heard.”
“Yes, I can see that,” Hugh said as he glared at the open window.
“Do you think this is a good idea?”
“No, but it might be the only way that they let us get past them. I
know these men, Kye, and they are some of the strongest fighters in
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my father’s pride. If they decide to stop us, there won’t be much that
we can do about it.”
“I don’t like this, Hugh,” Kye whispered.
High sighed and drew Kye into his arms. He felt Kye’s face
burrow into his chest as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man.
Hugh gently dropped a kiss on the top of Kye’s head. “I know, little
bit. I don’t like it either, but it might be the only way.”
Hugh kept his arm wrapped around Kye’s waist as he walked him
back to the crowd waiting. He stopped when several feet remained
between him and the four men preventing them from escaping.
“Kye, this is Otto, Tre, Sawney, and Reece. They work for my
father. Otto and Reece are both enforcers. Tre is more of a diplomat.
He accompanies my father on his business trips. Sawney is my
father’s best tracker.” Hugh stiffened when all four men turned to
look at his mate. “This is my mate, Kye Hara.”
“How do you do?” Kye asked as he scooted closer to Hugh.
“He really is a man,” Tre whispered.
“Yes, he is,” Hugh growled. “Now, stop staring at him before I rip
your throat out.”
Tre blinked for a moment and then quickly averted his gaze. “My
apologies, Hugh. I was just so surprised. Alpha Marshall doesn’t
allow same-sex matings in his pride.”
“Yet another reason I am leaving.”
“You’re really leaving the pride?” Otto asked.
“I am. I refuse to have my mates chosen for me, especially
considering that I just found Kye. And you know for a fact that my
father would never allow Kye or his brothers into our pride, just for
the simple fact that they are white Bengal tigers. Add in the fact that
Kye is male and my mate, and I’m pretty sure my father would call
out a hunt on him.”
Otto nodded. “He would. I’ve seen him do it before.” A muscle in
Otto’s jaw ticked. “The alpha wants to choose who his pride mates
with so that he can build the strongest pride in the area.” A look of
A Little Bit of Heaven
55
abject agony flittered across Otto’s features, and Hugh couldn’t help
but wonder what it meant. “Your father doesn’t care if anyone in the
pride has already met their mate or not, or even if they are already
mated. If the mates are not acceptable by the alpha’s standards, they
are not allowed to mate or join the pride.”
A sudden horrible thought crossed Hugh’s mind. At first, he
wanted to deny that it was possible, but the longer he looked the pain
on Otto’s face, the more he thought that the idea might be possible.
“Otto, have you met your mate?”
Otto just clenched his jaw, refusing to say anything.
“You did,” Hugh said softly, feeling for the man. “And my father
forbade you from claiming your mate, didn’t he?”
“My mate is a man.”
Hugh’s jaw dropped.
“Alpha Marshall gave me a choice. I could either tell my mate to
go and accept the mate he chose for me, or he would order a hunt for
my mate and have him killed.”
“How long ago was this?” Hugh would have remembered if a hunt
had been called, at least he hoped so. His father didn’t always let him
in on everything the man was doing. Probably because he knew Hugh
wouldn’t agree to it.
“About three months ago,” Tre said when Otto didn’t answer
immediately.
Hugh vaguely remembered a few months back when Otto had
disappeared for a couple of weeks. At the time, he thought that Otto
was one some mission for his father, but now he wondered if he was
wrong.
“What happened to your mate, Otto?”
“I don’t know,” Otto said in a small voice, still refusing to meet
Hugh’s eyes. “When I told him I couldn’t claim him, he left and I
haven’t heard from him since.”
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Hugh hugged Kye to his side when he heard his mate whimper.
He couldn’t imagine the pain that Otto was going through, and he
never wanted to, which was why he was leaving his father’s pride.
“Now, do you understand why I am leaving the pride?” Hugh
asked. “I’m not willing to give Kye up even if it means I have to run
with him.”
Otto finally turned to look at Hugh, a wealth of sadness in his
eyes. “So, you will be accepting same-sex matings in your pride?”
“I kind of have to.” Hugh chuckled. “My mate is a male and so
am I, and I have no intention of giving him up. It would be kind of
hypocritical of me not to accept other such matings in my pride, now
wouldn’t it?”
“Then I have just one question for you,” Otto said, sounding very
serious, “and your answer doesn’t hinge on whether we let you go or
not. We’ll still let you go no matter what you say.”
“Okay,” Hugh said cautiously, “what is your question then?”
“Can we join your pride, Alpha?”
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57
Chapter 5
“Don’t you find it a little strange that you all have bug-out bags?”
Kye glanced over at his mate when the man chuckled. “If you had
asked me that twenty-four hours ago, I would have said yes. Now?”
Hugh shook his head. “Not so much.”
When Kye heard another chuckle, a lighter, not-so-rough chuckle,
he glanced into the backseat of the king cab where Tre was sitting.
Otto sat beside him, staring out the side window. He would have
ridden in the other car, but Kumiko refused to share with any more
strangers. He was pretty fit to be tied that Hugh had agreed to let the
four muscle-bound men join the pride.
Sawney and Reece had taken their two vehicles back to the pride
to grab everyone’s bug-out bags. The plan was for them to join up
with Hugh and everyone else once they gathered their stuff and
grabbed their own vehicles. No one wanted to give Alpha Marshall a
reason to track them down, like taking pride vehicles.
“You think it’s funny?” Kye asked Tre.
“I think it’s hilarious.”
Kye cocked his head, curious. “Why?”
“Oh come on, all of us are being trained to be the next inner circle
of the Marshall Pride, and every damn last one of us has a bug-out
bag packed in case we get a chance to escape the pride? Sounds pretty
damn hilarious to me.”
Kye shrugged and turned to look back out the front window of
Hugh’s truck, not understanding these bigger men. “It sounds pretty
sad to me,” he said quietly.
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“Don’t get me wrong, Kye,” Tre said as he leaned over the seat,
“it is sad, very sad. I mean, what does it say about the pride and our
alpha’s leadership that every damn last one of us has been planning to
jump ship?”
“Yeah,” Hugh said, “my father is going to be pissed when he
learns about this.”
“Right?” Tre snorted. “That will be a temper tantrum of epic
proportions. I almost wish someone would record it and put it up on
YouTube.”
Hugh chuckled again, and Kye noticed an amused grin on his
face. “I’d pretty much pay money to see that.”
“Right?” Tre snorted again.
Kye frowned as he glanced between the two men. “Aren’t either
of you concerned that he might come after you?”
“Oh yeah.” Tre nodded. “I have no doubt that he will. Alpha Aldo
doesn’t like to lose. And he gets real nasty when he does. But once
our pride is acknowledged by the council, there’s nothing he can do
about it. We’ll be an established pride with registered members. If he
enters our territory, wherever that may be, without Hugh’s
permission, he can be sanctioned.”
“And you think that will stop him?”
“No, which is why I accepted Otto, Tre, Sawney, and Reece into
our pride.” When Hugh glanced over at him, Kye knew the smile on
his mate’s face was supposed to be reassuring, but considering what
they were talking about, he just felt cold and scared. “We need the
extra manpower, and there is no one stronger than the men in our
pride.”
Kye twisted his hands together in his lap, glancing down at them.
“I guess I’m just confused. You both seem to be taking this so easy
like our lives aren’t in danger. I wonder if you truly understand the
seriousness of the situation.”
Kye certainly did. He had been on the receiving end of a pride on
the warpath before. He knew what it felt like to run for his life in the
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59
middle of the night. He knew the fear and knowledge that someone
wanted him dead just because of the choices he had made in his life,
choices his pursuers didn’t agree with.
“We understand the danger, little bit,” Hugh said. “But after
growing up with my father as alpha, we’ve all learned to never let our
guard down. We never knew when he might turn on any one of us, so
we’re always prepared. Hence the bug-out bags.”
Kye still didn’t get it. “If he’s such a bad alpha, then why hasn’t
the council intervened before now? Why have they continued to let
him lead a pride? I thought that was what a council was for.”
“Because Alpha Aldo may be a rat bastard,” Tre said, “but he is
one of the sneakiest rat bastards I have ever met. He never puts
himself into a position where he can be blamed for anything.”
“Take you and your brothers for instance,” Hugh added in. “He
told me he wanted you gone before Alpha DeLuca arrived, and he
didn’t care how I did it. Now, to anyone listening, it might have
sounded like he wanted me to escort you out of his territory but what
he really meant was that he wanted you killed.”
“So, if Hugh had followed out his orders and killed you and your
brothers, and he got caught, Alpha Aldo could blame it on his son and
pretend innocence of the whole thing. He just told Hugh to make sure
you were gone. He never actually told Hugh to kill you.”
“This guy really needs to be taken out before he reproduces.”
“Too late.” Tre started laughing hysterically. “He’s got bastards
all over the damn place. It’s like he’s trying to repopulate the Earth or
something.”
Kye thought that was the strangest statement he had ever heard
someone say, and Hugh must have thought the same thing because he
suddenly pulled the truck to the side of the road, put it in park, and
turned to look at Tre over the seat.
“Why have you never said anything?”
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Huh? Kye’s eyes snapped back and forth between the two men
staring intently at each other. He felt like there was a large portion of
the conversation that he had missed.
“Because we weren’t allowed to,” Tre replied, the amusement in
his voice suddenly gone so fast that Kye swallowed hard, wondering
if a fight was about to happen. The tension between Tre and Hugh
was so thick, he could almost see it.
“Don’t you think I would have wanted to know? Or Boone and
Simon?”
“The alpha’s golden boys?” Otto snickered from his side of the
backseat. “Right, and I’m Goldilocks.”
Hugh’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a problem with me and my
brothers, Otto?”
“Me?” Otto held up his hands, shaking them back and forth.
“Nope, no problem at all, Alpha.”
“You know, living inside that damn house with Aldo was no
picnic,” Hugh snapped. “You may have seen us as his golden boys,
but living with him full-time was pure hell on Earth. At least you got
to go home at night and get away from him. My brothers and I had to
sneak around where he couldn’t see us just so that we could spend
time together.”
“At least you were acknowledged as his son,” Otto spat out. “Try
having the entire pride knowing that you’re his son and not being
acknowledged. Bastard was one of the nicer things they called us.”
Hugh’s nostrils flared as his face darkened and his jaw clenched.
“If you had just—”
“Wait!” Kye smacked the seat as the direction of the conversation
suddenly hit him. “Are you saying that you and Tre are Hugh’s
brothers?”
Otto rolled his eyes and went back to staring out the window.
“Yes, Kye,” Tre said. “Otto and I are both Hugh’s half brothers.
Alpha Aldo is our father, but we all had different mothers.”
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61
“And Sawney and Reece?” Kye asked. “Are they Hugh’s brothers,
too?”
Tre nodded.
“But that’s great!” Kye shrank back in his seat when every man in
the cab of the truck turned to glare at him. “Well, I mean, it is,” he
said quickly. “Just think about it. If you all never had the chance to be
brothers before, now you do. You’re all in the same pride now except
Alpha Aldo can’t keep you from acknowledging each other. Now,
you all have time to get to know each other and be together as
brothers.”
Otto snorted. “This is not a romantic novel, Kye. There is no
happy ending.”
Hugh growled and suddenly lunged over the seat so fast that Kye
barely saw him move. His eyes grew huge when he saw Hugh wrap
his fingers around Otto’s throat, pinning him to the seat.
“Never speak to my mate like that again,” Hugh snarled. “I will
kill you before you can take your next breath.”
Otto’s face was turning red, his eyes bugging out as he grabbed at
Hugh’s hands. Tre was pulling on Hugh’s hands, trying to dislodge
them, but he wasn’t having much success. Kye knew he had to do
something quick or someone was going to die. He just prayed that it
wasn’t him.
“Hugh,” he said softly, simply laying his hand on his mate’s arm.
“Hugh, you need to stop. You’re going to hurt Otto.” Kye started
petting Hugh’s arm as he tried to calm his mate. Little by little, he
saw the tension start to leave Hugh’s body and the hand he had
wrapped around Otto’s throat loosened. “Please, Hugh, let him go.
I’m not upset by what he said. I promise.”
Hugh let Otto go. Kye blinked in surprise when he suddenly found
himself wrapped in Hugh’s muscular arms. The man’s hands stroked
through Kye’s hair as Hugh buried his face in Kye’s neck.
Kye could hear Otto coughing and sputtering in the backseat, Tre
murmuring to him softly. He just couldn’t turn to look or make sure
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that Otto was okay. He was crushed against Hugh’s chest, and it
didn’t look like the man had any intention of letting him go any time
soon.
“My apologies, Kye,” Otto said. “I meant no disrespect.”
Kye felt Hugh’s arms slowly loosen around him, and it gave him
the chance to turn and look at the man. He wasn’t sure if the flush on
Otto’s face came from his embarrassment or because he had just been
choked nearly to death.
And he wasn’t sure Otto actually meant his apology until the man
raised his head and looked directly at him and Kye saw the heartache
in the man’s eyes. Kye sighed. He didn’t always like being as small as
he was, but sometimes he was glad that he wasn’t one of these
muscle-bound, testosterone-filled men.
“I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, Otto, but I did mean
what I said. You all have a chance here to get to know each other and
be the brothers that your father never allowed you to be. You may not
have had the same upbringing that Hugh did, but it sounds to me like
you all suffered in one way or another just because you were this rat
bastard’s kids. That, at least, should give you some sort of common
bond to build on.”
The corners of Otto’s lips twitched. “We can all join the ‘sons of
the rat bastard’ club.”
Kye giggled. “Well, if that’s the case, then I see our pride growing
in leaps in bounds in no time, ‘cause there have got to be more people
out there that hate this guy. You all can’t be the only ones.”
Hugh inhaled sharply, and his eyes snapped to Otto and Tre.
“There aren’t more siblings that I don’t know about, are there? I only
suspected you four, not more. No one else looks as much like us as
you four do.”
Tre shrugged. “I only know about Otto, Sawney, Reece, and me,
but that’s just because we all grew up together.”
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63
“I’ve never heard of any other kids,” Otto said, “but I wouldn’t be
surprised if there were more. Like Tre said, Alpha Aldo was trying to
repopulate the Earth.”
Kye jumped when there was a sudden knock on the driver’s side
window. He felt Hugh tense for a moment as the man turned to look,
but then the tension faded. Kye peeked around Hugh as the man rolled
his window down. He blew out a breath of relief when he saw Boone
standing outside the window.
“What’s the hold up?” Boone asked as soon as the window went
down.
“Nothing,” Hugh said. “We were discussing family dynamics.”
Boone’s eyes snapped to the two men in the backseat. “No shit?”
Otto snorted. “No shit.”
“Sawney and Reece?”
Hugh nodded. “Them, too.”
“Damn.” Boone suddenly started to grin. “Alpha Aldo’s gonna
have a fit over this one.”
Kye cocked his head. “Didn’t we just have this conversation?”
Hugh chuckled. “Let’s get back on the road. I’m sure Alpha
Mihos is waiting for our arrival, and frankly, I could use a shower.”
Hugh sniffed the air and then grinned as he looked down at Kye. “So
could a few other people.”
“How would you know?” Kye smirked. “You can’t smell me.”
Boone leaned into the window. “No, but I can, and trust me, you
need a shower.”
Kye stuck his tongue out at Boone, much to the amusement of the
others in the truck. He settled back in his seat and waited while Hugh
rolled up his window and got the truck back on the road.
The sun was just beginning to come up over the snow-capped
mountains in the distance, and the landscape they drove past was
starting to come to life. It was still pretty early in the day, so not many
people were up, let alone out and about.
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Still, as they passed a few farms, Kye could see lights turning on,
lighting up farmhouses here and there. They passed a couple of
pastures with men moving hay off of the backs of trucks for the
animals in the fields.
A thick mist covered the ground. Most people might have found it
eerie, but Kye thought it was beautiful. It was like the Earth was
coming to life. Every few miles, he would spot a deer or other wild
animal going about their morning routine.
“It’s pretty here,” Kye said absently. “There seems to be a lot of
elbow room here.”
“It is pretty, but we’re quite a ways away from the city. This is
mostly farm country. Alpha Mihos likes being in the country where
his pride can run without having to worry about humans spotting
them.”
“I can see that.” Kye giggled as another thought entered his head.
“Can you imagine a pride of lions living in the big city? They’d have
to run over the rooftops.”
“Well, Alpha Mihos and I discussed a piece of property he has
that’s set in the country like this.” Hugh waved his hand around to
encompass the passing scenery. “He said he’d sell it to me for a
reasonable price. Apparently, it used to belong to his mate, but it’s
empty now that his mate moved in with him.”
“Doesn’t Alpha Mihos have two mates?” Tre asked from the
backseat.
“Yes,” Hugh replied. “And both of them are men.”
“There’s a scary thought,” Tre snickered. “Can you imagine the
dynamics of that relationship?”
“I met Benji and Kody when I went to visit the alpha. Kody used
to be an enforcer for the council. He’s probably is the biggest damn
lion I have ever seen, in both of his forms.”
Kye’s eyebrows peaked. “Bigger than you?”
“Yep.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
65
“Wow.” Kye hadn’t thought they really made men bigger than his
mate.
“Benji is the one you need to be afraid of, though. The man may
be just a couple of inches taller than Kye, but he’s fucking scary.”
“Like your father scary?”
“Oh gods, no!” Hugh glanced over at Kye, and then patted his leg.
“Benji is nothing like my father. He’s just very protective of his
mates. If anyone looks at Stellan or Kody wrong, Benji is all up in
their faces, threatening to rip their balls off.”
Kye blinked when a burst of laughter suddenly left Hugh’s mouth.
“What?”
“I made the mistake of making a comment about how big Kody
was compared to Stellan because there is more than a couple of inches
difference between the two them. Kody has a good fifty pounds on
Stellan.” Hugh chuckled and shook his head. “I thought Benji was
going to shift right there and then and rip me in two. It took both of
his mates to keep him back, and he was in human form.”
Kye frowned. “Just how big is this guy?”
“Like I said, Benji’s just a couple of inches taller than you, little
bit, but he’s maybe ten pounds heavier.”
“And you’re scared of him?”
“Hell, yes!” Hugh grinned. “I’d rather face both Stellan and Kody
together in a fight than Benji when he’s defending his mates. He’s
fucking crazy about his mates, and as little as he is, he doesn’t take
shit off of anyone. And gods, the mouth on that man…he doesn’t hold
anything back. I’ve heard more than one rumor that his mates have to
spank him on a regular basis just to keep him in line.”
Well, that was interesting, and a little bit too much information.
“Have you ever thought that maybe Benji gets in trouble on purpose?”
Kye asked.
“That’s what Stellan said when I asked him about it. He’d never
hurt a hair on Benji’s head, but apparently, Benji purposely gets into
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trouble so he’ll get his ass paddled by his mates.” Hugh shrugged. “I
guess it’s a thing for them.”
“Is that a thing you’re into?” Kye asked softly. He wasn’t sure he
could be into the whole ass spanking thing, but he’d try if that was
something Hugh wanted. He wanted to give his mate whatever he
wanted.
“No, little bit. Spanking is not my thing. I prefer a good cuddle
instead.”
Kye grinned. He unbuckled his seatbelt and slid across the bench
seat to the spot beside Hugh where he quickly buckled himself back
up again. And then he leaned into Hugh’s side and titled his head
back to look up at his mate. “I like a good cuddling, too.”
“Yeah?” Hugh smiled as he looked down at him.
Kye sighed peacefully when Hugh’s arm wrapped around him,
pulling him flush against the larger man’s solid body. This is what he
had dreamed of when he thought of his mate, although, he had never
imagined anyone like Hugh Marshall. He didn’t even know they made
men like him.
From everything that he had been told about Alpha Aldo, Kye
knew that their future was uncertain, but he was in a new pride, one
that seemed to accept him just the way he was, and he was wrapped
up in his mate’s arms.
He couldn’t imagine wanting anything more.
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67
Chapter 6
A great sense of relief filled Hugh as he finally pulled his truck
into the driveway that led to Alpha Mihos’s pride home. It was tinged
with nervousness about what was to come because he really had no
idea.
When he formed his plans to leave his old pride, he never
imagined he would be doing it as the alpha of his new pride, or that he
would have a mate by his side while he did it, let alone several other
pride members.
He always knew that his brothers would be at his side. Hugh and
Boone had sworn to protect Simon from harm even before their
mother had passed away. Through the years, as Simon’s omega
abilities came forward, they had taken even more care to protect
Simon, especially from their father. And that meant that the three of
them were a team.
Knowing that he was about to start this new phase of his life with
his brothers, a mate, his mate’s brothers, and now Hugh’s newly
acknowledged half brothers changed things just a little. Hugh
suddenly had a lot more people to care for and protect. His pride had
gone from nonexistent to eleven members in less than a day. That had
to be a record.
Hugh pulled his truck to a stop in front of the most impressive
house he had seen in a long time. His father lived in a mansion, but it
was old and felt like a mausoleum. The large structure in front of him
was just as big, but it was teeming with life. It had a warm,
welcoming feel to it, something that felt odd to Hugh, considering his
experience with the house he had grown up in.
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“Is that them?”
Hugh glanced out the window to where Kye was pointing to see
three men standing on the front steps. Two were very tall and
muscular. One was much shorter and stood between the two larger
men.
“Yes, little bit, that’s Alpha Mihos and his mates.”
“He doesn’t look scary.”
Hugh chuckled as he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of his
seat. He knew Kye was talking about Benji because he couldn’t seem
to take his eyes off the little guy. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”
“We might need to warn Kumiko,” Kye said as he unbuckled his
own seatbelt and then scooted across the seat after Hugh. “He doesn’t
have much of a mouth filter.”
Hugh glanced back toward the car parked behind his truck. He
could see the occupants inside slowly climbing out and looking
around in curiosity. A few of the men were stretching, bending their
backs, and extending their arms over their heads. Kumiko was
ushering Yuji forward, away from the others.
