For the Love of Caden

By: Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Dedication:

For my family

My readers at LRO

Jenjo, Jen and Kim…

© Copyright 2011

~~Chapter One~~

Kellan leaned back on his elbows,

tipping his face to the sun. Denali was its
own country; it was so clean and fresh. The
air smelled wonderful - like trees and fresh
grass. It was unspoiled and beautiful. In his
eyes, being part of the Denali pack was an
honor. The pack’s alpha, Wayne, was one
hell of a powerful wolf; Kellan was still
trying to get used to the power flowing

through him. They were back for a meeting
of the packs. Apparently the Oregon and
California packs wanted to combine. It
looked as if they’d be welcoming quite a
few new wolves into the fold. The front
door to the cabin opened and Preston,
Wesley, Tucker and Nicholas made their
way over to him on the bench.

“Hey, Preston.” Kellan playfully hip-

bumped Preston. “How’s Wyatt?”

Preston sighed, collapsing on the bench.

“He’s growing up; John sent me some
pictures of him. I swear he’s more and
more beautiful each time I get a new
picture.” Preston’s eyes shifted. Just
thinking about Wyatt had his blood
pumping. “Dammit.”

Tucker chuckled, watching his pack

mate’s muscles ripple. “Damn, Preston.
Horny much?”

“I’m waiting for Wyatt.” Preston

growled.

Tucker put his hands up in defense.

“Hey, I’m just messing with you.”

Preston sat back, a wicked smile on his

face. “Besides, at least I have a mate.”

Tucker sucked in a breath. “Oh, that’s

just so wrong.”

Kellan smacked Preston in the arm.

“Hey now, some of us are still waiting for
‘the one’. Even though Wyatt is so much
younger than you, be grateful you know
who your mate is. At least you know that at
some point you can mark him as yours.”

Preston clasped his hands together. “I

know. I’ll be in Washington for a few days.
I just want to see him, you know? He’s
growing up so fast.”

“Well,” Wesley sat next to Preston,

taking his hand. “At least you can see him. I
can’t wait for the day that I get my mate.”

“Yep, we are all going to jack off until

our dicks fall off.” Nicholas winked.

Kellan smiled at his friends. “Let’s just

hope when we do find our mates, they are
old enough for us to do something about it.”

“No shit.” Tucker laughed.
They all heard Wayne calling them in for

lunch. Kellan stood, stretching his back and
arms out. “Thank God, I’m starving.”

“Last one in does dishes!” Tucker took

off.

Nicholas hung back with Kellan and they

walked slowly towards the cabin. “We are
going to have to do dishes.”

Kellan shrugged. “Nothing new. How’s

the job?”

“It’s easy. My captain keeps wondering

how I solve cases so fast.” Nicholas
chuckled. “Could be that I can smell the
bad guy?”

Kellan laughed softly. “You’ll be

making detective before you know it.”

“Maybe.” Nicholas shrugged. “Right

now, I’m just enjoying keeping busy.”

“You mean keeping your mind off the

mate you don’t have.” Kellan sighed,

looking up at the sky. “What I wouldn’t
give to have love in my life.”

“It will happen, I know it will.”

Nicholas hugged his brother. “We have to
have faith.”

Kellan felt Nick’s arms around him and

sighed. “I know.”

~~

Kellan woke up with a loud groan. His

‘Clocky’ alarm clock was going off and
rolling around the room. Okay, so it was
his fault he’d purchased the damn thing, but
after going into work late on more than one
occasion he’d had to do something. He
could hear the thing rolling around under

his bed; it hit the frame and bounced,
changing directions. Before he could grab
it, it went out of the bedroom and into the
hall.

“Ugh!” Kellan threw his legs over the

side of the bed. He knew he looked
ridiculous in his black boxer briefs chasing
a damn alarm clock down his hallway. But,
he was up. Mission accomplished by
irritating alarm clock.

He grabbed it before it went into the

bathroom. Silencing it, he threw it on his
bed. Kellan trudged into the kitchen and
flipped the coffee pot on. Turning the TV to
the morning news, he waited for the coffee
to finish percolating. Friday the thirteenth
and he was working today. Great. He’d

moved to Seattle six months ago with Jude
and Scott and they all worked as
paramedics at the Harborview Medical.
Their alpha, Alexander Romasko, was a
doctor there.

The Seattle sky was turning a nasty

greyish color and Kellan sighed. A lot of
accidents would be happening today, he
could just feel it. You’d think that by living
in Seattle most people would get used to
driving in the rain. Nope. And May seemed
to be the worst month for torrential rain.

Kellan grabbed his towel and went to

the bathroom. Living with two other guys
ensured you never ran out of shaving cream
and razors. They took turns shopping once a
week. Turning the water to hot, Kellan got

in and rinsed his jet black hair. Being Irish
and Italian gave him a look that girls
seemed to go crazy for. His eyes were
black as midnight and his six foot frame
was covered in sinewy muscles. Kellan
sighed and gripped his dick. He didn’t even
have the energy to jack off; he needed to get
laid. Although Seattle was a hot-bed of
gays, Kellan had yet to find the ‘one’ - his
mate. Being a werewolf meant you had
someone chosen especially for you and
when the time was right, you’d meet. At
almost twenty-six, Kellan was tired of
waiting.

The door to the bathroom opened and

Kellan could see Scott’s frame in the
outline of the frosted shower door.

“Well good morning, beautiful.” Kellan

chuckled.

“I fucking hate your alarm clock, Kel.”

Scott leaned his head back, waiting for his
morning wood to subside so he could take a
piss.

“You’re up aren’t you?” Kellan

massaged the shampoo into his scalp and
rinsed.

They both heard the loud groan from the

kitchen and Scott laughed.

“Jude attacked the coffee.”
“Yep,” Kellan soaped up his chest.

Unlike Scott and Jude, he was a made
werewolf. At the cusp of death, Alex had
bitten him, changing him into a werewolf
and saving his life.

He and his parents were on a camping

trip when he was fifteen and they were
attacked by a grizzly. His father, trying to
shield them both, was killed. His mother
took his place in trying to shield her son
and lost. Kellan had rolled into a ball and
played dead, but the bear wasn’t buying it.
His stomach had been cut open by the
bear’s massive claws and as he lay dying
he’d heard the howls of wolves. The
change had been painful, but not as painful
as the bear attack. When he’d woken up,
Alex was there. From that point on
Alexander Romasko took care of him.
Although he’d still had his grandmother,
she was older and couldn’t take care of
him. After a long talk with Alexander,

she’d agreed to let Alexander take care of
him. Now she was gone as well. All he had
left in the world was Alexander and the
pack. Alex put him through school and
made sure he’d had whatever he needed;
Scott, Nicholas and Jude became his
brothers.

Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped

the towel around his waist and looked in
the mirror. Even as a made wolf, he would
get a mate. He just hoped his mate would
find him soon. Throwing on his pants and
shirt, Kellan walked to the kitchen and
grabbed a cup of coffee. He put some bread
in the toaster and went to the pantry for
peanut butter.

“Oh come on, Jude.” Kellan pulled the

lid off. “This has you written all over it!”

“What?” Jude sipped his coffee.
“Really?” Kellan dipped the jar so that

Scott could see inside.

“Jude,” Scott tsked. “Really? Clean the

jelly off your knife before you put it in the
peanut butter, and or vice-versa. We really
don’t like them mixed. If we did, we’d buy
that Goober shit.”

“Stop putting your underwear on the

floor then.” Jude pointed at Scott with his
knife.

Scott sat up and leaned over. “Stop

leaving your pubes in the sink.”

“Okay, ew!” Kellan made a disgusted

face. “Stop, I’m trying to eat here.”

After shoving toast in his mouth and

grabbing his duffel bag, Kellan took the
steps down to the street. Their apartment
was literally feet from the hospital which
made people wonder how Kellan could
ever be late for work. He sighed and
walked through the emergency room doors,
finding Alex already working. When his
alpha saw him, his face lit up and Kellan
had to smile. The man was like a father to
him.

“Good morning, Kellan.”
“Morning, Alex.” Kellan put his bag

down. “Friday the thirteenth.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. “I have a feeling

it is going to be crazy around here.”

Kellan had to wonder how Alex could

be a doctor. More than once he’d asked
Alex how he could let people in his care
die knowing he could prevent it with just
one bite. The answer Alex gave him made
him think.

“Some people have lived their lives and

are ready to go, others have just started. I
chose you, Kellan, because you had a
strength that I have not seen very often.
Others, I cannot explain away and it
would put us in danger. Could you
imagine if a little girl in my care was
dying of cancer and then miraculously
became cancer free? To play God with life
is for God alone. I have broken my own
rules along the way but I do not regret
changing you, Kellan.”

Kellan smiled at the memory.
“You must get to work.” Alexander

winked.

Kellan smiled and shuffled off to the

locker room to find Jude and Scott already
in uniform.

“You guys ready for the madhouse?”

Kellan waggled his eyebrows.