“I think Kumiko has bigger things to worry about.”
Hugh waited until the other men joined him and Kye and then
turned to head toward Alpha Mihos and his mates. When he reached
the bottom of the front steps, he stopped and respectfully bowed his
head to the alpha.
“Thank you for allowing us into your territory, Alpha Mihos.”
Stellan bowed his own head in a show of respect. “Please be
welcome in my home.”
Hugh exhaled slowly once the formalities were out of the way.
There were certain things that had to be done in a certain way if a lion
hoped to keep his head attached to his shoulders. Showing respect for
an alpha, even if he wasn’t Hugh’s alpha, was one of them.
“This is my alpha mate, Kye,” Hugh said as he nodded down
toward the man plastered against his side.
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69
“Kye.” Stellan nodded again. “I’m Stellan Mihos, but please call
me Stellan. These are my alpha mates, Kody and Benji.”
Hugh had the sudden urge to laugh as he looked down at his mate.
Kye’s eyes were as large as monster truck tires as he stared up at the
three men. Hugh wasn’t sure if he was shocked by their size or by the
fact that Alpha Mihos had two mates. Before he could ask, Stellan
looked past Hugh to the men gathering behind him.
“Your pride seems to have grown, Hugh.”
“Yeah, well…” Hugh glanced over his shoulder. “My brothers
met up with us on the way here. There are actually two more pride
members that will be joining us as soon as they return Alpha Aldo’s
vehicles to him.”
“Your brothers?” Stellan asked. “I was under the understanding
that you only had two brothers.”
“So was I, but it seems that I was wrong. Boone, Simon, and I are
the only sons that my father actually acknowledged. Otto, Tre,
Sawney, and Reece were all born into my pride, and they are my half
brothers, but my father never acknowledged them.”
“But you have.”
“Yes, and I have accepted them into my pride as well.” And that
was all Hugh was going to say on the matter. If Stellan Mihos didn’t
like it, too damn bad. He wasn’t going to deny his brothers.
“I see.”
“Is that a problem?” Hugh growled.
“No, not at all. I’ll just need their information to pass on to the
council. We need to set you up as an established pride before your
father becomes aware of your plans and tries to interfere with them.”
“Why do you seem so supportive of Hugh setting up his own
pride?”
Kye had asked the question, but Hugh was wondering the same
thing. Stellan had been nothing but supportive since Hugh had
broached the subject with the man on his last visit to Stellan’s pride.
Hugh just couldn’t understand why.
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“I’ve seen what a bad alpha can do to a pride,” Stellan said. “I’ve
also seen, firsthand, what can happen when pride members are not
allowed to claim their rightful mates, and from my understanding of
the situation, Alpha Aldo doesn’t allow certain matings to take place.”
Stellan reached over to wrap his arm around the shorter of the two
men standing next to him. “As I have two male mates myself, I’m
sure you can see where I might disagree with that.”
“Hugh has always been honest in his dealings with us,” Kody
said. “Even at the detriment of his father’s own business interests. Not
many people can say that, and it is something to be respected. We
believe that Hugh will be a just and fair alpha, and the more of those
that we have, the better chance the rest of us have at living the lives
that we choose.”
“So, you’re saying that you’re being so supportive of Hugh being
an alpha because he’s gay?”
Kody chuckled. “Pretty much.”
“The history of tolerance in prides is not a glowing one, Kye,”
Stellan said. “In fact, in the past, and sometimes currently, lions that
are adverse to female matings have been hunted simply for the fact
that they prefer male companionship.”
“Yeah,” Kye said. “My brothers and I kind of have experience
with that.”
“I believe that the more alphas we have that are accepting of these
type of relationships, the better chance we have at changing our
future.” The beginning of a growl tipped the corners of Stellan’s lips.
“And I’ll do anything to insure a safe future for my mates and my
pride.”
“I guess I can understand that,” Kye said. “I’d do anything to
make sure that Hugh was safe.”
This time, when the corners of Stellan’s lips curved, it was up into
a smile. “And that’s as it should be between mates.” Stellan looked
back over the people gathered behind Hugh again. “I was not
expecting this many people, so it will take a few minutes to have
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room prepared. If you would care to join us in the living room, we can
get the paperwork started for establishing your pride with the
council.”
Hugh nodded and placed his hand in the small of Kye’s back as he
escorted him up the stairs after Stellan and his mates. He could hear
the rest of his new pride following behind him, and hoped no one did
anything that could take Stellan’s support away from them. Hugh was
pretty sure they were going to need it before the dust settled.
“Gentlemen, this is Stella, the mate of my brother, Salome,”
Stellan said as he gestured to a petite blonde woman standing in the
entryway with a small pink-wrapped bundle in her arms. A huge grin
came over Stellan’s face. “And this little beauty is my niece, Holly
Ann.”
Stella nodded at everyone, and then she rolled her eyes when
Benji rushed forward with his hands held out. “Gimme!” Benji said.
Stella chuckled as she laid her precious bundle in Benji’s arms. “I
swear, Benji, you get more time holding my daughter than I do.”
“That’s because Holly Ann adores her uncle,” Benji said as he
pulled the edge of the blanket back to reveal a small delicate pink
face. Hugh’s eyebrows shot up when Benji started making cooing
sounds to the baby.
“Fine, then you can go change her and put her down for her nap,”
Stella said. “I’ll arrange for drinks for everyone.”
“We’ll be in the living room, Stella,” Stellan said. “Can you find
Neumus and ask him to join us?”
“Certainly.”
Hugh watched the woman turn and walk down the hallway and
turn into another room, and then he turned his attention back to
Stellan as the man ushered everyone into a room just off of the
entryway.
“Please, have a seat.” Stellan gestured to the couches surrounding
a rather large, white, stone fireplace.
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Hugh waited until Stellan had taken a seat on one of the lounge
chairs and then made his way over to a couch sitting against the wall.
He grabbed Kye around the waist and pulled his mate down next to
him. He heard Boone’s chuckle as the man took a seat on the other
side of Kye. The rest of the men that had arrived with him took their
places on other couches around the large room.
Hugh turned his attention to the other alpha in the room. “I want
to thank you for all that you are doing for us, Stellan. When we first
discussed this, I know setting up an entire pride was not what we had
planned.”
“I’m just glad I’m able to help,” Stellan replied. “I’ve been
considering your situation since you called me this morning, and—”
Stellan stopped talking when Hugh suddenly chuckled and just stared
at him.
Hugh shook his head, trying to keep his amusement to himself.
“My apologies. I was just a little astounded when you mentioned the
phone call from this morning and I realized that so little time has gone
by, but so much has happened. It feels like a few months have gone
by when, in all actuality, it’s only been a few hours.”
“Ah, yes.” Stellan’s chuckle joined those of a few of the men in
the room. “I can see where that could be a little daunting. Sometimes
things tend to happen a little rapidly. It’s up to us to hang on by the
skin of our teeth and keep up.”
“Right?” Tre snickered.
Hugh shot him a quick look.
“I’m just saying…” Tre shrugged.
Hugh rolled his eyes and turned back to the alpha. “Please
continue, Stellan.”
“Yes, well, I’ve been considering your situation since you called,
and I think I have a solution that will be a benefit to both of us, one
that the council will readily approve.”
“Oh?” Stellan had Hugh’s total interest.
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“I’ve discussed with you a little of how I messed up with my own
mating. What I failed to mention was that my failure to claim Benji
drove him from my pride. He was missing for three years. When I
finally did locate him, he was living outside of a town a few hours
south of here. He was living as a lone shifter, but there is a small pride
there of about ten members.”
Stellan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, folding
his hands together in his lap. “Now, the reason I mention this is
because they really do not have an alpha. Since the incident with
Benji, they have kind of fallen under my protection. And I believe
that the council would allow you to take over this territory as your
own, provided you allowed those that are there to join your pride.”
Hugh mulled this over in his mind for a moment. Ten more lions
would give him over twenty members in his pride. That wasn’t a bad
start for a pride. It was actually pretty good. But he knew nothing
about these other people.
“What can you tell me about the people there?”
“Allan Granger and his wife, plus his children and grandchildren
live there. Allan and his son are the only male members in the pride.
Until recently, they’ve kind of been ruling themselves, but when the
trouble with Benji came up, they petitioned me to take them over.
They felt that they were not sufficiently strong enough to protect
themselves if there was trouble.”
“Was there trouble?”
“Yes. The sheriff of Potter’s Creek was not only human, he was
an asshole. He and his brother are currently in a shifter prison after
they attacked me, Benji, and Kody, and tried to sell us to hunters.
Allan has taken over as town sheriff and he’s not doing too bad of a
job, but it’s not something he wants to do forever. He owns the
general store in Potter’s Creek, and I believe he’d rather stick to that.
Neither Allan nor anyone in his family are very aggressive lions,
which is one of the reasons that the sheriff was able to run his reign of
terror over the town.”
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“I see.”
“Now, before you ask, I have spoken to Mr. Granger, and he is
agreeable to you taking over the pride there as long as you have my
support, and you already know that you have that. This would not
only give you an established pride, but a place to go. You would rule
the territory for nearly a hundred miles in every direction.”
Hugh’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of territory.”
“It also comes with a ranch nearly ready for you to move into.”
“Nearly?”
Stellan chuckled. “It needs a little work. The roof and foundation
are sound, but the rest of it needs some repair. My Benji bought the
place when he moved away from the pride. He did his best to keep the
place in good working order, but with his problems with the town
sheriff, he just wasn’t able to.”
Stellan leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers together.
“So, what do you say, Hugh? Interested in being Alpha of the Potter’s
Creek Pride?”
Hugh opened his mouth to tell Stellan that he needed to discuss
things with his mate and brothers before he could give him a concrete
answer, even if he was pretty sure that he would agree.
But a loud roar from the doorway froze him in his spot.
“Mine!”
Hugh jumped to his feet and stepped between Kye and the man
rushing toward them. He extended his claws and let out a low,
rumbling growl to warn the man off. He realized that he was inside
another alpha’s house, but he wasn’t about to let anyone threaten his
mate. He’d take the man down and destroy him before he let one hair
on Kye’s head be displaced.
There was an almost hopeful glint in the man’s smoky blue eyes
as he skidded to a stop and cocked his head to one side, staring
intently between Hugh and Kye, as if not quite believing what he was
seeing.
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“Who are you?” the man whispered as he sniffed the air around
Hugh while looking like he wasn’t trying to sniff the air.
Hugh really thought nothing of the man’s gesture. It was natural
for other lions to sniff for a scent when they met someone knew.
However, he countered the man’s question with one of his own
because he wasn’t about to put any information out there in the open
without knowing who the man was first.
“Who are you?”
“Neumus Mihos, Beta of Mihos pride.”
“Hugh Marshall.” Hugh glanced behind him at Kye, and then let
his eyes stray to his own brothers and Kye’s brothers. When they all
nodded at his unspoken question, he turned back to look at Neumus.
“Alpha of Potter’s Creek Pride.”
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Chapter 7
Neumus couldn’t believe he was standing in front of his mates,
both of them, and they smelled better than anything he had ever
smelled in his life. The bigger one smelled like mountain air and
jasmine. The smaller man had a more subtle scent, like a mixture of
the pink petals of a dogwood tree and mint.
Combined, the fragrances were heavenly.
“Well,” Stellan mused, “this makes things a little more
interesting.”
Neumus could barely tear his eyes off of the two men before him
to look over at his brother. He didn’t like the smirk on his brother’s
face. Somehow, he knew it didn’t bode well for him.
“What makes what more interesting?” Neumus asked cautiously.
Stellan’s eyes were gentle and understanding as he looked back up
at him. “This is Hugh Marshall and his mate, Kye. We were just
discussing his new pride. He’s going to be taking over the Potter’s
Creek Pride for me.”
Neumus kind of figured out that part considering what Hugh had
said. He kept his mouth shut, waiting for his brother to elaborate. He
was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Hugh just became an alpha”—Stellan glanced down at the watch
on his wrist for a moment. There was a self-satisfied grin on his face
when he looked up at Neumus again—“about six hours ago when he
found Kye and couldn’t scent him.”
Neumus’s eyes bugged. He quickly turned to look at the little man
sitting on the couch behind Hugh. “He can’t scent you?”
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Kye chewed on his lower lip as he shook his head. There was an
unspoken pain in Kye’s eyes, one that Neumus was hard-pressed not
to take away. There should be no misery in such sparkling, moss-
green eyes.
“You know what that means, right?” He had been through this
with his brother, and it had been a nightmare. Stellan almost lost
Benji because he didn’t understand about the lack of scent in an
alpha’s mate. After that, Neumus had researched as much as he
possibly could about the claiming of a mate. He didn’t want to suffer
the same fate as Stellan.
“Yes,” the gorgeous little man replied in a soft voice. “It means
that Hugh is an alpha and I am his mate.”
After getting to know Benji, Neumus was a little surprised at how
soft spoken Kye seemed. He was used to the alpha mate being loud
and boisterous, not quiet and serene. It was kind of hard to take in.
“That’s actually how Hugh discovered that he was an alpha,
Neumus,” Stellan said. “When he couldn’t scent Kye, it was a given
that Hugh was an alpha. Since he had already been planning on
leaving his current pride to come here, it was easy enough to arrange
for him to take over the Potter’s Creek Pride.”
Neumus frowned as he glanced at his brother, and then up to
Hugh. “Why were you leaving your pride?”
“The alpha of my pride is an asshole.”
Neumus continued to stare, waiting for Hugh to say something
more, but the man just crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his
lips together. Well, at least he no longer had his claws out. That was
something.
Still, the tension in the air was so thick that Neumus almost
choked on it. He knew that Hugh and Kye were his mates. He could
smell it on both men. He just couldn’t understand why they hadn’t
figured it out.
He knew that Hugh wouldn’t be able to smell him, but that should
have been a big clue to the alpha. And Kye probably would have been
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able to smell him if Hugh would let him get closer. The alpha was
standing between Neumus and Kye like an unmovable wall.
For the first time since he was an untried teenager on his first date,
Neumus felt embarrassed and unsure. He didn’t have a clue how to
get Hugh and Kye to understand that they were all mates.
Kye was sitting on the couch staring up at him like he had never
seen a lion before. Hugh, on the other hand, continued to glare at
Neumus as if he expected him to attack at any second. Neither man
seemed to understand the situation.
“Stellan?” Neumus whispered in desperation. He needed help, and
Stellan always knew what to say or do.
“Hugh,” Stellan said, “do you trust me?”
“I suppose.”
Yeah, Neumus didn’t think that response wasn’t going to win
Hugh any brownie points with his brother. Still, he was surprised
when Stellan chuckled and brushed the comment aside.
“Do me a favor then,” Stellan said. “Sniff my brother and tell me
what you smell.”
Hugh’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. His shock at Stellan’s
request must have been huge because he took his attention off of
Neumus for a moment and turned to look at Stellan in astonishment.
“Excuse me?”
“Please?” Stellan waved his hand at Neumus. “Tell me what you
smell.”
Hugh’s eyebrows dipped down over his face when he turned back
to Neumus. He leaned in and sniffed the air right next to Neumus’s
face. Neumus shuddered as Hugh’s breath blew out across his cheek,
and the man’s intriguing scent grew stronger.
Suddenly, Hugh growled and grabbed Neumus by his arms,
yanking him closer. Neumus groaned as Hugh’s nose buried in his
throat. Oh, the things he could think of to do with this man if they
were not in a room full of people. He had a list a mile long, one that
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he had been working on since he first realized that he had a mate out
there in the world, waiting to be claimed.
When Hugh leaned away from him, Neumus almost whimpered in
protest until he spotted the confusion on Hugh’s face. “You can’t
smell me, can you?”
“No.”
Neumus found himself grinning as he watched a varied show of
emotions play out over Hugh’s face as the man pieced together the
puzzle and came to a conclusion. The look on Hugh’s face when he
finally realized they were mates was one Neumus wouldn’t have
missed for anything in the world.
Hugh’s extraordinary brown eyes blazed and glowed as he stared
wordlessly at Neumus. His mouth hung open, and the little pants of
air coming out only increased with each passing moment.
“Little bit,” Hugh finally said, not taking his eyes away from
Neumus. “I’d like you to meet our other mate, Neumus Mihos.”
Neumus took a quick breath of utter astonishment as Hugh
stepped to the side and the most beautiful man he had ever seen stood
up and stepped over next to the powerful alpha. Because Hugh had
been standing between them, Neumus hadn’t really gotten a good
look at Kye, but as he glanced at him, he wondered how he could
have missed the gorgeous little man.
Kye was breathtaking, ethereal. His features were so delicate and
fine that Neumus was almost afraid to breathe on him in case Kye
shattered on the floor. How could a man built so dainty be the mate to
two huge, dominant men?
They’d break him for sure.
“Hello,” Kye said in that soft voice of his, the one that made
Neumus want to curl up and purr.
“Hello, Kye. It’s very nice to meet you.” Neumus couldn’t believe
he was having this polite conversation when all he really wanted to do
was jump both men. Strip them naked, and drag them down to the
floor.
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“Well,” Stellan said as he stood to his feet. “I suppose you all
have a lot to discuss. Why don’t I show you to your rooms? You can
shower and get some rest and meet back here in a few hours. We can
finish discussing your new pride then, Hugh.”
“Huh?” Hugh asked as he raised his head and turned to look at
Stellan. “Oh, yeah, that would be good. We could all do with a
shower and some rest. We kind of left the pride in a hurry, and we’ve
been on the road since last night.”
“Neumus, I assume you’d like Hugh and Kye to join you in your
room?”
Neumus nodded even as he said, “If that’s what they want.”
“Good,” Stellan said. “Then I will show the others to their
rooms.”
Stellan and the others walked out of the room, leaving Neumus
and his two mates standing there. Neumus suddenly felt more nervous
than he could ever remember feeling. He was tongue-tied, not
knowing what to say to these two gorgeous men.
What do you say to your mates when you first meet them?
Everything that came to Neumus’s mind sounded stupid before it
even reached his tongue.
“So…” Neumus stepped back from Hugh and Kye and pushed his
hand through his hair. Standing so close to them, with their alluring
scent, was messing with his head. That had to be the reason. He was
usually much more intelligent than this.
“As you can imagine,” Hugh started, “this is a little bit of a
surprise for us.”
“Yeah.” Neumus chuckled nervously. “It’s a bit of a surprise to
me as well.”
“But not a bad one, right?”
Neumus smiled down at Kye at his question. “No, it’s not a bad
surprise. It’s actually rather welcome. I’ve been waiting to meet my
mate for a very long time. I just never expected there to be two of
you.”
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Hugh’s eyebrows drew down over his face as he wrapped an arm
around Kye’s shoulders and drew him close. “Is that a problem for
you?”
“No,” Neumus said without hesitation. “I’ve watched my brother
find his mates, and I have never seen three people happier than
Stellan, Kody, and Benji. If we can find half of the happiness together
that they have, we’ll be very lucky men.”
“Do you think we can?” Kye asked.
“We can try.” Neumus sucked in a deep breath as he looked
between the two men. “I’m certainly willing to try. I hope you are,
too.”
Kye’s eyes instantly went up to Hugh as if waiting to hear what he
had to say. Neumus had to conquer his involuntary reaction to the
gentle loving look that Hugh gave Kye. He wanted a look like that
aimed in his direction. He wasn’t jealous of Kye, not when he knew
that Hugh was his mate, too. He just wanted someone to look at him
like Hugh was looking at Kye.
“I suppose we all need to go talk, huh?” Hugh asked.
Kye nodded eagerly. “I’d like that.”
“Where to?” Hugh asked as he looked back up at Neumus.
Neumus gestured toward the stairs just past the entrance to the
living room. “My room is upstairs in the west wing. Do you need to
stop by the kitchen to grab something to eat before we head up?”
Hugh glanced at Kye. “Kye?”
Kye shook his head. “I’m good. I want a shower more than
anything else, and maybe a couple of hours of sleep. I haven’t had any
real rest since yesterday.”
Neumus could immediately feel a growl building up in his chest.
“Why haven’t you slept?” And why was nothing done about it?
Neumus felt the sudden urge to smack Hugh on the side of his head,
but considering who exactly the man was, he thought better of it
before he could give in to his impulse.
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“I slept for a couple of hours in the truck, but I didn’t get much
rest. I was just too keyed up to really rest.”
“Why?” Neumus frowned as he looked at the two men. “What’s
going on?”
“Why don’t we take Kye upstairs so he can get a shower and
climb into bed, and then I’ll explain the whole thing to you?”
Neumus suddenly felt like a complete shithead. He should be
thinking about what his mates needed, not his own need for
information. “Yes, of course.” He turned to lead the way when he felt
a hand land on his arm. Worried that he was making an even bigger
fool of himself than he already had, Neumus winced and then glanced
over his shoulder.
“Walk with us?” Kye asked.
A smile began to tug at the corners of Neumus’s mouth as he took
the hand that Kye held out to him. He was a little startled by the
euphoria that shot through him at the first touch of Kye’s skin against
his and totally floored by how good it felt just to hold the man’s hand.
Neumus had always been looking for his mate, or mates as was
apparently his case. And he had always known that someday he
would find his mate. It was something predestined by fate on the day
he was born.
Or, at least, that was Neumus’s belief.
He always thought that Plato had it right when he said that soul
mates were two parts of the same whole. In The Symposium, Plato
presented a story about soul mates. His character Aristophanes stated
in the play that that humans originally had four arms, four legs, and a
single head made of two faces, but the god Zeus feared their power
and split them all in half, condemning them to spend their lives
searching for the other half to complete them.
Neumus just hadn’t realized that those four arms and legs would
turn into six.
“This is my room,” Neumus said as he opened a door just down
the hallway from the top of the stairs. He quickly turned to watch
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Hugh and Kye after stepping into the room. He wanted to see their
reactions to his most intimate space.
Granted, it wasn’t much, but it was his. This room was his
sanctuary away from the world, where he could let his hair down and
just be himself instead of the alpha’s younger brother or second-in-
command of the Mihos Pride. This was his private space, but one he
was more than willing to share with his mates.
“That’s quite a collection of movies,” Hugh said.
Neumus pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked on his feet.
He was suddenly a little embarrassed about just how big his movie
collection was, which currently numbered somewhere around three
thousand movies.
He didn’t have a favorite genre or time period. He had everything
from old silent movies to the newest action flicks. He just loved
watching movies, and he watched them all. He could think of nothing
better to do on a rainy day than curl up and watch a movie.
“Ice Pirates?” Hugh asked as he pulled a movie off the large shelf
and stared down at the cover. “Really?”
“It’s a classic,” Neumus insisted.
“Right?” Hugh snickered. “Robert Urich never looked so good.”
“Who’s Robert Urich?” Kye asked.
Hugh groaned.
“He was an actor, Kye,” Neumus said. “He made several films
and TV programs from the 1970s through his death in 2002.”
“Oh.” Kye seemed to consider that for a moment, and then he
frowned. “Was he any good?”
Hugh chuckled. “He was gorgeous.”
“Huh. I don’t remember him.”
Neumus almost busted out laughing at the affronted look on
Hugh’s face. “Not to worry, Kye. I have a bunch of movies that Urich
made, and some of his television programs. We can all sit down and
have Robert Urich movie day once things get settled.”
“Oh.” Kye clasped his hands together. “I love movies.”
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“Good”—Neumus gestured to the floor-to-ceiling shelves housing
his collection—“because I have a lot of them.”
“Is that what you do?” Kye asked.
Neumus frowned, not quite understanding the question. “Do?”
“Hugh likes to restore antique furniture. I make crafts.”
“Um…” Neumus nervously moistened his dry lips. “I’m not sure I
really do anything like that. I just like to watch movies, and that can’t
really be called a hobby.”
“Oh.” Kye’s eyes dropped to his hands. His disappointment was
almost a living breathing entity, and Neumus felt like a first-rate clod
again.
“But I’m willing to learn if you want to teach me.”
The glow of Kye’s smile warmed Neumus across the room. “I
could teach you.”
Hugh’s chuckle filled the room. “Come on, little bit, you need to
shower and then get some rest. I imagine we have a big day ahead of
us and we still need to explain everything to Neumus.”
“Right.” Kye glanced around the room before looking at Neumus.
“Shower?”
“Oh, it’s right through there.” Neumus pointed to a door on the far
side of the room. “There are towels in the cabinet behind the door.”
“Thanks.”
Neumus couldn’t tear his eyes off of Kye as the man sauntered
across the room. Did Kye actually walk like that on purpose, or was it
an unconscious movement? There was a sway to Kye’s softly rounded
hips that made Neumus’s teeth ache.
Hugh’s gentle laughter rippled through the room after Kye shut
the door. Neumus cocked an eyebrow as he turned to look at his other
mate, curious as to what had the man so amused.
“No,” Hugh said, “he doesn’t have a fucking clue.”
Neumus flushed. Had he actually spoken out loud?
Again, Hugh laughed as he shook his hands. “You didn’t say
anything, but I could see the way you were looking at him, and
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believe me when I say that Kye doesn’t have a clue how alluring he
is.”
Neumus’s mouth dropped as shock rolled through him. He waved
his hand toward the bathroom door. “How could he not know? He’s a
walking wet dream.”
“Right?” Hugh snorted. “I’ve been hard for the last six hours.”
“Is that how long you’ve known him?”
Hugh nodded. “Yeah, Kye and his brothers were staying in my
father’s territory. My father woke me up in the middle of the night to
remove them. He wanted them gone before Alpha DeLuca arrived
with his daughters, who my father had chosen as my future mates.”
Hugh pushed his hand through his hair in obvious agitation, and
then he glanced around the room until he spotted a couple of chairs by
the fireplace. He walked over and sat in one of them and gestured to
the other one.
“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll try and explain as much as I can
before Kye gets out of the shower. I’d really rather he gets some rest
than sit up and talk with us. He’s got to be exhausted.”
Neumus quickly walked over and sat in the chair across from
Hugh. He leaned back and then folded one of his ankles over his other
leg. “So, your father wanted Kye and his brothers gone because Alpha
DeLuca was coming with his daughters?”
Hugh nodded.
“If you had no idea Kye was your mate, then what did one have to
do with the other?”
“I think my father is somewhat of a purist. We’re a pride of lions.
Kye and his brothers are white Bengal tigers. My father felt it would
look bad on us as a pride if they were still in the area when Alpha
DeLuca arrived.”
“Your father is an idiot,” Neumus said. “You do realize that,
right?”
“Oh. Believe me, I do. Once he explained how he had chosen
Alpha DeLuca’s two oldest daughters as my mates, and the younger
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one was for my brother Boone, plus he was brokering a deal to mate
Simon to another alpha’s daughter, we decided it was time to get the
hell out. Luckily, I had already spoken to your brother about coming
here. This just upped the timeline a bit.”
“And that’s how you met Kye?”
“I knew how my father felt. Even if I took off, he’d still send
someone after Kye. We decided to stop on our way out of town and
warn Kye and his brothers, and escort them out of the area.” Hugh’s
sudden burst of laughter was low and throaty. “Imagine my surprise
when I arrived at the hotel to find Kye.”
“While the circumstances suck, I can’t say I am upset by them.”
Neumus really didn’t know how to phrase his words, so he decided to
just go with honesty. “The three of us might not have found each
other otherwise.” Hugh’s expression suddenly stilled and grew
serious, and that made Neumus very nervous. “What haven’t you told
me?”
Hugh’s mouth pulled into a sour grin. “This isn’t over, you know?
My father will come after me and my brothers once he figures out that
we are gone. The man doesn’t like to be thwarted, and his vengeance
on anyone that betrays him is legendary.”
“He also doesn’t know who he is going up against. My brother
waited years to take back the alpha position that had been stolen from
my family when our parents were killed. He trained and plotted, and
then challenged the alpha of this pride. According to you, he had
already accepted you into this pride, and he protects those within his
pride. Now that you’re family, that protection will be even more so.”
Neumus managed a tremulous smile. “Besides, I saw the men
downstairs that came with you. They looked like they could handle
themselves quite well. I suspect that your father doesn’t have a clue
that he’s bitten off more than he can chew.”
“I suppose. I just—” Hugh suddenly sat forward and rubbed his
hands down his face before dropping them between his thighs and
staring down at the floor. “I just don’t want Kye and his brothers
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caught up in this. Kumiko might have a chance of holding his own,
but not Kye or Yuji. They just wouldn’t survive an attack from my
father.”
“So, we won’t let him. I’m a pretty damn big lion, and I imagine
you are, too. Between the two of us and your new pride members, we
should be able to keep them safe.”
Hugh’s head cocked to one side as it snapped up. “How in the hell
would you know how big your lion is?”
“Well, I haven’t exactly looked at myself in a mirror when I shift
but I know I’m about as big as Stellan, and he’s damn big.”
“But alpha mates can’t shift before they are claimed,” Hugh
insisted. “That, and the lack of scent, is what makes them alpha
mates.”
“And normally, that is true. But I’m the brother of an alpha. That
changes all of the normal alpha mate rules.”
Neumus was a little amused that Hugh didn’t know this, and he
was expecting some snarky remark. He was shocked down to his toes
when Hugh suddenly cursed and jumped to his feet, starting to pace.
“Hugh?” Was the man upset because Neumus could already shift?
It was all part and parcel of being the sibling of an alpha. He had been
able to shift since puberty. It wasn’t exactly like it was something he
could stop from happening.
“This all makes sense now, every damn bit of it.” Hugh was
mumbling, almost as if talking to himself.
“What makes sense?” Neumus asked.
What the fuck was going on?
Hugh suddenly stopped pacing and turned to look at Neumus. The
look on his face did not reassure Neumus. “I suddenly understand
what my father has been up to all of these years.”
Neumus quirked his eyebrow questioningly as he rolled his hand
in the air. “Want to let the rest of the class in on it?”
Hugh raised his chin with a steely eyed stare in Neumus’s
direction. “Okay, look, it’s this simple. Boone, Simon, and I were all
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raised in the alpha’s house. We were his golden boys, or so we’ve
been called. But for a long time we’ve suspected that there are more
of us in the pride—”
“More siblings?”
“Yes, and we discovered today that we were right in our
assumptions. The other four men that want to join my pride are all my
half brothers. We don’t know if there are more of us, but none of us
would be surprised if there were.”
Neumus shook his head in utter disbelief. “So, he’s populating
your pride with lions that can shift no matter who they are mated to?”
“And we’re all being trained to be the next inner circle.”
Neumus whistled low in his throat. “Wow, he is so going to be
pissed when he discovers that you’ve all defected.”
“Now do you see why I am so worried?”
“Uh-huh. But I still think we can beat him.” Neumus grinned. “I
really am one big fucking lion.”
Hugh bent his head slightly forward. “Prove it.”
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Chapter 8
Kye could hear Hugh and Neumus talking as he stepped out of the
shower, but he couldn’t quite understand what they were talking
about. The sound was muffled by the closed door. He shrugged,
figuring they would tell him when he got out of the bathroom.
He quickly dried off and then reached for his clothes, bringing
them to his nose to sniff. Kye wrinkled his nose in disgust. Yuck.
Two-day-old clothes were not fun to put back on once he had
showered.
Maybe he could get Hugh or Neumus to go get his bag out of the
car, or at least give him something else to wear. At this point, a simple
short pajama shirt would work. He just planned to sleep anyway.
Kye wrapped a towel around his waist and then opened the
bathroom door and stepped back into Neumus’s bedroom. He
immediately squeaked and darted back into the bathroom, slamming
the door shut and leaning against it.
Lion!
Big fucking lion!
Humongous fucking lion!
Laughter filled Hugh’s voice as it came through the door. “It’s
just Neumus, little bit. Nothing to be afraid of. He won’t hurt you.”
Kye wasn’t so sure of that. Neumus really did look huge. Kye
pulled the door open just far enough to peek through into the
bedroom. He knew Hugh was standing right there because he could
see the man’s shadow.
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Neumus sat on the other side of the room, his head resting on his
paws—which looked just as big as Kye’s head. Kye didn’t trust the
innocent, unthreatening look on the lion’s muzzle, not one damn bit.
“I promise he won’t hurt you, little bit,” Hugh said as he stepped
into Kye’s view.
“Do you see how big he is?”
“Yes, and that’s why he shifted, to show me exactly how big he
is.” Hugh glanced over his shoulder to stare at Neumus. “We were
talking about how to protect you and your brothers, and Neumus told
me he was a really big lion. I told him to prove it.”
A really big lion was kind of an understatement. Neumus’s lion
form looked like he weighed several hundred pounds. He was as big
as a truck. Hell, Neumus probably played with trucks on the freeway
for fun. Kye could just imagine the lion batting them around with his
massive paws.
“He was right.”
Kye didn’t think his tiger would be nearly as big. In fact, he was
damn sure of it.
“Do you want to pet him?” Hugh asked.
Kye shook his head negatively until he saw the lion’s eyes drop.
He twisted his lips around for a moment and then slowly began
creeping his way across the room. If Neumus was his mate, and Kye
was sure that he was after sniffing him, then Kye needed to man up
and get used to the fact that his mate was huge in every form he had.
His steps slowed as he walked toward the lion, unsure if
approaching him was the best choice he could make. He almost
jumped out of his skin when Neumus flopped over onto his side and
then rolled onto his back.
Kye might have been smaller, but he still understood pride
dynamics just as much as the next shifter. Neumus was showing Kye
his belly. The bigger lion was submitting to him. Kye was still
hesitant to approach Neumus. And then the purring started and Kye
was sold.
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He walked over and settled down on his knees next to the big
furry lion. Kye was shocked at how soft Neumus’s golden fur was as
he started running his fingers through it. He could just imagine
rubbing up against it to keep warm or just lying on it.
“I think underneath all of that furiousness is the heart of a big old
cuddly kitty cat,” Hugh said as he settled on the floor on the opposite
side of Neumus.
Neumus snuffled as if offended by Hugh’s words, but he didn’t
move, for which Kye was grateful. He was still a little unsure of the
big lion, although he was getting more comfortable with each passing
minute.
“He’s soft,” Kye replied.
“He is, but I’ll bet your fur is just as soft.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Kye smiled ruefully. “I haven’t ever shifted
before. I never understood why until I met you, but now that all
makes sense. Being an alpha mate, I couldn’t—” Kye’s brow
suddenly furrowed. “Alpha mates can’t shift until they’re claimed by
their mate. How can Neumus shift? I thought he was our mate.”
“He is, little bit,” Hugh said as he reached for him. Kye yelped as
he was lifted right up over the lion lying on the floor and onto Hugh’s
lap. “Apparently, the siblings of alphas can shift even if they are alpha
mates.”
“So, your brothers can all shift then because they are your
brothers?”
“From what Neumus says, yes.”
“What about my brothers?” Kye asked.
“I’m not sure, little bit. You’re not an alpha, just the mate of an
alpha. And, according to what Neumus said, if one of your brothers
was an alpha then you would have been able to shift. So, as long as
they aren’t mated to an alpha, they should have been able to shift
when they reached puberty. Have you ever seen them shift?”
Kye shrugged. “There wasn’t really a lot of opportunity to shift
when we were younger. We were always being watched. Once we got
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banished from our pride, we’ve been moving from town to town and
it just wasn’t safe to shift.”
Kye had no idea if his brothers could shift, and he wondered why
that was. That felt like something he should know. He realized that
things weren’t always easy growing up, and they had just gotten
harder after they left their birth pride. But he hadn’t even discussed it
with his brothers.
There were always other things that seemed more important to
discuss—like eating and keeping a roof over their head. And neither
of those was easy for shifters in a world filled with humans.
“What do you suppose I look like?” Kye asked. “I know I’m
supposed to be a white Bengal tiger, and I’ve seen pictures and the
others in my pride, but—”
“You’ll be beautiful in your shifted form, Kye, just like you are
now.”
Kye flushed even as he dipped his head and tucked his hair behind
his ear. He wasn’t sure Hugh was correct, but he hoped the man never
stopped believing that. He wanted to be beautiful for his mates. No
one else had ever thought of him that way.
“Do you suppose—”
Kye snatched his hand away from Neumus when the lion
suddenly rolled to his feet and started growling at the door. When
Neumus crouched down and bared his teeth, Kye scrambled further
up into Hugh’s arms, practically climbing him.
“What’s he doing?” Kye whispered, afraid to speak louder in case
Neumus turned his angry gaze in his direction.
“I don’t—”
A knock at the door stole the rest of Hugh’s words. Hugh stood,
pulling Kye up with him. “Stay here, little bit.”
Kye twisted his hands together as Hugh stepped around Neumus
and walked to the door. Neumus was keeping himself between Kye
and whoever might be on the other side of the door, growling softly.
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When Hugh opened the door and Kye saw Stellan standing there,
he was a little surprised. He would have thought that Neumus would
have welcomed his brother and alpha into his rooms, not been
threatened by the man’s visit.
“We have a problem,” Stellan said as he stepped into the room.
“Your father knows where you are and he’s on his way here. He’s
also been burning up the phone lines to council headquarters. He’s
looking for a way to force you to go back to your pride.”
“Fuck!” Hugh spun and stormed across the room to stare out the
window. “How much time do we have, Stellan?” he asked after a
moment.
“A few hours at best.”
Hugh’s shoulders slumped.
Kye walked over to the man and stroked his hand down Hugh’s
stiff back. “What does this mean, Hugh?”
Hugh’s shoulder heaved under his shirt as he drew in a deep
breath and then let it out. “I had hoped for a little more time before
my father figured out where I was, but it doesn’t look like I get that
wish. If Alpha Aldo is coming here, he’s not coming alone. He’ll do
whatever he has to do to get me and my brothers to go back.”
“Hugh,” Stellan said as he took a single step closer, “I’ve spoken
to a friend at the council. There is a way to stop your father.”
Hugh turned and looked at Stellan, his eyebrows drawn together
in an agonized expression. “How?”
“You need to claim your mates.”
Kye’s eyes widened at the suggestion.
“You’re an alpha and we’ve already agreed that you’re going to
take over the Potter’s Creek Pride, but until you are registered as pride
alpha with the council, you are still a member of your father’s pride
and he can order you to go home. If you claim your mates, it makes
you an alpha even if you haven’t registered with the council yet. It’s a
bond that can’t be disputed by your father or the council.”
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Hugh clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I don’t want
to claim my mates just to gain my position. That’s not fair to either of
them.”
“We’ll do it,” Kye blurted out, and then winced when everyone
turned to stare at him, including the massive lion sitting in the middle
of the room. “Look, if we don’t do it now, Hugh could be taken from
us. And while I appreciate the sentiment, I’d rather have you claim
me before your father arrives than lose you.”
Kye’s words seemed to amuse Stellan, who started to grin. He
stuffed his hands into the pockets of his tan slacks and nodded his
head toward Kye. “You should listen to your mate, Hugh. He seems
to know what he wants.”
Kye’s mouth dropped as Stellan turned and casually walked
toward the door as if he hadn’t just dropped a time bomb in their laps.
He paused in the doorway and glanced over his shoulder.
“I’ll get everyone moving and have your registration papers ready
to be filed the moment you let me know you’ve claimed your mates.”
Stellan glanced down at his watch. “But don’t take too long. I’d like
to get you on the road to your new pride before your father arrives
here.”
After the door closed behind Stellan, Kye turned to look at Hugh,
curiosity practically burning a hole through him. “So, how do we do
this?”
Hugh tilted his brow, looking at Kye uncertainly. “You don’t
know?”
“Not a clue.”
“You’ve never had sex?”
Kye swung around at the sound of Neumus’s voice, and then he
almost swallowed his tongue. Neumus had shifted back to his human
form, and he was standing across the room totally stark-ass naked.
And gods, he was fucking gorgeous, all rippling muscles and
darkly tanned skin. He was tall and handsome, with a beautiful,
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proportioned body. And the rest of him—even as Kye watched,
Neumus’s cock thickened and rose up into the air.
“Well, that’s a damn good start.” Hugh chuckled.
Kye’s eyes almost popped out of his head as Neumus grinned and
started across the room. The man’s powerful, well-muscled body
moved with an easy grace as if he was comfortable in his skin, and
comfortable being naked in a room with two men that were practically
strangers. Kye didn’t know if he would feel quite so relaxed being
naked. In fact, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t.
When Hugh pulled his shirt off and tossed it over a nearby chair,
Kye could only stand there and stare. He didn’t look like either of his
mates, and he could see the way that Neumus was watching Hugh as
the man stripped. There was a heat in Neumus’s eyes that threatened
to ignite into a burning flame at any second.
By the time that Hugh was just as naked at Neumus, and the two
men stood side by side as they looked expectantly at him, Kye was so
nervous he thought he might puke. His stomach was doing flip-flops,
and his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest.
“Your turn, little bit.”
“I’m good.” Kye let out a nervous little laugh. “You two go ahead
and start without me.”
“Nu-uh.” Hugh shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way, little
bit. I have to claim both of you, which means we all need to be
naked.”
When Hugh and Neumus started stalking him, Kye backed up,
feeling like prey. The feral grins on their faces, while somewhat
exciting, were also scary as hell. Kye squeaked when he felt himself
run into the wall and realized that he had no avenue of escape.
Hugh and Neumus surrounded him. Hugh was pressed against his
front. Neumus was pressed against his back. If they hadn’t smelled so
damn good and felt so damn right, Kye would have felt
claustrophobic being crushed between the two large men.
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“I…err…” Kye licked his suddenly dry lips. He had never been in
this particular position before, not unless he was about to get his ass
kicked, and Kye really didn’t think that was what they had planned.
On the either hand, he didn’t have a fucking clue what they had
planned. His sexual experience consisted of jerking off to some nude
pictures he found in a magazine. Until last night, he’d never even
been kissed.
It wasn’t that he didn’t find other men attractive. He had just
never found anyone that he really wanted to be intimate with. Sex
seemed like a very personal thing, something only to be shared with
someone special, not something to be given out to just any man. But
the two guys surrounding him were not just any men either. They
were his mates.
“This has to come off, little bit,” Hugh said as he pulled the towel
from around Kye’s waist. “You won’t need—holy mother of mercy!”
Kye winced and glanced down. Hugh was just staring at him.
“Baby,” Hugh said slowly, hesitantly, licking his lips in between
words, “have you always been this big?”
Kye was pretty sure that the blush that suddenly flushed his skin
went all of the way down to his toes. He reached down and covered
his groin, not that it did him any good. Hugh and Neumus were
staring at him, and it was causing Kye’s cock to stiffen and rise up
toward his belly button like a steel pipe.
Gods, he was so fucking embarrassed.
“That is…” Neumus whimpered. “That is the most impressive
cock I have ever seen.”
“It’s magnificent,” Hugh murmured.
Kye felt like a bug under glass. Or a fish in a glass bowl. Either
description fit how exposed he felt in that moment. This was one of
the major reasons that he never bathed in front of his brothers or even
walked from the bathroom to his bedroom without something
covering him.
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People gawked. His brothers had done it a couple of times until
they realized that Kye was embarrassed. After that, they never said
another word. But they still knew, and Kye would sometimes see
them staring at his groin in confusion as if they couldn’t understand
how a man as small as him could have a ten-inch dick.
Kye didn’t have a clue.
More than once, Kye had wished he was a smaller, more
respectable size, like maybe six inches or something, and not the
massive ten-inch-long, two-inch-thick monstrosity that hung between
his legs.
“I want me some of that,” Neumus groaned.
“Me first.”