“Always.” Scott smiled.

~~

The rain started coming down around

noon and then poured relentlessly for
another two hours. They were called to
three different car wrecks in a span of two
hours. The third call was a woman who
hydroplaned into a concrete barrier. She’d
been hysterical and Kellan held her hand in
the ambulance as Scott started an IV drip.
The woman’s name was Helen and, once
she calmed down, she was trying to set
Kellan up with her daughter.

“Oh, that’s sweet, Helen,” Kellan had

smiled at her. “But I’m gay.”

Helen blinked once, then twice, and

smiled. “I have a son, too. He’s in the
Navy.”

“A Seabee huh?” Kellan adjusted her

drip. “Is he gay?”

“I have no idea.” Helen laughed. “I

wouldn’t care; you are just hypnotically
beautiful, Kellan.”

“Okay now, are you setting me up with

your kids or for yourself?” Kellan winked.

Kellan smiled. It wasn’t the first time,

nor would it be the last time, a woman tried
to fix him up with one of her grown
children. Scott winked at him and Kellan
stuck his tongue out. After dropping her off
at the hospital dispatch alerted them to

another accident and Jude pulled into
traffic.

“Here we go.” Kellan sighed.

~~Chapter Two~~

Caden sat in a line of traffic that seemed

five miles long. He sighed and looked at
his watch. Any chance he’d had of making
it home by five was just blown out the
window. Magnolia Bridge was bumper to
bumper. He’d chosen a house not too far
away from downtown Seattle to avoid a
long commute. The small suburb of
Briarcliff was perfect. His house, a modest
five bedroom, overlooked the ocean and
Caden could not have been more pleased

with it. The paparazzi had calmed down
over the last month and he could finally go
to the store without a damn parade. Making
the move from Vegas to Seattle was long
overdue. He needed to find love and in Sin
City he wasn’t finding it. He supposed he
could go back to France, but that didn’t
appeal to him either. His new hotel was
being built in Egypt; he supposed he could
try to find an Egyptian man. Caden
chuckled. All he really wanted was
someone who loved him for himself, not his
wallet.

Being Caden Fournier was a hindrance

as far as he was concerned. He would love
to just be Caden, just your average
everyday Joe. Grayson Drake treated him

that way, in fact all of the Drakes did. He
was just ‘Caden’ to them. Caden smiled at
the memory of his first meeting with
Grayson. His last name was Quinton then,
he hadn’t married Taylor yet. He was so
full of life, so curious. It made him
endearing and they had formed a tight
friendship even though Grayson was
several years younger. He’d given Grayson
and his brother, Xander, cars as wedding
presents. They had both balked until Caden
promised to donate a matching amount to
charity, which seemed to put Grayson and
Xander at ease. Besides, turning down an
Aston Martin and a Jaguar was ridiculous.
Caden chuckled.

He had also gained Riley Flynn-

Esposito as a friend, as well as Riley’s
husband, Mateo, and the rest of their
friends. He hadn’t had too many friends
growing up. His father was a ruthless
businessman and made sure Caden attended
all the finest schools. But when Caden
came out of the closet his father stopped
supporting him. With a college degree in
business, he struck out on his own. A train
ride from Paris to Pau had brought him
fortune. Sitting in a shared car, he happened
to overhear a man on the phone talking
about money. Once the man had hung up
Caden struck up a conversation with him.
Armand Guilume was going through a
divorce and his wife was set to take all his
money.

Caden talked to the man for the rest of

the train ride, explaining how to move his
money legally and after that, he had a job.
Years of investing wisely had fattened his
bank account and knowing how to spend it
fattened it more. Now he could buy and sell
his father a thousand times over. Not that
they spoke anymore. His father divorced
his mother for a younger woman and, in her
grief; his mother had taken her own life.
He’d never forgiven his father for the
betrayal. Caden shook his head clear of
memories and looked at the road ahead of
him. The traffic moved a little bit and then
stopped again. He banged his head on the
steering wheel.

“Oh my God! What is the problem?”

A car behind him tried to switch lanes

and got stuck in between both lanes. Caden
sighed and tried to edge his BMW back to
give the guy room. Looking in the rearview
mirror his eyes went wide; a semi was
flying down the open area of the bridge and
it was not slowing down.

“Merde!” Caden swore.

He honked his horn to warn the cars

behind him to move but they weren’t paying
attention. The semi came barreling down
the bridge and hit the car five back from
him. The domino effect was in full force.
One by one they all crashed into each other
until they hit the back end of his car. Caden
was forced into the pick-up truck in front of

him and the whole front end of his car came
into the driver’s seat, pinning him.