Before Kye could protest, his hands were pulled away from his
cock and held to his sides. The next thing he knew, Hugh had leaned
forward and swallowed the tip of his cock. Kye groaned, shuddered as
his eyes slid closed. The warmth surrounding the head of his cock was
unlike anything he had ever felt.
“You like that, baby?” Neumus asked.
Kye could only nod as every muscle in his body tensed and then
relaxed, only to tense right back up when Hugh began swallowing
more of his length.
“Open your eyes, baby,” Neumus murmured. “Watch your alpha.”
Kye reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced down, not sure of
what he’d see. A full-body shudder shook him as he watched Hugh
wrap his lips around the head of his cock. Hugh began to suck, his
tongue tracing the veins, his cheeks hollowed.
Neumus’s hands slid down Kye’s arms and then circled around to
pull them up over his head. He wrapped his hands around Kye’s
midriff and began to slowly move them up over Kye’s abdomen and
chest.
A tingling began in the pit of Kye’s stomach. Neumus was
touching him, stroking his skin like it was fine silk. At the same time,
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Hugh was moving his head back and forth, sucking on Kye’s cock
like a dripping Popsicle.
Kye bit his lip to stifle his outcry of delight. The way that Neumus
touched him sent an involuntary chill through him. But combined
with the sweet suction on his cock, Kye thought he might pass out.
His heart was beating so fast in his chest his lungs could barely keep
up.
“Hugh,” Neumus said as he leaned forward and tapped the alpha
on the top of his head, “don’t let him come yet.”
“No!” Kye cried out when Hugh pulled away. He had been so
close. He could feel it.
“Don’t worry, baby, we have you,” Neumus said as he swung Kye
up into his arms and carried him to the bed.
Kye didn’t know what to think when Neumus laid him out on the
bed and then climbed between his legs. “What—”
“Hugh, I want you to get me ready and then claim me while I get
Kye ready for you to claim.” Neumus grinned wickedly. “And while
you’re claiming Kye, he can claim me.”
“Now you’re talking,” Hugh said as he settled on the bed behind
Neumus.
Kye still didn’t know what was going on, not even when Neumus
climbed up onto his knees and bent down with a feral smile and
swallowed Kye’s straining erection. He didn’t care at that point. He
just knew that if felt fucking fantastic.
He felt like putty.
Very high-strung putty.
His muscles were stretched so tight from straining that Kye was
afraid they were going to snap like an overused rubber band. He
pumped his hips toward Neumus’s mouth, needing more,
needing…something.
“Ahh!” he cried out when he felt something long and thick and
slick breach his back door. The pressure was instant, and almost
overwhelming. Kye had played with his dick, who wouldn’t? But he
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had never had anything inside of him, even if he knew that was kind
of how it was done.
When another finger pushed into his ass, Kye hissed at the burn of
pain he felt, but it was quickly lost in the wash of exquisite pleasure
that flooded his body. Kye grasped Neumus’s arm and held on as his
ring of muscle squeezed down on the invasion.
He almost couldn’t breathe through the pleasure that raced
through his body. If this was what sex was like, he had been an idiot
to deny himself before now. But it did feel different knowing that it
was his mates touching him and loving on him, and maybe that was
what he had been looking for all along.
“Ready, Neumus?”
Kye raised his head off the pillow and glanced down his body to
Neumus when he heard the man grunt around his cock. Ready for
what?
Neumus’s eyes met his. Kye frowned when Neumus’s eyes
widened considerably and then flickered closed. Kye raised his eyes
to look up at Hugh. The man was kneeling behind Neumus. His upper
lip was curled back in what looked to be a snarl, and his hands dug
into Neumus’s side.
For a moment, Kye worried that Hugh was hurting Neumus until
the man groaned and arched his back. Hugh’s head fell back on his
shoulders, and he started pounding into Neumus.
And suddenly, Kye knew.
His breath came a little faster as he watched Hugh drive himself in
and out of Neumus. The mottled emotions that played out over
Neumus’s face were fascinating to watch. It was like Neumus felt a
combination of pain and pleasure, and he couldn’t decide which one
to settle on.
Kye was so spellbound with watching the two men that he saw the
exact moment Hugh blanketed Neumus’s body and sank his canines
into the man’s neck. Neumus cried out and shuddered. Kye felt spurts
of hot liquid splatter over his legs.
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“You smell so fucking good,” Hugh growled as he withdrew his
teeth and nuzzled the back of Neumus’s neck. “Like a summer rain
that comes down from the mountain top on a hot summer day.”
Kye blinked in surprise. That was exactly what Neumus smelled
like. “You can smell him?”
Hugh grinned as he lifted his head. “I can now.”
“Your turn, baby.”
Kye frowned at Neumus, not quite understanding until the man
moved out of the way and stretched out beside him on the bed. Hugh
reached for him, pulling him up.
“Hi,” Hugh said.
Kye gulped. “Hi.”
He almost purred when Hugh’s fingers stroked through his hair.
He loved having his hair messed with. Scalp massages were the best,
and so was getting his hair brushed out. Hugh and Neumus both
seemed to be fascinated with Kye’s hair, and that was a huge plus.
Until Hugh’s hands fisted in his hair and his head was yanked
back.
“Uh…Hugh?”
“Relax, little bit,” Hugh murmured as he started nuzzling Kye’s
throat just like he had Neumus’s. “I’m just getting you ready for me.”
By licking his throat?
“You’re a little tense, Kye,” Neumus whispered from behind him.
Kye suddenly found himself once again sandwiched between the two
larger men. He could feel their firm, muscular chests pressing against
his body, their hard cocks pulsing against him.
“Are you ready to be claimed, little bit?”
Kye felt his blood surge at Hugh’s question. Maybe it was the
gentle way that his mates handled him or the fact that they asked
instead of just taking, but Kye was suddenly ready to belong to both
men.
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.
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“Good.” Hugh had a huge grin on his face as he leaned back to
look down at Kye. “Turn around and get on your hands and knees.
This is going to be easier if you take Neumus first.”
Kye’s jaw dropped. “I’m going to be taking Neumus?”
“How else are you going to claim him?” Hugh asked.
“I thought I just had to bite him.”
“Essentially, that is true, baby,” Neumus said. “But this way is
much more fun. Besides, I told you I was going to get me some of the
beautiful cock of yours, and I wasn’t talking about sucking you off. I
want to feel it pounding into my ass.”
When Kye turned to get on his hands and knees, his arms and legs
almost gave out. Neumus was lying back against the pillows, his legs
pulled up to his chest as if he was presenting himself to Kye.
Kye swallowed past the lump of uncertainty building in his throat.
“What do I do?”
“Let me help you, little bit,” Hugh said. He grabbed Kye’s hips
and guided him forward until Kye’s body was up flush against
Neumus’s balls and bottom.
Hugh’s arms reached around Kye and grabbed his cock, directing
the head to Neumus’s already stretched entrance. Kye was fascinated
as he watched Neumus shudder as his cock was driven into the man’s
ass.
And then Neumus squeezed the tight ring of muscles encircling
his hard erection. Kye cried out, unable to keep the pleasure ripping
through his body to himself. His hips unconsciously flexed, and a
little more of his cock slid into Neumus.
“Oh man, he’s so fucking big,” Neumus panted heavily. “Slow, go
really slow.”
Kye’s eyes flickered between Neumus’s face and where he was
impaling the man. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to see more, and he
felt like he would be missing out if he didn’t watch both fascinating
images.
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“See how prettily he accepts your cock?” Hugh murmured into
Kye’s ear.
Wordlessly, Kye nodded. He couldn’t have spoken right then if
his life depended on it. Watching every last inch of his cock being
swallowed up by Neumus’s tight ass was mesmerizing.
And that didn’t even begin to describe how it felt.
Kye felt like his head was going to twist right off his shoulders.
He could feel every inch of his cock being incased in hot silk. It
rippled around his aching erection every few seconds, driving him to
distraction.
Finally, and unbelievably, Kye’s balls rested against Neumus’s
ass. He hadn’t known it was possible. Kye had always been a little
intimidated by the size of his cock, and totally embarrassed. But
Neumus and Hugh seemed fascinated.
“Fuck, you took all of him,” Hugh whispered in an astonished
tone. “I wasn’t sure you could do it.”
“Me either, but damned if he doesn’t fill every inch of me.” When
Neumus chuckled, Kye felt the vibration all of the way down to his
toes, and groaned.
“I think he wants to move, Neumus,” Hugh said. “Are you ready
for me? I’m not sure how much longer I can hold him off.”
“Yeah, go for it.”
Kye glanced over his shoulder when he felt Hugh’s hand between
his shoulder blades, pushing him forward.
“Lean over Neumus for a moment,” Hugh directed. “Give him a
kiss or something.”
Kye turned to look back at Neumus. He hadn’t kissed Neumus
yet. Hell, he had barely kissed Hugh. Neumus reached up and cradled
the back of Kye’s head, bringing their mouths together.
The first hesitant kiss was gentle and sweet. Their lips came
together, and Kye felt like he was coming home. The second kiss was
hard, wet, and demanding. The two men almost devoured each other.
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Kye would have sank further into that luscious kiss if he hadn’t
felt a hard pressure at his ass, much like he had felt when Neumus had
been sucking his cock. Only, this was bigger, thicker, and a whole lot
harder.
Kye gripped Neumus’s shoulders, positive he was being split in
two. He could hear Hugh’s heavy pants behind him. They matched
the ones coming from the man in front of him. Kye might have been
making his own pants, but since they quickly turned into groans of
pleasure, he couldn’t be sure.
“Okay, little bit,” Hugh whispered into Kye’s ear as he pulled him
back up from leaning over Neumus. “You let me do all of the work,
okay? Let me lead you. Just do what I do.”
Kye nodded, having no idea what Hugh was talking about until
the man began to move, making a small thrusting motion with his
hips. It drove Kye’s own hips forward, pushing his cock into Neumus.
“Oh!”
Kye felt the pressure of Hugh’s hands on his hips increase, and he
was pulled back, his cock sliding almost all of the way out of
Neumus’s tight ass.
“Oh hell!”
Hugh’s hot breath blew out over the nape of Kye’s neck as the
man chuckled. “That’s it, little bit. You have it. Now, we’re just going
to go a little faster, okay? Just remember to do what I do.”
Kye nodded rapidly.
Faster seemed like a really good idea.
Hugh’s hips thrust forward once again, and Kye felt the man’s
long, thick cock filling his ass. At the same time, he was pushing into
Neumus’s welcoming warmth once again. A hot ache began to grow
in Kye’s throat as Hugh moved faster and faster.
Neumus dropped his legs and wrapped them around both Hugh
and Kye. His hands went to Kye’s chest, his abdomen, his nipples. He
even stroked them down Kye’s arms. There didn’t seem to be an inch
of flesh that Neumus didn’t touch.
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Something earth shattering was building inside of Kye. His heart
hammered in his chest as he strove toward something elusive,
something just out of reach. Kye groaned, growing frustrated.
“Kye.”
Kye glanced down at Neumus, meeting his smoky blue eyes. The
man winked at him and then slowly tilted his head to one side, baring
the soft skin of his throat. Kye licked his lips. His gums ached, and he
suddenly knew what he needed to do.
Kye leaned down and licked a line up the side of Neumus’s throat,
right over the pulse in his neck, and then he bit down, sinking his
teeth into Neumus’s skin. Neumus’s quiet groan was muffled by
Kye’s loud cry as hot, sweet blood filled his mouth.
A sudden heat filled Kye’s entire body, and then he could feel
Neumus, not only physically but emotionally and mentally. Neumus’s
hands caressed the planes of his back, sending tendrils of warmth
through Kye.
And then there was a pressure in his head, like his thoughts and
memories were being forced to move over and make room for
someone else. It wasn’t exactly scary, but it was a little
uncomfortable.
Kye retracted his teeth, but before he could lick the bite mark
closed, he felt another set of teeth sink into the side of his own throat.
The pain was instant and explosive, but the pleasure that immediately
followed overshadowed it to the point where Kye felt nothing else
except intense ecstasy.
Kye abandoned himself to the whirl of sensation as passion
pounded the blood through his heart, chest, and head. There was
another momentary flare of pain as more teeth sank into his neck, but
Kye was beyond caring at that point. He was in the midst of shattering
into a million glittering stars.
As Kye slumped down over the top of Neumus’s chest, he had one
flickering thought before darkness overtook him. He had been
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claimed. He and his mates would now be bound together forever,
never to be apart. Their three souls had merged, becoming one.
He was no longer alone.
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Chapter 9
“He’s so beautiful.”
Hugh smiled over at Neumus, watching as his newly claimed mate
stroked his fingers through Kye’s long hair. Kye was out cold. Hugh
didn’t think he would wake up until they reached their destination.
Kye had passed out after sex and hadn’t even woken up when
Hugh cleaned him up or they dressed him. The poor man was clearly
exhausted. Currently, he lay cuddled in Neumus’s arms as they waited
for the reply from the council after sending in the proper pride
registration paperwork. Hugh wouldn’t be completely relaxed until he
heard from the council that their pride, and all of their new members,
had been approved.
“Yes, he is,” Hugh replied. “But you’re no slouch yourself.”
Hugh winked at Neumus when the other man lifted his head and
looked at him. He was surprised when Neumus’s face flushed. He
hadn’t thought the bigger man could blush like that. It was kind of
cute, not that Hugh would ever say that to Neumus. He liked his head
right where it was, thank you very much.
Neumus grimaced and went back to staring down at Kye. He
hadn’t seemed to be able to take his eyes off the little man since they
left the bedroom.
“Neumus, is something wrong?”
“Don’t you ever worry about breaking him?” Neumus asked after
a moment.
“All the damn time.” Hugh chuckled. “But I think Kye is stronger
than we give him credit for.”
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“He just seems so small, like a strong wind could blow him
away.” Neumus’s frown deepened as he traced his finger over Kye’s
plush lips. “I feel like wrapping him up in bubble wrap and sealing
him away somewhere that nothing can touch him.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Kye would agree to that.”
“But he needs to be protected!”
Hugh sighed, a little concerned by the deep need he could see in
his mate’s eyes as Neumus looked up at him. Neumus was clearly
terrified of something happening to Kye. Hugh had many of the same
worries, but he couldn’t see locking Kye away for his own safety.
However, there might be another solution.
“You know that I have to pick members of our pride to fill the
inner circle, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I need a good beta. I don’t want to offend you but—”
“You’ve chosen Boone for that position.”
Hugh’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Because I was chosen as Stellan’s second-in-command over
Kody.”
Hugh was skeptical of Neumus’s easy acceptance considering that
the man had been beta of his brother’s pride. “Boone had always been
my right hand, Neumus. He’s—”
Neumus quickly held up one of his hands. The other one was
buried in Kye’s long hair. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I’m
uniquely qualified to understand your decision.”
“I just don’t want you to feel left out.” Hugh blew out a deep
breath and folded his hands together over his stomach, and braced
himself in case his mate argued with him. “Which is why I want you
to be guardian for Kye.”
Neumus grinned. “Gladly.”
Hugh’s jaw dropped. “Just like that?”
“You’re giving me a position in your inner circle where my only
duty is to see to Kye’s safety.” Neumus’s dark eyebrow arched over
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the side of his forehead. “Did you really think I would argue after
what I just said to you?”
“No, but I wanted to make sure that you don’t feel slighted.
You’ve have a pretty important position in your brother’s pride. I
don’t want you to feel like you’re giving something up and come to
resent me later.”
“I would never resent you.” Neumus’s eyes dropped down to the
man sleeping in his arms, a tender, almost reverent look coming over
his handsome features. “You’ve given me the most important position
in the pride.”
Hugh chuckled, relaxing just a little. “And here I thought the most
important position in the pride was that of alpha.”
“Nope. That’s the most stressful position.”
“Gee.” Hugh’s lips twisted into a wry grimace. “Thanks.”
Neumus, however, seemed greatly amused by his words and
began to laugh. “Hey, anything I can do to help the new alpha settle
in.”
“Well, to be honest, the only thing that is really going to help me
settle in is knowing where we are going to settle and not having my
father or the council breathing down my neck.” Hugh’s eyes were
drawn to the clock hanging on the wall. He grimaced. Only a few
hours had gone by. It felt like days. “According to your brother, my
father should just about be here and we still haven’t heard back from
the council.”
“They’ll call, Hugh,” Neumus said, sounding a lot more certain
than Hugh felt. “They have no reason to deny you. You’ve proven
that you’re an alpha, and Stellan is handing over a pride that has no
alpha. It’s actually the perfect solution.”
“We’ll see.”
“Hugh, my brother knows—”
They both tensed and turned to look at the door as it swung open.
Hugh relaxed when he saw Stellan and Boone step into the room until
he saw the look on Boone’s face. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
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Boone nodded. “He was just spotted driving into the area. Stellan
has had people watching for him. Someone called and said a couple of
black SUVs have been seen about five miles from here, heading in
this direction.”
“If he presents himself and asks for the customary time period,”
Stellan said, “I cannot deny him. You know that. It’s one of our
laws.”
“Fuck!” Hugh sat forward and rubbed his hands over his face. He
hadn’t even thought of that, but it kind of made a weird, perverse sort
of sense. If his father asked for permission to be in Stellan’s territory,
he’d have five days here, and there was nothing anyone could do
about it.
“I think it’s best if you all get ready to go. If your father does ask
to stay, I can’t deny him. But, as an alpha of your own pride, I can’t
force you to stay here and deal with him either.”
Hugh’s head snapped back. “I would never leave you here to deal
with my father alone.”
The corners of Stellan’s mouth curved up. “Well, we all know that
your father will come after you the minute you leave here, so that’s
not a problem. However, I am more than capable of dealing with your
father.”
Hugh wasn’t so sure, and he wasn’t about to sneak away and leave
his newest ally on his own. Hugh stood and walked around the desk.
“Neumus, I want you, Otto, and Tre to take Kye and Simon, and
Kye’s brothers, and head for Potter’s Creek. Boone and I will stay
here to make sure that my father doesn’t start any of his shit.”
Kye’s head rolled against Neumus’s shoulder as the man stood.
Everyone froze as Kye mumbled in his sleep and rubbed his cheek
against Neumus’s shirt. When he finally settled, Neumus glared at
Hugh. “I will not leave you to face this alone,” he whispered
vehemently.
“As you just told me, you now have the most important position in
my pride, and it’s time for you to do your duty.” Hugh sighed as he
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glanced at the still sleeping man in Neumus’s arms. “You need to get
our mate to safety.”
“What about you?”
“I will be fine.”
He hoped.
“Hugh—”
“Please, Neumus,” Hugh said softly as he stepped closer to his
mates. “I need you and Kye to be safe. I won’t be able to think or act
if I’m worrying about either of you.”
Fury blazed in Neumus’s eyes for a moment before he finally
nodded his head. “I will do as you ask but only because Kye is in
danger.” Hugh felt the heat of Neumus’s gaze as the man glared at
him. “But if you even think about getting hurt, I will be very
unhappy.”
The corners of Hugh’s lips twitched and then curved up. “As you
say, mate.”
Neumus’s hand suddenly snaked around Hugh’s neck, pulling him
into a deep, desperate kiss, one that told Hugh everything he needed
to know about how his mate felt about being told to leave when Hugh
was in danger.
Hugh groaned when Neumus’s hand fisted in his collar-length hair
and leaned into the kiss, slanting his mouth over Neumus’s as their
tongues pressed against each other. The intensity in which Neumus
kissed him rocked Hugh to his toes.
When Neumus finally pulled away, he rested their foreheads
together and stared into Hugh’s eyes. “You’d better follow me, Hugh.
I don’t intend to give you up just when I’ve found you.”
“I promise, Neumus.” There was no other answer that Hugh could
give, not when Neumus was looking at him like his entire world hung
in the balance. “I’ll be along just as soon as I deal with my father.”
Neumus cleared his throat and stood back, looking a little
embarrassed at his uncontrolled display of emotion. His hand moved
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to his own neck, and he seemed to be looking everywhere except at
Hugh.
Hugh granted the man his privacy as he looked down at Kye. His
mate’s face was turned toward Neumus as if he needed to smell their
mate even in his sleep. Hugh knew that scent was a powerful sense to
shifters, even more so between mates. They craved the scent of their
mates just as much as their touch.
And Kye smelled delicious.
Hugh reached up and brushed the hair from Kye’s neck with his
hand and then smoothed it down over the warm arch of his throat
where he had bitten the man. He grinned silently when Kye groaned
and wiggled in Neumus’s arms, turning his head toward Hugh.
“He craves your touch,” Neumus murmured.
“Not nearly as much as I crave his,” Hugh replied. He heard a
soft, barely audible inhale of breath and turned to see Neumus staring
at him. There was an undisguised need in Neumus’s smoky blue eyes
that made Hugh’s heart clench. “Or yours, Neumus.”
Neumus’s face flushed, his eyes darting away. Hugh reached out
and pressed his hand against the side of Neumus’s face, turning the
man’s attention back toward him. “When I get to Potter’s Creek, we’ll
be together again. Just keep yourselves safe until then.”
Neumus’s hard swallow was audible. He nodded his head. “I
guess we’d better get going if we want to be gone before your father
arrives.”
“I have a car waiting out back, Neumus,” Stellan said. “I don’t
want Alpha Aldo to see you leave.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Hugh said. “If he suspects I’m
connected to them, I have no doubt that he will try something.”
“Won’t he know when you take over the pride?” Neumus asked.
“Yes.” Hugh grinned. “But by then it will be too late.”
“Neumus,” Stellan asked, “do you want me to have your stuff
packed and brought to Potter’s Creek?”
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Hugh almost protested when Neumus shook his head. Why
wouldn’t Neumus want his stuff shipped to their new home? Wasn’t
he joining them?
“I’ve seen that ranch of Benji’s,” Neumus said. “It’s going to need
some work before we’re ready to settle in there. You can have my
things packed up but don’t send it until we have a chance to do some
work on the old place. I like my stuff.”
Relief flooded Hugh, and he was glad he hadn’t said anything. He
would have felt like a buffoon if he had protested only to find out
Neumus’s reason for not getting his stuff. Still, it did raise another
question for him.
“Just how bad off is this place?” he asked as he glanced at Stellan.
“It’s bad,” Benji said as he strode into the room and went right to
Stellan’s side. “It wasn’t in the best shape when I bought it, and I was
trying to do the repairs, but I had a few problems that added to the
disrepair. After I moved here with Stellan and Kody, there didn’t
seem to be any reason to continue fixing it up.”
Fucking peachy.
“Fine.” Hugh rubbed the bridge of his nose between his finger and
thumb. “We’ll do whatever repairs are needed and get the place up to
snuff. Neumus, if you and Kye would make a list of our most pressing
needs, I’d appreciate it.”
Neumus nodded. “Not a problem.”
Hugh felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest as he
watched his mates, Otto, Tre, Simon, and Kye’s brothers walk out of
the room with Stellan. A moment later, he heard a vehicle start up and
drive away, and the sound almost drove him to his knees.
This was not how it was supposed to be. Hugh knew that deep
down in the depths of his being. Mates were supposed to stay
together, not be pulled apart by a psychotic alpha. He suddenly felt an
overwhelming rage toward the man that was causing him to be
separated from his mates. This pain he was feeling was all his father’s
fault.
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“You’ll be together soon, Hugh,” Stellan said as he walked back
into the room. “Just hold onto the knowledge that you have found
your mates and they are waiting for you, along with your new pride.
You have a chance here to build a new life any way that you want.”
“Assuming I live through the next twenty minutes.”
“You will.” Stellan held up some papers. “This right here says that
you will.”
Hugh’s eyebrow peaked. “Are those—”
“It’s official. Hugh Marshall, you are now the registered alpha of
the Potter’s Creek Pride.”
Hugh just stared at the papers, almost afraid to touch them. This is
what he had been waiting for, what they all had been waiting for. His
father couldn’t touch him now or force him to do anything.
“Is everyone on there?” Hugh asked as he nodded toward the
papers.
“You are listed as alpha. Boone is your beta. Otto, Sawney, and
Kumiko are your enforcers. Tre is your ambassador. Reece is your
tracker. And Neumus and Kye have both been registered as your
alpha mates. Yuji and the original members have been registered as
regular pride members.”
Hugh felt almost woozy. “Gods, it’s real.”
Stellan chuckled. “Yes, my friend, it is.”
Hugh had an insane urge to laugh his ass off. “I actually have a
pride.”
“You do,” Stellan replied. “Now, the question is, what are you
going to do with it?”
Hugh shook his head. “I don’t have a fucking clue.”
“You’ll do okay, Hugh. I can feel it.”
“I wish that I had as much faith in me as you do. This is some
scary-ass shit. I mean, I’m now responsible for a whole hell of a lot of
people. What if I fuck up? We’re talking about people’s lives here.”
“Being an alpha is instinctual, Hugh. You’ll make mistakes, but
the worry you already have, three seconds after finding out that you
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are officially an alpha, tells me that you’ll be one of the great ones.
Your pride members will be happy with you as their alpha.”
“But will they be safe?”
“You have reason to keep them safe.”
Stellan sighed deeply, and Hugh suddenly knew that this situation
wasn’t easy on the other man. He felt bad that he had dragged his
problems to Stellan’s doorstep.
“I’m sorry about all of this, Stellan.”
Stellan’s lips lifted in a smirk. “I’m not. My brother has found his
mates, and they happen to be two men that I respect. I can’t ask for
more than that for him.”
“I suppose.”
“You’ll feel the same way when your brothers find their own
mates, believe me. Neumus has been looking for you and Kye for as
long as I can remember. It’s something he’s wanted even more than I
wanted to take my pride back from the man that killed my family.”
Stellan chuckled lightly all of a sudden. “And believe it or not, in the
last couple of hours, I have seen Neumus happier than he has been in
a long time.”
“I just hope that I can continue to make him happy.”
“And that right there is the reason that I am so happy with your
mating my brother. You care about him, even after just having met
him. You respect the bond that is between you.”
Hugh rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to stare out the
window. The tension in his muscles was growing with each passing
second. The very air felt like it was electrified with apprehension.
“I can feel him, you know? He’s anxious, worried, but there’s a
purpose in him, a strength, unlike anything I have ever felt. It’s almost
single-minded in its resolve.”
Stellan snorted. “What you see as a single-minded purpose is
actually Neumus’s stubbornness. He’s almost legendary where that is
concerned.” Stellan shook a finger at Hugh, amusement twinkling in
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his eyes. “Remember that when you deal with him. Once Neumus
gets something stuck in his mind, you’ll need a crowbar to get it out.”
Hugh chuckled. “I’ll remember that.” He started to turn away
from the window when the sounds of a vehicle pulling up in front of
the house caught his attention. For a moment, Hugh thought Neumus
and Kye had returned, and his heart began to beat faster. And then he
looked out the window to see his father climbing from the black SUV.
“He’s here.”
“Then we should go greet him, don’t you think?”
If he had a choice, Hugh would say no. But he didn’t have a
choice, so he just nodded his head. “Do you know where Boone is?”
He needed his brother by his side.
“He’s waiting in the living room. Kody took Benji to Salome and
Stella’s house when your mates left. I thought it would be safer for
them if anything happened. My enforcers are also standing by in case
there is a fight.”
“Let’s just pray that there isn’t.”
Hugh followed Stellan out of his office and down the hallway to
the living room. The second they stepped into the living room, Boone
spun around from where he was watching out one of the windows.
His face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists. He looked like he
was about to fall apart.
Hugh used his best in-control, self-assured alpha voice when he
spoke to his brother. “We’ll get through this, Boone.”
Boone ran his hand through his shaggy collar-length black hair.
“Yeah, okay. We can do this.”
“Just remember, Boone, he no longer has any power over us. You
are the official beta of the Potter Creek Pride. I am the alpha. There is
nothing Alpha Aldo can do unless he wants to incur the wrath of the
council.”
Boone didn’t look convinced. “I’m not sure he’ll give a damn.”
“There is something else that you’re not considering,” Stellan
said. “We’ve discussed this, and there doesn’t seem to be any doubt
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that your father will present himself to me and ask for the customary
time limit to be in my territory. During that time, if he steps out of
place, he also incurs my wrath and by pride law, I have the right to
challenge him over it.”
“Yeah, try and avoid that if you can,” Hugh said. “You do not
want to be alpha of the people in my father’s pride. They are just as
bad as he is.”
Stellan’s eyebrows shot up. “Surely not all of them?”
“I can count on one hand the people from that pride I would allow
to join my pride.” Hugh clenched his jaw, almost growling. “The rest
of them can rot in hell right alongside my father.”
Stellan blinked. “Okay, then.”
Hugh couldn’t help but wonder if Stellan really understood the
magnitude of how evil Alpha Aldo was or how much the man had
infected the rest of the pride. If he didn’t run the members he didn’t
like out of the pride, they simply disappeared, or caved to the alpha’s
threats.
Hugh had never gotten involved with anyone in his father’s pride
because it wasn’t safe. He didn’t know if they would turn him in to
his father or be killed because they were involved. He learned early
on not to share anything with anyone except his brothers.
Hugh jumped when he heard heavy knocking on the front door.
Okay, this was it.
“Why don’t you stay here while I open the door? If I can simply
get the man to go away, all the better.”
Hugh shook his head. “Won’t happen.”
“I’m sure you are right, but I have to try.”
Hugh watched Stellan walk out of the room. A moment later, the
front door opened. He could hear voices speaking, but they were not
raised in anger. Still, Hugh felt like he was going to throw up. His
stomach was in knots.
He spotted a small liquor set sitting on a table by one of the
windows. A stiff drink sounded perfect right about now. Hugh walked
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over and pulled the crystal top off of one of the decanters, lifting the
bottle to sniff at the contents.
Whiskey, and old whiskey, if he smelled correctly. It would be
perfect. Hugh poured two small glasses and then put the lid back on.
He lifted one in his hand and took a small sip. Damn. He was right.
The dark liquid was perfect.
Hugh grabbed the other glass and carried it over to his brother.
“You look like you could use this.”
“Yeah.” Boone grabbed the glass and drank down half the
contents, coughing and sputtering as he pounded on his chest. “Damn,
that’s good.”
“Right?”
Boone took another swig and then stared at his glass. “We need to
find out where Stellan gets this stuff and ship a few bottles home.”
“And just where would that home be, Boone?”
Hugh stiffened when he heard his father’s voice behind him. His
fingers tightened around his glass so that it wouldn’t slip to the floor
and drench the carpet. He turned slowly to find his father standing
behind him.
“Hello, Father.”
“You haven’t answered my question, Boone,” Alpha Aldo said,
completely ignoring Hugh.
Boone tucked his lips in, not saying a word.
“Boone!”
Hugh quickly turned to look at his brother when their father
shouted. He couldn’t control the little smirk that covered his lips at his
father’s outburst. Alpha Aldo was not used to being ignored, and he
was getting pissed.
Hugh knew his brother had seen his amusement when Boone’s
shoulders suddenly relaxed. Hugh winked at the man that had stood
by his side since they were in diapers, and then turned back to face his
father.
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Just as he did, Stellan stepped into the room with Reece and
Sawney at his side. They stopped just behind Hugh’s father. Hugh
frowned when Reece gave him a little shake of his head. He had no
idea what that meant, but there was definite fear in both men’s eyes.
“Why don’t we all sit down,” Stellan said. “Alpha Aldo has
requested the customary five days in my territory, as have you, Hugh.
I think we can all get along for that amount of time, don’t you?”
“My beta and I will respect your authority, Alpha Stellan,” Hugh
said. He met Reece and Sawney’s eyes. “As will my enforcer and my
tracker.”
The relief in his tracker and enforcer’s eyes was overwhelming,
and Hugh knew that he had made the right choice with the two men.
“Your what?” Alpha Aldo snapped.
Hugh’s eyes snapped to his father. “The members of my inner
circle, Alpha Aldo.” Hugh waved his hand toward his brother. “My
beta.”
He nodded to the two men standing behind his father, and then
gestured for them to join him on his side of the room. As they walked
past his father and took up spots behind him, Hugh arched an
eyebrow, waiting to see what his father would do.
“My enforcer and my tracker. They are all members of my inner
circle.”
“Bullshit!” Alpha Aldo snarled. “Your inner circle will be who I
choose it to be.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong. I have chosen my inner circle, and they
have already been registered with the council.”
“What have you done, boy? You have no experience choosing
men to fight for you. You’ll destroy everything we have worked so
hard for.”
“You mean everything you worked so hard for, don’t you?”
Alpha Aldo’s eyes narrowed. For a split second, Hugh’s fear of
his father took over, and he started to shake as he envisioned being
whipped again. And then he heard someone clear their throat. Hugh
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glanced beyond his father to see Stellan standing there, staring him
straight in the face. Hugh drew in a deep breath, remembering where
he was and what he was.
His father no longer had any power over him.
High squared his shoulders and looked back at his father. “My
name is Alpha Hugh Marshall to you. Use it when speaking with me
or I will see it as a challenge to my authority and act accordingly.”
Alpha Aldo took a step forward. “You dare threaten me, boy!”
“If you don’t give me the respect due my station, then yes.”
“I made you who you are!”
“Yes, you did.” Hugh totally agreed but not for the reasons his
father thought. He had been made into the man he was out of disgust
for the things that his father did, because of his hatred for the man.
“While this has all been rather exciting, Alpha Aldo,” Hugh said.
“I’m afraid that I must take my leave. My pride is waiting for me.”
Hugh nodded at Stellan. “Alpha Mihos, thank you for your
hospitality. I will be sure to send your regards to my mates.”
Hugh’s left eyebrow rose a fraction when his father sighed. “Well,
it’s about time you stopped acting like a fool. I’ve put Alpha DeLuca
off about as long as I could. His daughters are waiting for you at
home. If you apologize to the man, I’m sure he will overlook this
little…whatever this is.”
Hugh chuckled. “I have no intention of having anything to do with
Alpha DeLuca or his daughters.”
“But they are your mates,” Alpha Aldo protested. “I promised
Alpha DeLuca.”
“Then I suggest that you mate them because I have no intention of
going anywhere near them.” Hugh crooked his finger over his
shoulder and motioned for Boone, Reece, and Sawney to join him as
he started past his father. He was so done with this conversation. He
had confronted his father as he needed to do, and now it was time to
leave.
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“Where in the hell do you think you are going, Hugh?” his father
shouted, grabbing Hugh’s arm. “We’re not done here, boy.”
“Yes, we are.” Hugh stared down at the hand his father had
wrapped around his arm and then slowly raised his eyes to look at his
father. “Release me.”
Hugh didn’t know what his father saw in his expression, but it
must have unsettled him because the man slowly loosened his grip
and dropped his hand before stepping back.
“You’re throwing away the chance to be the alpha of one of the
most powerful prides in our area, Hugh. Is that really what you want
to do?”
“My pride will be one of the most powerful in the area, Alpha
Aldo, but not because they live in fear of me like your pride does with
you. I am unconcerned with how many cubs my pride can produce or
who mates with whom. We will be the strongest pride because I care
about my pride members and want them to be happy.”
“You’ll regret this, Hugh. Mark my words.”
Hugh paused in the entrance of the living room and glanced back
at his father. Anger and bitterness mottled his father’s face and made
him look years older than he probably was. Years of self-indulgence
and evil had wrinkled his face and turned his hair gray. For a shifter,
he had not aged well.
Hugh shook his head, feeling sorry for his father for the first time
in his life. He had lost seven of his children in one day, and his entire
pride lived in fear of him. Hugh never wanted to be the kind of alpha
his father was. He’d rather not be an alpha.
“No, I won’t regret this.” He smirked as his father’s face darkened
with rage. “It’s probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m no
longer afraid of you, Alpha Aldo. I finally see that the only power you
have over me is the power I let you have, and I’m not longer willing
to let you have it. We’re done, Father. I hope I never see you again,
because if we do, I will challenge you for control of your pride, and I
will win.”
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Hugh was satisfied with the swift inhale he heard come from his
father. His point had been made, and he hoped that his father took his
advice and stayed away from him. He meant what he said. If he saw
his father again, he would challenge the man for control of his pride,
and then he would disband it.
Hugh nodded his head at Stellan. “Thank you again for your
hospitality, Alpha Mihos. I hope that this situation has not deterred
you from associating with my pride. I would very much like to have
the Mihos Pride as an ally.”
A smirked worked its way across Stellan’s face as the man
crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed satisfied with the way
things were working out, as was Hugh.
“I would like nothing more, Hugh. I’ll have a treaty for use of the
land between our territories drawn up and sent over to you in a couple
of days. Until then, please consider you and your pride members as
guests in my territory.”
Hugh’s eyes widened. It was almost unprecedented for an alpha to
give unrestricted access to the members of another pride. It was a
treaty that his father would be biting at the bit to get his hands on.
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you then.” Hugh shook the hand that
Stellan held out to him and then smiled at the three men standing
beside him. “Let’s go home.”
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Chapter 10
Neumus stretched his legs out causally in front of him and then
dropped his head back against the cushion of the patio chair he sat in.
It was the first free moment to rest he’d had in hours. His body ached
from the tips of his hair to the bottoms of his feet.
Moving sucked.
Especially when the house he was moving into needed so much
damn work. Stellan was right. The roof and foundation of the old
farmhouse were in good shape but the rest of the house needed major
work.
He didn’t remember the place being in quite this bad of shape the
last time he was here. Granted, he had pretty much been in and out in
a matter of hours, but still…the place was a mess. Windows were
shattered, numerous walls had holes in them, and the entire place
needed a new coat of paint. Even the plumbing left something to be
desired.
Hell, the whole place needed an overhaul.
Neumus smirked when he heard Kumiko snapping at someone
and then Kye’s calming voice could be heard over the argument
taking place. He knew his gorgeous little mate was trying to play
mediator.
Kumiko amused Neumus a great deal. The man was not much
bigger than Kye, but he acted like he was as big as a bus. If anyone
said anything to him about his size, Kumiko tore into them with a
ferocity that even shocked Neumus, and he had lived with Benji for
ages.
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Yuji didn’t seem to say much, on the other hand. He seemed like a
man that preferred to fade into the woodwork. He didn’t speak much,
but when he did, people tended to listen to him. Neumus would be
worried about the little man if Tre hadn’t taken such an interest in
him. Neumus didn’t know if anything was going on between the two
men, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it were. Tre seemed to go out of
his way to make Yuji comfortable.
And then there was Kye. Neumus found himself smiling as he
thought about his little mate. Hugh was big and strong. He fed every
single one of Neumus’s fantasies about being dominated by a
powerful man.
Kye, on the other hand, made Neumus groan just thinking about
him. Kye fed Neumus’s need to protect someone. If he wasn’t
thinking about wrapping Kye up in bubble wrap to keep him safe,
Neumus was thinking about pinning him to the nearest flat surface
and fucking him until Kye’s eyes crossed.
Having both Hugh and Kye as his mates meant that every single
wet dream he had ever had was coming to life. Neumus was getting
the best of both worlds. He didn’t care that he was no longer beta of
his brother’s pride or even that he had to move to a new pride. He was
happier than he could remember being in ages, maybe even years.
“I swear!” Kye grumbled as he pushed the screen door open and
walked out onto the porch, “if those two don’t start getting along
pretty soon, I’m going to lock them in a closet together and let them
fight it out.”
“Those two?” Neumus asked even though he was pretty sure he
knew who Kye meant. Kumiko and Otto had been going at it since
they climbed into the car together at Stellan’s pride home. The
arguing had only stopped when they fell asleep, and had started right
back up the second their eyes opened.
Kye’s idea wasn’t a bad one. Although, Neumus suspected
fighting was not what the two men would be doing if they were
locked up together. Neumus hadn’t missed the covert looks that Otto
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and Kumiko had given each other. The room heated by several
degrees every time the two of them were in the same vicinity.
“Otto and my brother.”
Neumus smirked. Got it in one.
He held out his hand to his mate. Kye sighed and took it, walking
forward when Neumus tugged on his hand. When he got close,
Neumus tugged again until Kye climbed up into his lap. Neumus
tucked Kye’s head under his chin and hugged his mate close to his
body.
“This place needs some work, but I think it will work well for us,
don’t you?”
Kye shrugged. “It really needs work, though.”
“It does, but look at all of this.” Neumus waved his hand out over
the fenced-in pasture that sat in front of the house. The faded white
fence went across the large yard just off the porch and down the entire
length of the driveway. “It’s beautiful out here.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“There’s the barn out back, too, in case we ever decide we want
animals.”
“We need to build Hugh a large shop where he can do his
furniture restorations. He needs a place that is just his where he can
get away and not have to be alpha of the pride.”
“Yeah?” Neumus whispered. “You think he’d like that?”
Kye nodded. “We talked a little bit about that on the way to
Stellan’s place. Hugh’s father wouldn’t let him work with wood. He
wanted all of Hugh’s concentration on his training. I think that Hugh
needs the outlet.”
“And just where should we build this shop for our mate?”
Kye giggled. It was a sound that wrapped around Neumus and
pushed every happy button he had. “Close to the house but not too
close. Hugh needs to be able to get to it fairly easily, but it needs to be
far enough away from the house that we don’t hear him using the
tools. It can probably get pretty loud.”
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“And what about you, gorgeous?” Neumus asked. “What do you
need to make you happy?”
Kye tilted his head back, staring up at Neumus. “I have everything
I need to make me happy.”
The breath in Neumus’s throat stuttered to a stop at the heated
look in Kye’s green eyes. Had anyone ever looked at him before like
he was their entire world? Had anyone ever wanted him to be their
entire world?
Neumus thought back over the men he had been with in his past
and knew the answer was no. They had been quick fucks, one-night
stands, and the occasional dates. They hadn’t been men that he
wanted to build a life with.
And Neumus prayed that he never had anyone in his life like that
again. Hugh and the man Neumus held in his arms were the only ones
he wanted to build a future with, even if that future had to start in a
run-down, dilapidated farmhouse.
“How about a sewing room, little bit?”
Kye’s mouth dropped. “That’s the same thing Hugh said.”
Neumus frowned in confusion. “What was?”
“Well, both actually. He calls me little bit, and he said I should
have a sewing room.”
Neumus grinned. “I think he was right. Having you in my arms is
like having a little bit of heaven here on earth. And if having your
own sewing room makes you happy, I am more than willing to do
whatever I can to make it happen.” He tapped Kye on the end of his
nose, chuckling when the man glared at him. “You’ll just have to give
me a list of what exactly you need in this room so I can build it for
you. I wouldn’t have the first clue what goes into a sewing room.”
Kye giggled again, settling back into Neumus’s arms. “That’s
okay. I know everything about sewing rooms. It won’t take me more
than a couple of days to make a list of everything I need.”
“Good, I’ll work it into the plans to expand the farmhouse.”
“We’re expanding the farmhouse?”
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“We have to, little bit. This place isn’t big enough for everyone
that is here now. If more people join the pride, which I am sure that
they will, we’ll have to stack them like cordwood just to find a place
to sleep for everyone.”
“Make sure that you add a bigger master suite. That room isn’t
nearly big enough for the three of us. And we need a larger bathroom,
something that will fit a tub and shower big enough for the three of
us.”
Neumus smiled. “Good idea. I love the idea of soaking in a tub
with you and Hugh.”
“Yep.” Kye grinned. “I’m chock-full of good ideas.”
“I’ll just bet you are.”
Neumus nearly swallowed his tongue when he felt Kye’s hand
snake down between the two of them and press against his cock,
which had been hard since the second Kye stepped out on to the
porch. It seemed he was hard whenever Kye or Hugh were around.
“I have few ideas right now.”
Neumus quickly glanced around when he heard his zipper lower
and then Kye’s hand pushed inside his pants. He didn’t see anyone
but still, this might not be the place to fool around.