“Oh fuck!” Caden roared in pain.
Two seconds later the air bag went off

in his face.

“Son of a bitch!” Caden pushed the air

bag down and looked in the rearview
mirror, which was much closer to him now.
His face was covered in white powder and
blood seeped from his nose. He was alive
however.

~~

The call came through and Kellan

looked at Jude in the driver’s seat of the
ambulance.

“Move it!” Kellan shouted.
They weaved in and out of traffic in a

hurry; fire trucks were already on the way
to the scene on the bridge. More and more
emergency vehicles pulled up alongside
them. The police were out on the bridge
directing traffic to turn around as the
emergency workers spread out, blanketing
the bridge. The ambulance came to a stop
and Scott jumped out. Grabbing his bag, he
ran to the first car and looked inside.

“Are you all right?” Scott checked the

woman’s pulse and motioned for one of the
other medics. “Grab all the gear; we need
to start assessing everyone. You know the
drill.”

Kellan looked around. The bridge was

in utter chaos as people covered in blood
were exiting their vehicles. People were
screaming and crying. Kellan’s instincts
kicked in and he ran to the first car in line.
The man in the pick-up truck was slumped
over his steering wheel. Kellan checked his
pulse, it was strong. He grabbed his radio
only to find it dead. “Fuck!” Kellan
whistled and motioned to one of the
firemen who ran right over.

“What’s up?” The fireman asked.
“Is your radio working?” Kellan ran a

hand through his hair. The fireman checked
it and shook it.

“So that’d be a no? Fuck. See if you can

get one of the radios up and working. If not,
there’s going to be a lot of whistling going

on. We need to coordinate among all of us
so that we aren’t running around like
chickens with our heads cut off and
checking victims who have already been
checked out.”

Kellan turned his attention to the black

BMW behind the pick-up; the whole front
end was in the driver’s seat. “Shit.”

~~

Caden opened his eyes. He heard sirens

and looked in the rearview mirror; massive
amounts of rescue workers spread out over
the bridge tending to the worst cases.
Caden waited his turn, but his legs were
going numb. He tried to pry his leg loose
only to scream out loud when he felt

something crack. He seemed to be in and
out of consciousness when he heard a voice
by his ear.

“Sir? Can you move?”

Caden turned his face and looked into

eyes black as night. “Would I be in the
damn car if I could?”

The man looked into the crushed car and

assessed Caden’s wounds. “We’re going to
have to cut you out.” The man backed away
from the window and whistled loudly.
When he came back into the driver’s side
window he took Caden’s wrist and closed
his eyes. “My name is Kellan, what’s
yours?”

Caden felt the warm hand on the pulse in

his wrist and smelled the sweat mixed with
shampoo of the man half in his car.
“Caden.”

Kellan opened his eyes after making sure

Caden’s pulse was strong and looked into
beautiful eyes. They were so blue they
were sapphire. Caden looked like a young
Colin Farrell. God, he loved Colin Farrell.
Kellan shivered. “Well, Caden, I hate to
tell you this but you are going to be stuck in
the car for a little while longer.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Caden sighed

and lay back in the seat.

“In the meantime, I can clean your face.”

Kellan pulled out the gauze and alcohol and
leaned back into the car to wipe the blood
from Caden’s face. “I’m going to put an IV

line in you. I have no idea how long you’re
going to be stuck in the car and you need
fluids.”

“Well seeing as I am crushed in my car,

I cannot say no can I?” Caden pursed his
lips.

Kellan got the kit ready and prepped the

area with alcohol. He found a nice vein and
slid the needle in smoothly. He heard a soft
curse and looked at Caden in the car.
“Okay?”

“You stabbed me!”
“I assure you, I am one of the best at

this.” Kellan taped the area and held up the
bag of saline. The firemen were making
their way over with the Jaws of Life.
“Well, you should be free soon.

Hopefully.”

Caden sighed. “Great.”
After an hour, they’d finally freed Caden

from his crumpled BMW prison. He was
loaded into the ambulance and his chatty
paramedic was along for the ride. He
couldn’t focus on anything but the man’s
black-as-night eyes. They were so
mesmerizing. The man, Kellan, was looking
over his leg and touching it. It hurt like hell.

“Stop touching me!” Caden balked.
“I have to assess your wound.” Kellan

looked at the damage. He cleaned the area
as best he could. The bone was broken and
sticking out of the skin. Ugh, a compound
fracture.

“How bad is it?” Caden hissed.