“Kye,” Neumus groaned, his head dropping back against the
cushion as his mate’s hand wrapped around his hard length. “We’re
on the porch. Anyone can hear us.”
“Then you’ll just have to be quiet.”
Neumus couldn’t find it in him to argue with Kye, not when the
man’s hand started moving across his heated flesh. It seemed like
years since he had felt Kye’s hands on his skin, instead of just a few
hours.
It was normal to go through a mate heat after being mated, and
Neumus knew that his relationship with Hugh and Kye was no
different. A constant need for his mates seemed to ride him with every
breath he took.
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Neumus just wished that Hugh was there to enjoy the touch of
their mate with him. Every stroke of Kye’s hand on his aching cock
was pure bliss. The man was uncoordinated and inexperienced, but he
made up for it with unadulterated enthusiasm.
Neumus heard Kye yelp as he suddenly lifted the man and swung
him around so that Kye was straddling his legs, facing him. Kye’s
face flushed when Neumus reached down and lowered his zipper and
the man’s massive cock bounced out of his pants.
It was cute as hell.
Neumus was a little disconcerted when he brought their two cocks
together and realized that Kye outreached him by a couple of inches.
He also couldn’t get his hand around both of them at the same time.
“You’re gonna have to start carrying around lube in your pocket,
little bit.”
“I am?”
“I won’t fuck you without lube, Kye. I won’t ever do anything
that might hurt you.”
Kye’s eyes widened, and he suddenly started panting. “Lube,
right.”
Neumus watched Kye’s eyes as he used both hands to stroke their
cocks. “This is nice, real nice, but just think of how nice it would be if
I had my cock up that tight little ass of yours right now.”
Kye’s moss-green eyes started to darken as he rocked against
Neumus, driving his cock in and out of Neumus’s tight grip. “Yeah,
that would be good.”
“This is a big place, little bit. Think of all of the places I could
fuck you—the side of the house, the barn, and even the wood pile. I
could just bend you over the sawhorse and sink my cock into your
sweet ass.”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
Neumus had yet to be able to fuck Kye. There just hadn’t been
time. But his mate did not seem to be adverse to the idea. If anything,
the more Neumus talked about it, the more excited Kye became.
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Kye’s breathing hitched when Neumus flicked his thumbnail over
the head of his cock. He started groaning, and he wasn’t quiet about
it. Neumus was pretty sure every shifter in the area could hear his
little mate.
He just didn’t care.
Kye was gorgeous every second of the day. In the throes of
passion, Kye was absolutely stunning. The soft flush that tinged his
skin gave him a healthy, ethereal glow that made him seem like he
might have been an angel from heaven sent to earth to entice his
mates.
It was working. Neumus was totally taken by his mate. Hugh was
handsome, rugged. He made Neumus ache just by walking into a
room. Kye was beautiful. He made Neumus’s chest ache just by
smiling.
“Are you going to come for me, little bit?” Neumus asked as he
wrapped a hand up in Kye’s long hair and pulled him forward. “Show
me how much you want my cock in your ass.”
Neumus knew he was being a little forceful when he pulled on
Kye’s hair and yanked his head back. He just couldn’t help it. Kye got
to him like no man ever had. He leaned closer and stroked his tongue
over the mating bite he had left in Kye’s throat when he claimed him.
Kye screamed and stiffened. Warm heat sprayed over Neumus’s
hand. Kye’s natural scent combined with the smell of his release,
grabbed a hold of Neumus and thrust him into an orgasm that caused
spots to dance in front of his eyes.
Neumus grunted, sinking his teeth into Kye’s throat as he came,
relishing in the sweet taste of his mate as much as he did his orgasm.
Both brought him extreme pleasure. Knowing that he had given his
mate his first rub off only added to the amount of pleasure sweeping
through his body.
After a moment, Neumus extracted his teeth and licked the blood
away from Kye’s throat. He loosened his grip on his mate’s hair and
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leaned back to look into Kye’s eyes. They had lightened again to their
normal moss green, but they were dazed.
Neumus chuckled when he licked the cum off his hand and Kye’s
eyes darkened right back up. He was beginning to suspect that his
mate had a little bit of a kinky streak in him. Vanilla sex had a time
and place, but so did balls-to-the-wall, earth-shattering sex.
Neumus couldn’t wait to introduce Kye to sex toys.
Neumus tucked Kye back into his pants and zipped them up and
then did the same to himself. As soon as his hands moved away from
his groin, Kye slumped against him, burrowing his head in under
Neumus’s chin.
Neumus smiled and wrapped his arms around his mate, feeling
totally content—except for the lack of one of his mates. He glanced
down the driveway, wondering where Hugh was and if he was okay.
He couldn’t help but worry that something had happened. They
hadn’t heard form Hugh since they left Stellan’s place. He thought
they would have at least received a phone call or something. Hell,
he’d settle for carrier pigeon at this point.
“Who’s that?”
Neumus blinked, realizing that there were a couple of vehicles
coming up the driveway. He instantly stood up, Kye cuddled in his
arms. “Otto,” he shouted as he walked into the house. He needed to
get his mate to safety.
Otto walked out of the bedroom at the end of the hallway, Kumiko
and Tre coming out right after him. “What’s wrong?”
“We have company.”
Otto nodded and walked into the living room, heading for a black
bag sitting against the wall near the fireplace. He squatted down and
pulled several items out. Neumus’s eyes widened when he realized
that they were weapons.
Otto armed himself and then stood, turning back around. “How do
you want to do this?”
“I think we should find out who they are first.”
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Otto nodded. “And if they belong to Alpha Aldo’s pride?”
Neumus shrugged. “Kill them?”
He wasn’t taking any chances with his mate’s safety.
“Done,” Otto replied.
Neumus frowned when Kye smacked him on the chest. “What?”
“You can’t just go around killing people,” Kye insisted.
“I can if your safety is threatened.”
“At this point, it’s not. We don’t even know who is out there.”
“Fine, then let’s find out.” Neumus set Kye on his feet and
pointed his finger at the man. “If you don’t want me to kill anyone,
then stay here where it’s safe. Do not step out that door until I give
the okay. Understood?”
Kye rolled his eyes, but only where Neumus could see it, no one
else. “Fine, I’ll stay here. Just try not to maim anyone if you don’t
have to. I don’t want this pride to have the reputation as a bloodthirsty
one.”
“I do,” Neumus snorted. He’d be thrilled if they had a bloodthirsty
reputation. No one would mess with them.
Kye planted his hands on his hips and glared. He suddenly
reminded Neumus of his brother’s mate, Benji. Kye had the same no-
nonsense glint in his eyes that he often saw in Benji’s eyes. Neumus
had the sinking feeling that Kye’s true nature was coming out now
that he was mated, and he and Hugh were going to be wrapped around
the little man’s finger.
Damn.
Neumus sighed. “Just stay here, Kye. Please?”
Kye sighed and raised his arms from his hips to cross them over
his chest. “I’ll stay here.”
“Thank you.” Neumus nodded to Kumiko. “Please find the others
and help Tre keep them safe.”
Kumiko nodded and darted off down the hallway. Neumus gave
Kye one more look and then turned and walked out onto the front
porch. He really wished that Hugh was here right now. Hell, he’d
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settle for Boone being here. Just someone. He was terrified that he
wouldn’t be able to keep Kye and the others safe.
Neumus had no idea what the members of Hugh’s old pride
looked like, so he didn’t know if the people climbing out of the
vehicles were ones he needed to be wary of or not. When Otto relaxed
a little, he wasn’t relieved, but he felt better.
“Are they from your old pride?”
“No,” Otto replied. “I don’t recognize them.”
“Who do you think they are?”
“The neighborhood welcoming committee?”
Neumus groaned. “Gods, I hope not.” That’s all he needed. He
had enough problems on his hands without meeting the neighbors.
Neumus felt a little better when he realized there were only two men
and two women in the group. The rest were all children.
“Hello,” an older man called out as he approached the porch. “I’m
not sure if you remember me, Mr. Mihos. I’m Allan Granger. We met
when your brother came for Benji.”
Neumus suddenly remembered where he had met the man and
when. He blew out the breath he had been holding. Neumus plastered
a smile on his face as he stepped off the porch and held his hand out
to the man.
“Yes, I remember you, Mr. Granger. And please, call me
Neumus.”
“We’ve come to meet with our new alpha and see if you all need
any help getting the place fixed up. We know Benji tried as hard as he
could to get it up to snuff, but with all of the troubles he had, that just
wasn’t possible.”
“The alpha isn’t here yet. He had a few things to handle with his
old pride, but he should be along soon. Right now, we’re just trying to
get the place livable. I’m sure the alpha will be making any changes
he wants once he gets here.”
“Well, I’m sure we can help out with that.” Allan smiled and then
glanced at the small crowd behind him. “Let me introduce you to the
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rest of the pride.” He gestured for the people behind him to come
forward. “This is my wife, Marsha Granger.”
“Mrs. Granger.” Neumus shook the woman’s hand, tilting his
head curiously when she smiled. There was something about the
woman that niggled at Neumus but damned if he could figure out
what it was.
“Please, call me Marsha. I guess we belong to the same pride
now.”
“This is my son, Carl, and his wife, Jenny,” Allan said as he
motioned to each person. “And the little monsters running around in
circles are my grandchildren, Bobby, Mary, and Tommy. Harry is the
baby.”
Neumus smiled and nodded to them all. “You have a very nice
family, Mr. Granger.”
“Please, call me Allan. We’re all pride now.”
“Yes.” Neumus turned and gestured to Otto. “This is Otto. He’s
our pride enforcer along with his brother Sawney.”
Allan nodded. “Mr. Otto.”
“Just Otto.”
Allan smiled.
“Can I come out now?” called a voice from inside the house.
Neumus groaned. “And that would be my mate, Kye.”
Neumus turned and gestured with his hand. He expected Kye to
step out of the house, not everyone else that had come with him.
What? Were they all standing there with their ears pressed against the
door or something?
“This little bundle of trouble is my mate, Kye. He is alpha mate
just as I am.”
“I thought you were the beta of Mihos Pride.”
“I stepped down when I mated the alpha. I am now guardian for
Kye.”
“That makes sense,” Marsha said. “It is the most important
position in the pride.”
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Neumus smiled. He liked this woman. “Kye’s brothers, Kumiko
and Yuji, are joining our pride as well. Kumiko is another one of our
enforcers.” From the surprised look on Kumiko’s face, that was news
to him. Neumus almost laughed.
“Beside Kumiko is—”
“Simon?” Marsha whispered.
Neumus’s head snapped around. “You know the alpha’s brother?”
“No.” Marsha shook her head. Her face was totally void of color
as she stared up at the man on the porch. “No, it’s not possible,” she
whispered. “I would have known.”
She backed up, but then seemed to change her mind and stepped
forward. “I would have known, right? I mean, a mother knows these
things. I would have known.”
“Marsha?” Allan asked, his head bounding back and forth from
his wife to Simon. When he reached for Marsha, she screamed and
jumped back.
“No!” she shouted as she wrenched her arm out of the way.
“Don’t touch me!”
Allan looked devastated. His eyes filled with tears as he watched
his wife start pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself. Carl had
ushered his wife and children back toward the vehicles and now stood
watching what was going on with as much confusion on his face as
Neumus felt. Neither of them had any idea what was going on.
“Mrs. Granger,” Kye said in a soft voice as he walked down the
porch steps, “why don’t we go over here and talk?”
Neumus opened his mouth to protest until Kye shot him a quick
glare. Neumus snapped his mouth closed. Kye nodded and walked
over to the hysterical woman and took her by the arm. Marsha didn’t
protest as Kye escorted her over to bench on the side of the yard.
They sat down, and Kye began talking to the woman. Neumus had no
idea what Kye was saying, but it seemed to settle Marsha down.
Neumus turned to look at Allan. “Tell me about your mate. How
did you meet her?”
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“Uh…” Allan tore his eyes away from his wife and turned to look
at Neumus. “Uh, we met about twenty-three years ago. Marsha was
recovering from an auto accident and staying at a lodge at a lake near
my birth pride. We figured out right away that we were mates and
spent the summer getting to know each other. Once she was on her
feet, we had a human wedding and moved here.”
“Why did you move away from your birth pride?”
“It was too close to her old pride. The area held too many bad
memories for her. She wanted to move somewhere that the memories
weren’t so bad. There was no alpha here and no pride lands, so we
kind of established our own little pride.”
“And the council knew about you?”
“Oh yes, I made sure that we were registered and everything. We
were an established pride.”
“Tell me about the accident.”
Neumus was shocked to hear Simon speak when the man seemed
to always be so quiet, so he didn’t remind Simon that he shouldn’t be
talking over him. He’d drop that little bug in Simon’s ear later.
“She was running away from someone in her pride, someone that
was hurting her. But there was some bad weather and she lost control
of her vehicle and crashed. When she regained consciousness, she
was in a hospital with a broken hip and a concussion. She doesn’t
remember much about the accident, thank god, but I guess it was
pretty bad. She still has nightmares from it.”
“My mother died in a car accident during a snow storm,” Simon
whispered. “Only my brothers and I survived. I was just a child at the
time.”
The blood drained out of Allan’s face. He suddenly turned and
sprinted across the yard toward his wife. Neumus started shaking his
head as he put two and two together. No, this wasn’t possible, just
like Marsha said.
“Simon, what was your mother’s name?”
Simon turned tear filled eyes to look at Neumus. “Mama.”
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Chapter 11
“Take a deep breath, Marsha.” The woman was crying so hard she
was going to hyperventilate any moment. He knew she was upset. He
just hadn’t been able to ask her why yet. She was crying too much.
“Look, here’s your mate.”
Kye nodded to Allan as the man sat down beside Marsha. He
looked hesitant to touch his mate, and Kye couldn’t blame him
considering the way that Marsha had yelled at him. But he didn’t
think she meant for Allan to really not touch her. She was just freaked
out.
Kye just had to figure out why.
He kept rubbing her hand between his, sending waves of calm
toward her. When the quiet sobs finally settled down to the occasional
hiccup, Kye nodded at her husband. Allan leaned forward and
wrapped his arms around his mate. Marsha let out a little cry and
turned into Allan’s arms.
“I’m so sorry, Allan. I didn’t mean it.”
“I know, love,” Allan replied. “Don’t you think I know that? I’ve
been mated to you for more than twenty years. I know how my girl
is.”
Allan might, but Kye wished someone would clue him in. “Mrs.
Granger, can you tell me what upset you so much?”
Marsha stilled, and then slowly turned to face Kye. She licked her
lips, looking nervous, and then pushed her hair back from her face.
“Allan is my mate, but he wasn’t my first husband. I was forced to
marry another man in my pride several years before I met Allan.”
Kye did not like the way this story was going.
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“He was an evil man.”
Nope, didn’t like it at all.
“He challenged the old alpha and won, and I knew that there
would be no stopping him. When he started taking mistresses and
moved them into our home when they became pregnant, I knew I
needed to get my children and leave. I had to keep his evilness from
infecting my children.”
Kye swallowed past the lump building in his throat. “Wha—” He
swallowed again when his word came out in a croak. “What did you
do?”
“I took my children and ran. I left everything. I didn’t even take
any clothes with me. I just tossed the kids in the car like we were
going to the store and drove away.” More tears filled Marsha’s eyes
and streamed down her pale cheeks. “I knew he’d follow us, but I
hoped that we could get far enough away and hide.”
“What happened?”
“A snow storm hit, and I lost control of the car. We crashed.
When I woke up, I was in a hospital. He told me that my children
were dead and since I had killed them, he no longer wanted me as his
mate.” Marsha suddenly snorted. “Not that that man would know
what a mate was if one was shoved up his ass. He was never my
mate.”
“What happened then?”
“He told me I was banished from the pride and never to return,
that if I did, he’d order a hunt for me and make an example out of me.
After that, I had no reason to go back. My children were dead. I killed
them.” Marsha let out a little sob. “I wanted to die.”
“Marsha was recovering at a lake near my pride, and we met
there,” Allan said. “We mated and moved here where we had Carl and
raised our family.”
“And he never gave you any proof that your children were dead?”
Kye asked.
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Marsha shook her head. “He said he had already buried them and
since it was on pride land, I couldn’t even visit their graves.”
Yeah, Kye didn’t like this at all, especially since he remembered
the conversation he had had with Hugh on their way to Stellan’s
house. “Your sons were named Hugh, Boone, and Simon, correct?”
Marsha frowned. “Yes, how did you know?”
“And this accident happened when Hugh was just ten years old?”
“Yes.”
“Marsha, you were lied to, as were your sons. They were told that
you died in that car accident. They’re alive and well, and Simon is
standing right there.” Kye pointed to the porch where Simon stood,
watching them intently.
“Oh.” Marsha turned and stared at Simon just as intently. Her
hand trembled as she brought it to her chest. “Do you think he would
be willing to talk to me?”
Kye stood to his feet and held his hand out to the woman.
“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go ask him.”
Marsha hesitated for a moment and then slowly reached out for
Kye’s hand and stood to her feet. Allan stood up beside her and
reached for her other hand. Marsha sent Allan a small smile, which
Allan returned, and then looked over at Kye.
Kye prayed with everything in him that Simon didn’t reject the
woman that he suspected was Simon’s mother. His heart ached with a
combination of joy and dread at the thought of having to explain all of
this to Hugh.
He just wasn’t sure he had the words for it. The last few days had
changed Hugh’s life in major ways. Kye wasn’t sure his mate, as
strong as he was, could handle yet another life-changing surprise.
“Simon, do you know who this is?” Kye asked softly when they
reached the porch steps.
Simon stared for a moment and then spun around and ran into the
house. Marsha cried out. Allan caught her as her legs gave out
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beneath her and she sank to the ground. Kye felt tears of his own
spring into his eyes. Marsha was devastated.
“Keep them here,” Kye said as he looked at Neumus. “I need to
go speak with Simon.”
Neumus nodded, looking grim.
Kye raced into the house. He started to run down the hallway
when a small mutter from the living room caught his attention. He
turned and saw Simon on his knees frantically searching through a
black bag.
“Simon?”
“Where is it?” Simon said louder. “I can’t find it.”
Simon sounded desperate. Kye hurried over to him and dropped to
his knees beside Simon. “What are you looking for, Simon. Maybe I
can help you find it.”
“Mama’s necklace. It has to be here somewhere. Hugh never goes
anywhere without it. It’s the only thing we have left of Mama. It was
her mother’s, and she told us to keep it safe for her.”
Oh. Kye reached over and grabbed the bag next to the one Simon
was rummaging through and started doing his own search. He came
up with nothing except clothes and a few personal items. He reached
for the next bag, and was just starting to unzip it when Simon
suddenly let out a loud cry, holding up a necklace in his hands.
It was a simple necklace made of silver. It was the pendant
hanging on the necklace that was different. Kye wasn’t sure he had
ever seen anything like it. It was shaped like an arrowhead, but it had
intricate words engraved in the silver surface. Kye couldn’t
understand the words, but they looked old.
When Simon jumped to his feet and raced for the door, Kye rolled
his eyes and raced after him. He came out the door just as Simon leapt
off the front porch and dropped to his knees beside Marsha. Kye bit
his lip to keep from crying when Simon held the necklace out to
Marsha. He wished he had a camera to record this moment for Hugh
and Boone.
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“Here, Mama,” Simon whispered. “We kept it safe for you just
like you told us to.”
Marsha inhaled on a wild cry and pulled Simon into her arms,
ignoring the necklace. “My precious baby.”
Kye walked over and pressed himself against his mate, needing
the close contact. What he was witnessing was mind-boggling to say
the least. And it meant that Alpha Aldo was an even bigger asshole
than he had originally thought.
He had successfully lied to his wife and his children, telling his
sons that their mother had died and telling his wife that she had killed
her children. Kye couldn’t help but wonder what else the man had lied
about. How many other lives had he fucked with?
Kye couldn’t keep the tears from trailing down his cheeks as he
watched Simon reunite with his mother, a woman he thought dead for
over twenty years. It was a sweet scene. He couldn’t even begin to
wonder what it would be like when Hugh and Boone discovered the
secret at Potter’s Creek.
Kye glanced up when he heard more vehicles pulling into the
driveway. They looked vaguely familiar, and for a moment, Kye
thought it might be Hugh and Boone arriving. When he went to step
off the porch, Neumus grabbed him around the waist and swung him
back up onto the porch.
“No, Kye,” Neumus said as he set him on his feet. “You never
approach an unknown vehicle without letting one of us check it out
first.”
Kye rolled his eyes. “Fine, then check it out. It might be Hugh and
Boone.”
“No.” Neumus shook his head as he stared at the two vehicles.
“Hugh would be driving his truck.”
Kye blanched. Neumus was right, and Kye hadn’t even thought of
that. He was never going to live this one down. He’d be lucky to see
daylight if he kept this up.
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“I want everyone to go inside,” Neumus said. “That includes you,
Allan and Marsha, along with your family. I don’t know who that is.”
Allan jumped to his feet and went to help his son and his son’s
family get into the house. Simon stood up and assisted his mother to
her feet. He kept one hand clasped with hers as they walked up the
steps and into the house.
“In the house, Kye.”
“But—”
“Now, Kye!”
Kye’s shoulders slumped as he walked back into the house. He
hated this shit. He wanted to be able to stand on his own dang front
porch without having to worry that someone might try to hurt him. It
wasn’t fair, damn it.
Kye kicked at the wall as he slammed the door and walked over to
the closest window. There were no curtains on the windows, so he
had a pretty good view, and he didn’t like what he was seeing.
Neumus stood at the bottom of the steps, his arms crossed over his
chest as he watched several people climb out of the large vehicles that
had just pulled in. Otto and Kumiko stood behind Neumus on the
porch. Kye would have much preferred it if Otto and Kumiko stood
down with Neumus where they could keep his mate safe. He didn’t
like Neumus standing all by himself.
“Bring my son out here!”
Kye’s jaw dropped at the words. When he heard a small whimper
from behind him, he turned to see Simon staring down at the floor
like the devil himself had just spoken. Marsha looked much the same
as she shook in Allan’s arms.
And Kye knew exactly who was standing in his front yard.
He ran down the hallway to the bedroom he had picked out for
him and his mates. He had put his stuff in there when they divided up
the rooms. Kye grabbed his bag off the floor and started searching
through it until he found his cell phone. He would have had it on him,
but he had been cleaning and didn’t want to drop it.
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Kye pulled it out and dialed the number Hugh had programmed
into his cell phone earlier. His heart raced as he held the phone to his
ear and waited for his mate to answer.
“Hey, little bit,” Hugh’s smooth voice said through the phone.
“Your father is here with some of his men, He’s demanding to see
Simon.”
“Shit!”
“Neumus, Otto, and Kumiko are out there right now talking to
him. Neumus said I had to stay in the house but—”
“No, that’s good, Kye. Stay inside. We’re not too far away. We’ll
be there as soon as we can.”
Kye sucked in his lower lip for a minute, debating about what he
should tell his mate. Did Hugh need to know about his mother before
he arrived, or could Kye get away with explaining it later? And just
how mad would Hugh be that Kye hadn’t said anything?
“Hugh, there’s something else you need to know.”
“What?”
“Okay, look, I’d really like to explain this all to you when you get
here, but under the circumstances, I think you need to know and I
don’t want you mad at me because I didn’t say anything. This isn’t
something someone should hear over the phone, okay, but—”
“Kye, just say it.”
“Your father lied to you and your mother isn’t dead and she’s here
and she’s part of our pride,” Kye said in a rush, then held his breath as
he waited for his mate to say something, anything. All he got over the
phone line was silence. “Hugh?”
“What did you say?” Hugh asked in a quiet voice that sent a
shiver of dread clawing up Kye’s spine.
“Your father lied to you,” he said a little slower. “Your mother
was injured in that car accident, but she didn’t die. Your father told
her that she had killed the three of you, and then he banished her from
the pride. After she left your pride, she met her real mate, Allan
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Granger, and they started the Potter’s Creek Pride.” Kye heaved a
sigh. “And she’s here.”
“At the house?”
“Yes.” Kye nodded even though Hugh couldn’t see him.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“With my father there?”
“Yes.” Seconds of silence ticked by, and then a whole minute
went by. “Hugh?”
“Are you sure it’s my mother?”
“Well, as sure as I can be. I mean, I never met the woman, but
Simon seems to know her.”
“Thank you for telling me, Kye.”
“I’m sorry you had to learn about it like this, Hugh. I just didn’t
want you to walk into this blind.”
“No, I appreciate it, Kye. I do. It’s just a little much to take in at
the moment.”
Oh, that didn’t sound good. Kye started chewing on his thumbnail
as anxiety filled him. “Are you mad at me?” he whispered.
“No, little bit, I’m not mad at you.”
Kye jumped, his head snapping toward the doorway when he
heard a loud roar. “Oh, I got to go. Neumus is pissed.”
Kye heard Hugh shout his name as he hung up the phone and
hoped that his mate didn’t get angry at him for cutting the call short,
but he had to find out why Neumus was mad. He dropped the phone
on his bag and raced out of the room.
Everyone that had been inside the house with him was pressed up
against the windows when he ran into the main room. Kye squeezed
in between Simon and Yuji as he tried to see what was going on.
What he saw when he finally reached the window made Kye’s blood
run cold.
“No!” he screamed as he ran for the door. Before he could reach
it, Kye was grabbed around the waist by Tre and pulled back. He
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snarled and swung around to smack at the hands trying to keep him in
the house. “Never keep me from my mate when he’s in trouble.”
“Kye, you can’t fight.”
“Watch me!” Kye growled as he let his very first shift come over
him. His bones crackled, his muscles tightened and stretched. Pain
shot through him as his body reshaped itself and fur spurted out along
his skin.
Kye blinked in surprise when his vision went monochrome. He
hadn’t expected that. But the claws were cool, as were the fucking
huge teeth. Kye snapped his jaw a couple of times, testing his biting
ability.
Yeah, these would work.
Kye turned, intending to go out the door, but Tre was blocking it.
Bone head. Kye turned and jumped for the nearest window, crashing
through it. When he landed on the other side, he shook himself off,
hoping he didn’t have any glass in his fur. And then he turned toward
the fight taking place in his territory, and the men trying to hurt his
mate.
Kye tossed back his head and let out a loud roar as rage boiled up
inside of him. No one touched his mate. No one. Kye heard a distant
shouting but ignored it as he raced in to save Neumus, and he didn’t
care who he had to kill to do it.
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Chapter 12
“Kye!” Hugh shouted when his mate didn’t answer him. He
banged his hand against the steering wheel when a dial tone came
over the line. “That little shit. He hung up on me.”
Hugh stepped on the gas. He didn’t know exactly how far they
were from the house, but the GPS said just a few miles. He needed to
get there like now. His mates were in trouble. And, it seemed, so were
the rest of his family members.
And all from the same man.
“What’s going on, Hugh?”
Hugh glanced over at Boone, not sure how much to tell his
brother, or if he should even say anything at all. If Kye was wrong
and this woman wasn’t their mother, Boone would be devastated.
Simon had been the most affected by their mother’s supposed death,
but they had all felt her loss.
“Father is at the house.” He’d start with that.
“How?” Boone frowned. “We left him back at Stellan’s.”
“I don’t know.” Hugh tossed his phone at Boone. “Call Stellan
and ask.” Boone caught the phone and flipped it open, dialing
Stellan’s phone number. “Put it on speaker phone so I can hear what
he says.”
Boone did as Hugh asked, but all they heard was the phone
ringing and ringing and ringing. No one answered. “Oh, that can’t be
good,” Boone said.
“No, it can’t. That number goes directly to Stellan’s private line.
He should have answered immediately. He always does. It’s his
emergency line in case any of his family needs to get a hold of him.”
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“You don’t suppose our father did something to him, do you?”
Hugh just stared at Boone.
“Okay, okay, so he probably did.” Boone rubbed his hand down
his face. “Shit, this is not good.”
Hugh was having much the same thought. Stellan would have
answered the phone unless he was physically incapable of doing so.
This wasn’t the same phone number that he gave out to pride
members. It was his private line, for family use only. Stellan said he
always answered it. He even answered it during sex.
Something was seriously wrong.
Hugh growled as he slammed his hand down on the steering
wheel. “I just knew we shouldn’t have stopped to grab my tools. We
should have gone straight to the house.”
“Hugh, you couldn’t have known, and as bad as Stellan said the
house was, we thought we were going to need your tools.”
“We could have gone back for them later after we made sure the
place was secure.” Hugh’s stomach was tied in knots just thinking
about what could be happening to his mates and pride right now,
especially when he wasn’t there to defend them.
“Isn’t that the driveway there?” Boone pointed.
Hugh started to check the address on the mailbox until he heard a
loud roar. Yep, this had to be it. He turned the truck into the driveway
and spun the wheels in the gravel as he tore up the road.
He parked the truck off to one side of the driveway and jumped
out. His heart thundered in his chest as he ran toward the fight taking
place in the front lawn. He knew Neumus was one of the lions that
was fighting because the man had shifted in front of him, and he also
recognized Otto’s lion form.
He had no idea who the other lions were.
Hugh skidded to a stop when he reached the edge of the fight. His
eyes narrowed as he stared at a white Bengal tiger viciously fighting
another lion. Size-wise, the little tiger was no match for the bigger
lion, except this particular tiger seemed really pissed off. He was
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ripping into the lion with his claws and teeth and spilling more blood
than the lion could afford to lose.
“Enough!” Hugh’s voice hardened ruthlessly as he shouted, using
his most commanding alpha tone. He knew from experience that
members of a pride couldn’t disobey the alpha voice. It spoke to them
on an inner level.
But he was a little shocked when the other lions fighting stopped
to stare at him. He strode into the middle of the yard, his hands
planted firmly on his hips.
“You will shift now,” he growled, and then he looked around for
his little Bengal tiger. He spotted Kye trying to slink off around the
side of the house. He pointed toward the front porch. “Get in the
house, little bit!”
Kye scurried up the steps and inside the house, his tail tucked
between his legs. Once the door shut behind him, Hugh turned to look
at the other members of his pride as they shifted back into their
human forms.
He was not pleased when his gaze landed on his mate and he saw
all of the scratches and abrasions on Neumus’s naked skin. But he
was alive, and that was something. Hugh stalked over to his mate and
snaked a hand around his neck, gripping a large handful of his hair.
Hugh couldn’t prevent himself from pulling Neumus into a quick,
passion-filled kiss, not when his mate was alive and standing in front
of him naked. When he pulled back, Hugh prayed that his eyes
conveyed the relief that he couldn’t speak of in front of others.
Neumus nodded, his eyes dropping away in a sign of submission
to his alpha.
“Go get some clothes, and then maybe you can explain to me why
my front yard has been turned into a battlefield.”
Neumus’s eyes flickered to the left for a moment. “Be careful,” he
whispered.
Hugh nodded his understanding and released Neumus. He
watched until his mate was inside the house before turning to survey
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the others in the yard, especially the ones standing in the direction
Neumus had indicated.
He saw Otto and Tre and Kumiko. There was another dark-haired
man there, one that was a bit younger than him, but he easily stood
between beside Otto and Tre so Hugh didn’t see him as a threat.
It was the men that had refused to shift that were the threat.
“You have not presented yourselves to me nor have you asked for
the customary time period to be inside my territory. Therefore, you
are in violation of pride law. You will leave now, or I will make you
leave.”
“You have no authority over me.”
“Yes, Father, I do,” Hugh swung around to find his father back in
his human form, standing several feet behind him. “This is my
territory, and I have not given you permission to be here.”
The man drew himself up to his full height. “I am alpha!”
“So am I.”
Alpha Aldo sputtered. “You are only alpha when I say so, and not
before then.”
“According to the council, I am now the alpha of the Potter’s
Creek Pride. So, it’s not up to you anymore.”
Alpha Aldo’s upper lip curled back. “Fine, but I won’t leave here
without Simon. He belongs to me.”
“No, that’s where you are wrong yet again. Simon is a registered
member of my pride. He stays here with me.”
“He’s my son!”
“No, he’s my son.”
Hugh stiffened when he heard a soft voice speaking behind him. It
was the same gentle voice that he heard in his dreams. His heart rate
increased as he slowly turned and looked at the woman the voice was
coming from.
Mama.
The woman’s deep brown eyes flickered to him for a moment
before moving on to Alpha Aldo with a single-minded purpose. “He’s
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my son, and you took him from me, Aldo. You took all of my sons
from me.”
“Marsha.”
“You don’t get to speak that name anymore, Aldo.” There was a
silken thread of warning in her voice when she spoke. “You will give
me the respect due any mated woman and call me Mrs. Granger.”
“Mrs. Granger?” Alpha Aldo growled. “You are my mate.”
“No, Aldo, I was your bitch. I was never your mate. I was the
poor unfortunate soul forced to marry you because you took a liking
to me. I was the one forced to endure your frenzied rutting in between
your mistresses. I was the one forced to bear your children. I was the
one forced to suffer through every degrading thing you ever did to
me.”
Hugh’s eyebrows shot up when the woman suddenly laughed. It
was a cold sound, malicious and vengeful. He never in his life would
have thought his mother could have made a sound like that. He was
just grateful that it wasn’t aimed in his direction.
“But I escaped you, Aldo. I escaped you, and I found my mate. I
built a life for myself, a good life with a mate that loves me. And now
I have my sons back, and I will kill you before I let you take them
away from me again.”
By this time, the woman was standing beside Hugh. He couldn’t
take his eyes off of her, not even when he heard footsteps behind him.
He knew that Otto and Tre would never allow anyone near him that
was a threat. He dismissed the sounds until he saw Simon and Boone
walk up onto the other side of their mother.
Marsha took her eyes off of Alpha Aldo just long enough to look
at each one of her sons. Hugh nodded at her, as did Simon and Boone.
Whatever they had to work out between them would be worked out
after they dealt with their father.
“My alpha has spoken, Alpha Aldo Marshall,” Marsha said once
she settled her eyes on Hugh’s father again. “You are in his territory
without his permission. You will leave or face his wrath.”
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“Then I claim the customary five days in—”
“Too late, Aldo.” Marsha laughed. “You might have been able to
get away with that if you had presented yourself when you first
arrived, but you didn’t. You just drove up and started shouting orders,
and then you attacked the alpha mate. For that alone Hugh could kill
you where you stand and no one would lift a finger to stop him.”
His mother was in the right, and Hugh knew it. She might have
been speaking out of turn, but if what Kye had told him was true, the
woman deserved a little revenge on his father. Hugh found he
couldn’t deny his mother this little bit of vengeance.
“Leave.”
One word, one simple command, and Alpha Aldo seemed to lose
his mind. Hugh saw his father tense right before he lunged at his
mother. Hugh roared as he dove at the man, taking him down to the
ground before the alpha could reach Marsha.
As Hugh rolled the man over onto his stomach and pinned him to
the ground, he placed a knee in Aldo’s back and pulled his arms up
high on his back. The alpha wouldn’t get up unless Hugh let him up.
Hugh leaned down close to his father’s ear. A wild elation filled
him as he spoke. “I told you not to challenge me. I’m stronger than
you are, Aldo. I will always be stronger than you. You trained me
well.”
Aldo growled and struggled to get free. Hugh just grabbed a
handful of his hair and smashed the man’s face into the ground a
couple of times. It felt really good. And because of that, Hugh knew
he had to stop before he killed the man, because that would have felt
even better. Despite the fact that he had a lot provocation, he wouldn’t
kill his own father unless he was really forced to.
Hugh raised his head and let his eyes settle on each member of his
former pride that had come with his father. They, at least, had the
decency to drop their eyes when Hugh looked at them. Hugh didn’t
know how many of them knew what his father was up to, but he’d be
willing to bet more than one of them were in on it.
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“Your alpha has broken pride law. He has invaded my territory
after being informed that I was alpha here. He did not ask my
permission or seek me out. He attacked my mate and my pride. He
sought to take that which is mine. By pride law, I can kill him here
and now. That is my right as Alpha of Potter’s Creek Pride.”
“We didn’t know, Alpha Marshall,” one man said as he stepped
forward. Hugh recognized him immediately, and knew the man was
lying through his teeth. He was just trying to save his own hide.
“You are my father’s beta, Craig, his right-hand man. Not only do
I not believe you, but I suspect that you were involved in the car crash
that took my mother from me. I may have been young at the time, but
I was old enough to remember you and my father being at that crash
scene.”
“Well, of course,” Craig said quickly. “We followed her car. We
found the accident. How do you think that we were able to save you
and your brothers?”
“And why didn’t you save my mother, too?” Hugh asked. “Why
were my brothers and I told that she died in that crash? It’s obvious
that she didn’t.”
“I didn’t know that. I swear. I was looking after you and the other
boys. Alpha Aldo sent me home with you. I had no idea that Marsha
had lived.”
“I would believe that if my mother wasn’t standing beside me,
alive and well.”
“But—”
Hugh stood, pulling his father up with him. He pushed his father
forward, giving him a good kick in his butt. Alpha Aldo stumbled
forward and fell into Craig, both of them crashing to the ground in a
pile of arms and legs.
“Careful there, guys,” Hugh smirked as they struggled against
each other to get up. “Keep that up and someone might suspect that
there is more going on between you than simple friendship.” Hugh’s
mouth dropped open when Craig’s face turned beet red. “Seriously?
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You preach to anyone within hearing distance about the evils of gay
sex and you’re fucking each other?”
Hugh couldn’t stand it. He started to laugh, and he couldn’t seem
to stop. For some reason, it was the most hilarious thing he had ever
witnessed. His father had just been dragged out of the closet kicking
and screaming, and from the looks the others in his father’s pride
were giving the two men, it wouldn’t be forgotten by them either.
Hugh’s laughter died a sudden death when two more vehicles
pulled into his driveway and started heading up toward the house. He
glanced over at Boone, nodding to him to get their mother into the
house. He didn’t know if these vehicles were full of more of his
father’s pride members or not, and he didn’t want his mother in the
middle of a battleground.
When the cars came to a stop and the doors opened, Hugh
frowned until he recognized Stellan, Benji, and Kody climbing out of
one. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the occupants of
the other vehicle. Them, he didn’t recognize.
“Alpha Mihos, please be welcome in my home,” Hugh called out
in greeting.
Stellan’s eyebrow rose in amusement at Hugh’s quickly spoken
words. “Thank you for allowing us into your territory, Alpha
Marshall.” He waved his hand at the strangers standing by the other
vehicle. “Allow me to introduce you to Elder Hamilton, who I believe
you know by reputation, and Elder Carmichael. They have business
with your father.”
Hugh kept his mouth shut. He had no idea what in the hell was
going on, but he didn’t want anyone else to know that. He just stood
there and watched as the two men approached his father. From the
way his father’s face drained of color, whatever they were saying to
him wasn’t good. Well, at least not for his father.
“You looked unscathed,” Stellan said as he stopped beside Hugh.
“I actually missed the main part of the fight,” Hugh replied, not
taking his eyes off of the scene playing out in front of him. “It was in
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full swing when I arrived but stopped quickly enough so that no one
was injured too badly.” Hugh did take his eyes off of the men in front
of him long enough to glare at the house over his shoulder.
“Although, once I get my hands on Kye, he’s going to wish he had
been injured in the fight. I’m going to paddle his ass until he can’t sit
down for a week.”
“I thought you weren’t into that sort of thing.”
Hugh grimaced as he glanced at Stellan. “It’s growing on me.”
“Yes, it does seem to do that.”
“What’s going on here?” Hugh asked as he waved his hand
toward the elders and his father.
“Well, it seems your father didn’t take real well to the news that
you had your own pride, one supported by the council. He knocked
my ass out, stole my cell phone, and disabled my landlines so I
couldn’t contact you. Kody and Benji came home just as the elders
arrived. They revived me, and I explained what was happening. They
insisted on coming here to talk to you about the situation with your
father. Imagine our surprise when we found your father already here.”
“Whoa, man. He’s in deep shit.”
“Yes, I do believe he is. He not only attacked me, but he attacked
me while under a five-day welcome. That alone is grounds to sanction
him. I suspect once the dust clears, and the council learns of your
father’s misdeeds, that he will be removed from his position.”
“I don’t want it!” Hugh didn’t know how many times he could
stress that. He wanted nothing to do with the members of his former
pride. “I have enough problems on my hands as it is. I don’t have the
resources to split my time between this pride and my old pride. They
can give it to someone else.”
“Your brother Boone, perhaps?”
Boone snorted and shook his head. “When they get snow blowers
in hell, maybe.”
“I see.” Stellan’s lips twisted together, and Hugh knew he was
trying hard not to laugh. “Do you have another suggestion then?
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Someone that might be strong enough to take this pride over and
bring it into the current century?”
Hugh cringed. He could think of only one man that was powerful
enough to take over his former pride and keep the pride members in
line, but the man wasn’t going to like it. In fact, he might actually
grow to hate Hugh for suggesting him.
“Who?” Stellan asked as if he could read Hugh’s face.
Hugh turned to look at Boone. Nothing was said between them,
but Hugh knew what Boone was thinking. It was the same thing he
was thinking. As if of the same mind, they both turned to look at
Stellan and spoke at the same time. “Otto.”
“Hmmm, an interesting choice, if I do say so myself.”
Hugh shrugged.
“Do you want to tell him or shall I?”
“I like my head where it is, thank you very much,” Hugh replied.
“You tell him.”
Hugh didn’t like the idea of his new pride being fractured so soon,
but he knew Otto was the best man for the job. Otto was the strongest
of them all. He suspected that Otto was even stronger than he was.
But he was also smart. He’d make a good alpha.
“Hugh.”
Hugh swallowed at the broken whisper spoken from behind him.
He turned to find his mother standing behind him, her hands twisting
together in front of her. He could see the fear in her eyes, the
wonderment that he was actually alive.
His voice was husky as he replied. “Hello, Mama.”
“I missed you, son.”
“I thought you were dead. He said you were dead.”
Marsha nodded. “He told me the same thing.”
Hugh wanted to rip his father apart for causing the pain he could
see in his mother’s eyes. No woman should ever be told that her
children had died. And to keep you from me…Alpha Aldo had a lot to
answer for.
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“How have you been?”
Hugh smiled at the softly spoken question. He knew his mother
was flustered and didn’t know quite what to say, but only because he
felt the same way. He glanced at Stellan over his shoulder.
“Would you handle things out here for a moment? I need to take
my mother inside.”
Stellan’s eyebrows shot up, and Hugh saw the first real look of
surprise on the alpha’s face. He didn’t know if Stellan knew of his
history with losing his mother, but apparently the man knew Marsha.
“Of course.” Stellan nodded. “I’ll inform you if anything
interesting occurs.”
“Thank you, Stellan.” Hugh nodded to the man that he was
beginning to see as a friend and then turned to hold out his hand to his
mother. “Would you join me inside? I have a few people I’d like to
introduce you to.”
Marsha’s smile wobbled a little bit as she reached out to take
Hugh’s hand, but it was there. Hugh tucked her hand around his arm
and started for the house. He knew his brothers had fallen into step
right beside him because he could see them out of the corners of his
eyes.
Hugh walked up the steps and pushed the front door open. He had
just enough time to drop his mother’s hand before a bundle of excited
mate jumped into his arms and started planting kisses all over his
face.
“I’m so mad at you,” Kye murmured in between kisses. “You
could have been hurt or worse. Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“Yes, my mate.”
Hugh laughed as joy filled every cell in his body and wrapped his
arms around Kye. A moment later, larger, more powerful arms
wrapped around both of them. Hugh smiled and leaned back into
Neumus’s embrace. With his mates in his arms, his brothers and
mother standing by with the rest of his pride, Hugh knew that he was
exactly where he wanted to be.
He had his own little bit of heaven on earth.
A Little Bit of Heaven
155
Chapter 13
“Hey, bro.”
Hugh glanced up from the dresser he was sanding to see his
brother Boone standing in the doorway of his new shop. He smiled
and set his sandpaper down and then reached for a rag to wipe his
hands off.
“How did it go?”
Boone had accompanied Otto back to their old pride to handle
what they knew would be a hostile takeover. The council may have
ordered Otto to replace Aldo as alpha after the man had been
imprisoned for his crimes, but that didn’t mean that the pride would
accept Otto.
Boone shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned
against the doorframe. “It went. There were a few altercations, but
Otto took care of them fairly effectively. Some of the pride members
requested transfer to the DeLuca Pride, but most stayed. In general,
even if they weren’t real happy with Otto being the new alpha, I think
everyone was just relieved that Aldo was gone.”
Hugh was, too. And he hoped that his father never saw the light of
day again. He knew that wasn’t likely to happen. Aldo would serve
his time and eventually be released. But until then, the world was a
much brighter place.
“How’s Otto?”
Boone chuckled. “He’s still pissed.”
Hugh grimaced. Otto had gone ballistic when he had been
appointed alpha. He didn’t want the job any more than Hugh did, but
Hugh still felt the man was the most qualified for the position.
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“He’ll get over it,” Boone said.
“Before or after he kills me.”
“And take on another pride? I don’t even think Otto is that crazy.”
“Has he had any luck tracking down his mate?”
Boone’s mouth curved down, and Hugh knew without his brother
saying anything that Otto’s search for his mate hadn’t turned up
anything. His heart ached for the other man, especially now that he
knew how important mates were.
“No. He’s put out feelers and he’s tracking down a few leads, but
so far he hasn’t found a trace of him.” Boone’s dark hair fluttered
around his face as he shook his head. “It’s like the man just fell off
the face of the earth. Even Kumiko can’t find him, and it turns out
that that man has some serious contacts.”
“Are they still fighting?”
“Not so much. Otto and Kumiko have their arguments and all,
‘cause let’s face it, they are both too stubborn for words. But they
seem to be presenting a united front to the rest of the pride. Hell,
someone made a comment about Kumiko’s heritage and Otto almost
tore them to pieces.”
Hugh had been shocked down to his toes when Otto made
Kumiko his beta. Granted, the man was perfect for the position. He
was tenacious, vicious when needed, and he liked being in control.
Hugh just didn’t think the two men could be in the same room
together for more than five minutes without killing each other.
“How are Kye and Yuji taking their brother being gone?” Boone
asked.
“Pretty well, considering. Kye has me and Neumus, and I think
that helps. Yuji seems a little lost. Kye is mated, and Kumiko has his
position as beta. I think Yuji is kind of wondering where he fits in to
all of this.”
“He just needs to find something that gives him purpose.”
Hugh nodded and then narrowed his eyes at the wavy hair hanging
nearly to Boone’s collar as he was suddenly reminded of Boone’s new
A Little Bit of Heaven
157
purpose. “You know, if you’re going to be the town sheriff, you’re
going to have to do something about that hair.”
“Snow blowers, dude, snow blowers.”
Hugh chuckled.
“Any word from Simon?”
Hugh nodded as he leaned in to work on one particular strip of
wood that was resisting his attempt to smooth it out. “Yeah, he called
to say he would be home on Sunday. Elder Hamilton is going to be
joining him, so that should be fun.”
Not.
Hugh had been just as shocked as everyone else when he learned
that the only reason that Elder Hamilton had been brokering a deal
with his father was to get Simon away from the evil man. The elder
had recognized Simon as an omega and knew that Alpha Aldo would
abuse that power if he learned of it.
There was no daughter to mate Simon with as their father had
suggested. Elder Hamilton wasn’t even an alpha, but an elder for the
pride council. It had all simply been a ploy to free Simon from what
Elder Hamilton saw as a horrible situation. Simon was currently
training with the elder to hone his omega abilities.
“This is pretty nice,” Boone said as he glanced around the new
shop that both Kye and Neumus had insisted on building for Hugh.
It had taken almost a month to build, but it was the workshop of
Hugh’s dreams. Kye and Neumus had gone on a shopping spree after
the shop was built and bought him every woodworking tool they
could find. Hell, some of the tools were so odd he didn’t even know
what they were for.
He loved it.
Hugh grabbed his sandpaper and went back to work on the antique
dresser. “Yeah, it is.”
“Has Neumus discovered what his hobby is yet?”
“Yeah, annoying the hell out of me.”
“I heard that!”
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Hugh grinned as he glanced toward the doorway and saw Neumus
standing behind Boone. Neumus bumped shoulders with Boone as he
pushed past him and then sauntered across the room. Hugh liked
watching his mate coming or going. No one filled out a pair of jeans
like Neumus.
Damn.
“Stop looking at me like you want to eat me.”
Hugh grinned. “But I do want to eat you.”
“Okay,” Boone said, covering his eyes. “I’m leaving before my
eyeballs get burned.”
“Don’t forget that we have dinner at Mom’s on Sunday.”
“Got i—ouch!” Boone ran right smack dab into a wood planer. He
frowned as he dropped his hand from his eyes and glared down at the
woodcutting tool. He mumbled to himself and then moved around the
planer, walking out the door.
“So,” Neumus asked, “how much longer are you going to work on
that dresser?”
“Why? Do you have something better for me to do with my
hands?”
“Well.” Neumus grinned as he leaned forward on the top of the
dresser. “I can’t really think of anything, but Kye is a little tied up in
the house and could use a hand.”
Hugh frowned. That so was not what he wanted to hear. He
thought he was going to get lucky. The lust burning in Neumus’s eyes
said he was, but the man’s words said no. What was up with that?
“What’s he need?”
Neumus shrugged. “He just asked me to come out and get you,
said he needed some help.”
“Why didn’t you help him then?”
“I tried, but he said he needed help from his alpha.”
Hugh stilled. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t think so.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
159
Well, that wasn’t an answer. Hugh tossed the sandpaper down
onto the dresser again and then cleaned his hands off. If something
had happened to his little mate, he was going to rip someone’s head
off.
Hugh shot Neumus a glare as he turned and walked out of the
shop. Luckily, when his mates had the shop built for him, they had
built it just a little ways from the back of the house. The thought was
that he wouldn’t have to be out in bad weather very long to get to it.
It was a good thought.
Hugh hurried into the house and called out for Kye. He heard the
backdoor slam right behind him as Kye answered from the back of the
house. A lot of work had been done on the previous structure to get it
up to standards and make the improvements they needed to house so
many people.
They had built on an entire wing to the old farmhouse. The master
bedroom suite, complete with a shower and tub big enough for three
people, was at the back of the house on the first floor. The rest of the
bedrooms were upstairs.
Hugh hurried down the hallway to the bedroom he shared with his
mates, and tripped over absolutely nothing when he reached the
entrance. He grabbed the doorframe, his fingers digging into the
wood. His jaw felt like it had come completely unhinged as he stared
at the scene before him.
“I told you he was a little tied up.” Neumus chuckled from behind
him.
Biggest fucking understatement ever made in the history of the
world!
Hugh didn’t know how Neumus had accomplished it, but Kye was
spread eagle on the bed. His arms and legs were stretched out, tied to
the four corners of the bed. And the brightest pink butt plug was
nestled snuggly between Kye’s naked ass cheeks.
“Happy anniversary, love,” Neumus whispered into his ear right
before nipping at the soft, fleshy lobe.
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“Wha—huh?” Hugh tore his eyes away from the alluring sight on
the bed and looked over at his mate. “Anniversary?”
“You’ve been alpha for three months today, which also means
you’ve been our mate for three months. So, yeah, happy anniversary.”
Neumus chuckled as he waved his hand toward the naked man tied to
the bed. “There’s your anniversary present.”
Damn.
Hugh swallowed hard and then licked his lips as he glanced back
at the bed. Kye really did look spectacular. Hugh could probably get
off just from looking at the man. His cock jerked and disagreed,
wanting to experience the beautiful ass gleaming in the low light
streaming in through the windows.
“Here, let me help you.”
Hugh felt Neumus’s hands go to his shirt, but he was too
mesmerized by the scene on the bed to pay attention. He lifted his
arms when Neumus nudged him, and stepped out of his pants when
directed. He jerked and turned to look at Neumus when the man
smacked him on his ass.
Neumus just pointed to the bed. “He’s all yours.”
Hugh walked forward as if a trance. He reached the end of the bed
and climbed up onto the edge of the mattress, stretching his hands out
to smooth them over Kye’s bound ankles. The ropes were soft, but
Kye’s skin was softer.
“Damn, little bit,” Hugh groaned, “you look so gorgeous.”
Kye giggled.
Hugh smiled as he stroked his hands up Kye’s legs. He loved the
sound of his mate’s laughter. There wasn’t a better sound in the
world—except maybe the groan that fell from Kye’s lips when
Hugh’s hands reached his thighs.
The pink butt plug nestled between Kye’s butt cheeks drew
Hugh’s attention. “Was this your idea, little bit?” Hugh asked as he
reached over and tapped the middle of the rubber plug. Kye groaned,
and his ass muscles tightened in the most delicious way.
A Little Bit of Heaven
161
“I think it was,” Hugh mused. “I think that maybe Neumus
thought of tying you up but this little gem was all you.” Hugh tapped
the middle of the plug again, a little harder this time. “Wasn’t it?”
“Yesss!” Kye hissed.
“I knew it.” Hugh grinned. “I knew my little bit was a kinky little
mate.” And he couldn’t have been happier about that.
Since discovering sex when they mated, Kye had come out of his
shell and started exploring everything they could experience together.
There were times when Hugh wondered if he and Neumus could keep
up with the sexy little man.
Hugh jerked when he felt a set of warm, callused hands land on
his ass and then caress his heated skin as they moved around to his
hips. “Neumus.”
“Right the first time, babe.” Neumus chuckled. “So, Alpha Hugh,
it’s decision time. Two people in this room are going to get fucked.
Two people in this room are going to do the fucking. One lucky
bastard gets the best of both worlds. Since you’re the alpha, you get to
direct this little show and choose what happens to whom.”
Seriously? He had to think at a time like this? “Huh…”
“Let me make this easy for you, Alpha.” Neumus dropped down
onto the bed besides Kye and reached under the slim man. Hugh
wasn’t sure exactly what Neumus did, but he had a pretty good idea
when Kye cried out and thrust his hips toward the bed.
“I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this beauty on several
occasions,” Neumus continued. “You have not. I think we should flip
our baby over and tie him back down. You can ride this monster cock
while I fuck our mate.”
Hugh’s breath stuttered in his throat at the mere idea of having
Kye’s massive ten-inch cock pounding into his ass. He had
experienced Neumus taking him, but by the time he got around to
having Kye take him, Kye had always gotten too excited and came all
over himself before he could fuck Hugh.
“We’ve tried this before,” Hugh reminded Neumus.
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“True.” Neumus grinned. “But the butt plug isn’t the only toy I
used on Kye.”
Hugh’s eyes nearly bugged right out of his head as he watched
Neumus untie Kye and flip him over onto his back. A pink matching
cock ring was fit snugly around Kye’s hard cock, keeping him from
coming.
“A matching set. I like it.”
“I thought you might.” Neumus swiftly tied Kye’s arms back
down to the bedposts. Only this time, his cock stood up straight from
his body, bouncing around every time the man moved.
The pink cock ring looked amazing around Kye’s pale skin.
Neumus must have shaved the man because not a hair could be seen
on his groin. There wasn’t even any hair on his balls. Hugh winced
when he got a good look at the man’s cock. It was deep red, almost
purple. Drops of pearly white liquid pooled at the head.
“He’s not in any pain, is he?”
“Nope.” Neumus stroked his fingers up one side of the heavily
veined cock, grinning when Kye groaned. “He’s just horny. I had a lot
of fun getting him ready for you.”
Hugh swallowed hard before he choked on his tongue, which was
suddenly stuck to the roof of his mouth. The images of what Neumus
could have done to get Kye this horny drove him out of his mind.
“Take pictures next time.”
“So, who’s fucking who?”
Hugh glanced back down at Kye’s cock. Yeah, he wanted that. He
had wanted it for weeks. And it looked like he might finally be able to
get it. He pointed to Kye’s cock. “I want that in my ass.”
“Then we should get you ready, shouldn’t we?” Hugh watched
Neumus intently as the man scooted off the bed and grabbed a bottle
of lube from the top of the nightstand. “Why don’t you turn around
and face the bottom of the bed. I think it would be a lot of fun to make
Kye watch and not be able to touch.”
A Little Bit of Heaven
163
Hugh arched an eyebrow. Neumus could be really cruel
sometimes. He liked playing games. Luckily, he only played them
with Kye and Hugh, and only in the bedroom. Beyond that, Hugh had
never met a more loyal man.
Hugh turned around and knelt on the bed beside Kye. He leaned
forward and settled his head on his arms and stuck his butt into the
air, spreading his legs until he could feel his cock and balls hanging in
the air.
Hugh’s skin tingled when Neumus touched him. He inhaled
deeply then tried to relax. This position was a little unsettling.
Neumus’s hands explored the hollows of Hugh’s back and moved
down around his hips before slipping up over his ass cheeks.
It was like Neumus was on a mission to drive Hugh out of his
mind. It was working, too. The mere touch of Neumus’s fingers sent a
warming shiver through Hugh. The anticipation of where Neumus
was going to touch him next was almost unbearable.
The soft snick of a cap opening sounded almost like a thundering
boom in the quiet of the room. The only other sounds that could be
heard were heavy breathing and the occasional moan of pleasure.
Hugh stiffened when he felt slick fingers move between his ass
cheeks. He’d been stretched before, but this almost felt like the first
time. Maybe it was because it would be the first time with Kye that
made the difference, maybe not. Hugh just knew that his ass muscles
clenched and unclenched, almost begging to be breached.
The first touch of Neumus’s finger pressing against his tight ring
of muscles almost sent Hugh over the edge. Only by biting into the
blankets beneath him and curling his fingers into the palms of his
hands was he able to stave off his orgasm.
Bearing down on Neumus’s thick finger, he tried to steel himself
for more. The second finger slipped in easier than the first, but Hugh
still hissed when Neumus started moving both fingers in and out of
his tight opening. There was always a slight burn to being stretched,
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and he knew that. He just hadn’t expected to feel such overwhelming
pleasure.
Neumus’s wiggled his finger in Hugh’s ass, stretching his opening
to force in another digit. Hugh almost couldn’t breathe through the
pleasure that raced through his body as his mate pushed another finger
in and grazed right over Hugh’s sweet spot.
“Neumus!” Hugh wailed, unable to keep his cries to himself.
“Almost there, love,” Neumus replied, “just one more finger. Our
baby isn’t small, as I can attest to. You’ll need at least four fingers to
be able to take him.”
Hugh was going to die before Neumus could reach four fingers.
He just knew it. There was no other outcome that could possibly
happen. The body was not meant to experience this level of tension,
anticipation, and pleasure.
Neumus pulled his fingers all the way back out and pushed back
in as he fucked Hugh for a few more strokes. Finally, he pulled out
and tapped Hugh on the hip. “Okay, love, you’re ready. You just have
one last decision to make.”
“Huh?” Hugh sat up and glanced back at Neumus and then
followed his finger to where the man was pointing at Kye’s leaking
cock. Kye was groaning and straining against the ropes restraining
him as he frantically humped the air. His eyes were glued to Hugh.
“I used the cock ring to keep Kye from coming, and so far it has
worked. But I’m pretty sure all bets are off the second we release him.
On the other hand, if you ride him with the damn thing on, he might
never come. What do you want to do?” Neumus asked. “Do I take it
off, knowing that he might come before you can get on him, or do I
leave it on him?”
He was supposed to think right now? Still… “Is there any way to
take it off after I get on him?”
Neumus shrugged. “We could cut it off.”
Hugh’s brow creased as he considered that. “Do we have more?”
A Little Bit of Heaven
165
“Oh yeah.” Neumus chuckled. “I bought several different sets,
one in every color of the rainbow.”
“Okay, then, cut it off once I get on him.”
Kye whimpered, and Hugh hoped that meant that his mate was in
favor of the idea. He turned and swung his leg over Kye’s body,
settling back down on the man’s thigh. Kye’s cock rose up, fierce and
proud between Hugh’s thighs.
“This is nice, little bit,” Hugh said as he stroked his hand down
the full length of the man’s heavy erection. Kye shuddered, and more
drops of pre-cum pooled on the head of his cock, slowly leaking down
the sides.
Hugh’s eyes locked with Kye’s dazed green ones. He felt
Neumus’s hand cover his, and then he felt a slight caress on his back,
pushing him forward. Hugh leaned up over Kye, dropping down to
plant a quick kiss on Kye’s swollen lips.
When he started to move back, he felt the round head of Kye’s
cock press against his stretched entrance. Kye’s eyes widened as
Hugh slowly slid down the man’s thick length, getting wider and
wider until they dominated his delicate face.
“You might want to enjoy him just a bit before I take the cock
ring off,” Neumus murmured from behind Hugh. “I’m pretty sure he’s
going to go off like a geyser the second I do.”
Hugh fucking loved that idea. He nodded and then felt Neumus’s
hand move. He dropped his head back onto his shoulders as he slide
the last few inches down on Kye’s cock. “Oh, my fucking—Kye!”
Hugh felt his ass muscles clench around Kye’s cock, sending
shocks of pleasure through his body. His body had welcomed Kye
inside of him with a searing heat and a slick tightness that he never
expected. Hugh was once again reminded of two halves being fitted
together to make a whole.
Hugh started moving. He moaned as the long, thick cock that
seemed to fill him so perfectly brushed across his prostate with every
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thrust. He could hear Kye grunt and moan, calling out his name, and
quickened his movements.
He felt a hand at his back and glanced over his shoulder to see
Neumus kneeling behind him. He smirked when Kye suddenly
inhaled and a loud wail filled the bedroom. He knew exactly what
Neumus was doing. It showed on the man’s face and could be heard
in Kye’s cry of ecstasy.
Hugh moved forward and hovered over the top of Kye, planting
his hands on either side of the man’s head. Kye’s eyes snapped to his.
The man was panting heavily, his mouth hanging open slightly.
Hugh leaned down and buried his face into Kye’s shoulder,
smelling his sweet scent, and feeling Kye’s skin against his own
chest. He licked at the pulse throbbing in Kye’s neck, groaning as
Kye’s unique taste entered his senses.
“Now, Neumus,” Hugh said as he lifted his hips, giving his mate
enough room to cut the cock ring off of Kye’s cock. Hugh heard a soft
snick, and then Kye surged inside of him, thrusting up so hard that
Hugh was almost thrown from the man’s body.
Kye’s hips started to piston up and down, his cock completely
buried in Hugh’s ass. His green eyes had darkened to a deep, emerald
green, lust blazing from their deep depths.
“Hugh...oh, my god...fuck...Hugh...gonna…oh…oh...ohh!” Kye
screamed.
Hugh stared down at him, watching Kye fly apart. Kye arched up
into Hugh, his head digging back into the pillow. Hugh felt the man
slam up into his ass, and then warm liquid heat filled him.
Kye implored Hugh with his eyes. Not one to deny his mate
anything, Hugh bent over and sank his teeth into Kye’s throat. Waves
of ecstasy swept through Hugh as Kye’s sweet blood splashed across
his tongue and he felt the renewing of his bond with his mate.
A hot ache began in his throat. He felt Neumus’s hands rub the
bare skin of his back and shoulders. The pleasure he was feeling was
explosive. It needed just one flicker of a flame to ignite.
A Little Bit of Heaven
167
When Hugh felt Neumus’s canines sink into the soft skin of his
neck, Hugh knew that was what he needed. He couldn’t control his
outcry of delight as waves of ecstasy throbbed through him.
Hugh’s climax crashed over him from one moment to the next. He
threw back his head, yelling as cum shot from his cock to splatter
over his stomach and the man beneath him. As he slumped down over
the top of Kye, Hugh distantly heard a loud roar behind him. He
smirked, knowing that Neumus had reached his own climax.
Kye’s heartbeat throbbed against Hugh’s ear. Neumus’s head
rested between his shoulder blades. Hugh could feel rivers of sweat
pouring off of him. His stomach was sticky with cum, and his ass was
filled with the stuff.
And yet, he couldn’t ever remember being happier.
His future was uncertain. Aldo would one day be free, and Hugh
knew the man would come after him and his family. There was too
much anger in the former alpha to not seek revenge.
Hugh had made enemies, but he had also made friends. Stellan
and his mates were proving to be a great ally along with being good
friends. Otto was also an ally and friend, even if the man was spitting
mad at Hugh at the moment. Hugh also found that he liked the people
in his pride and was accepted by them just the way he was, male
mates and all.
He had been reunited with his mother and was slowly getting to
know the family he didn’t know he had. Boone and Simon were both
coming into their own as individuals that Hugh was proud to call his
brothers.
Most importantly, he had Kye and Neumus by his side—well,
under him and over him at the moment. They were loyal and loving,
and he adored them with every breath in his body. He’d found a little
bit of heaven right where he was, and he didn’t have plans on going
anywhere else. He had no need to.
Heaven was where his heart was.
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THE END
WWW.STORMYGLENN.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots
is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first
sight, soul Mates, true love, and happy endings.
Stormy lives in the great Northwest region of the USA, with her
gorgeous husband and soul Mate, six very active teenagers, two
boxer/collie puppies, one old biddy cat, and one fish.
You can usually find her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand
and a puppy in her lap, or on her laptop, creating the next sexy man
for one of her stories. Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You
can find her website at www.stormyglenn.com.
For all titles by Stormy Glenn, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/stormy-glenn
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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