“You want the good news or the bad

news?” Kellan looked over at Caden’s
face.

He felt a hand on his jacket and was face

to face with Caden in seconds. His mouth
opened in protest and that’s when it hit him
full force. The smell. He’d been so fixated
on doing his job; he’d never realized the
delicious smell coming from the man. Now
he did. Oh shit, this guy was his mate.
Before he could even say anything, Caden
growled at him.

“This is not funny!”
Kellan grabbed the oxygen masked and

placed it over Caden’s face. “You need to
calm down.”

“Do you know who I am?” Caden

roared.

“Nope, and I don’t care either.” Kellan

chuckled as Scott injected Caden with
morphine. He looked up at Scott with a
small smile. “Did you ask?”

“Nope, figured he was hysterical. Alex

will cover me.” Scott laughed.

Kellan looked down at the man on the

gurney. His eyes were closing slowly and
his breathing evened out. Kellan checked
his blood pressure. “He’s my mate.”

Scott looked up. “No shit?”
Kellan sighed. “Nope, no shit.”

~~

As soon as they got to the hospital,

Kellan sought out Alex. He found him
getting ready for surgery and pulled him
aside.

“The man we just brought in, he’s my

mate.”

Alex nodded. “I’ll see what I can do;

we’re filling up fast from this accident.”

“Don’t let anyone else touch him,

please.” Kellan looked at his alpha.

Alex sighed. “All right, I’ll keep you

posted.”

For the next four hours, Kellan walked

around in a daze. He’d finally found his
mate and the guy was an asshole. Kellan
sighed. Great. This was his lot in life.

By the time they came off shift they were

covered in blood and puke, and some other
shit Kellan didn’t even want to think about.
They showered and changed in the locker
room, wishing the next shift luck. Friday the
thirteenth had been one hell of a mixed
blessing. He’d found his mate and of all
things the guy was French. He hadn’t been
sure at first, but when the curse words
started flowing he’d understood half of
them. Alexander wanted them to all know
more than one language so Kellan had taken
French and Russian.

He went to the cafeteria and grabbed a

cup of coffee. Running a hand through his
hair he sighed and looked at the time. At
least it was after midnight now; it was now
the fourteenth. Kellan went back to the ER

and looked for Alexander. He sat in the
chair and closed his eyes. It seemed like
seconds, but when he opened his eyes again
Alexander was shaking his shoulder gently
and it was three in the morning.

“Hey,” Kellan stretched his legs out.

“How’s my mate?”

“Out of surgery and doing just fine,”

Alexander smiled. “You can go sit with
him if you’d like.”

Kellan debated going home, but he

couldn’t. No matter how much his mate had
irritated him, he was still his mate. “Okay.”

“Like it was ever a question Kellan,”

Alexander smiled. “You’ve been pacing the
hospital and you could have gone home
hours ago. Give the man a chance; you

caught him at a very inopportune time. He
was scared and panicked. He’s your mate.”

Kellan stood up and cracked his back.

“How come you know so much?”

“I’m old,” Alex winked.
Kellan smiled and walked down the hall

to Caden’s room. The sign on the door read
Caden Fournier. Well, definitely French.
Kellan opened the door and looked inside.
Caden was fast asleep, the heart monitor
beeping quietly. He grabbed the chair next
to the bed and sat down. Caden’s hands
were beautiful – long, slender fingers and
clean, manicured nails. Kellan gently took
Caden’s hand and brought it to his lips. The
heart monitor beeped a little faster, as he
kissed the soft skin of his mate’s hand.

Kellan smiled.

“You feel it, too.” He whispered.
Laying his head on the bed, he closed his

eyes and listened to Caden’s heartbeat.
Within minutes he was asleep and dreaming
of being with the man whose hand he held.

~~Chapter Three~~

A ray of sunlight passed across Kellan’s

lids and he opened his eyes to see Caden
still asleep. He stood up and stretched his
arms out. There was a soft knock on the
door and then it opened. A woman stood in
the doorway looking him over.

“Who are you?”
“I’m Kellan, a paramedic.” Kellan eyes

stayed focused on the woman as she
crossed the room to Caden’s side.

“Someone should have called me

sooner. This is unacceptable.”

“And you are?” Kellan crossed his arms

over his chest.

“I’m Evangeline. Why was I not

informed sooner?”

“There was a multi-car accident

yesterday, we were flooded with patients.
We did the best we could with the
information we had.” Kellan moved to the
door of the room and opened it. Obviously
this was Caden’s wife or girlfriend; he
could feel his heart breaking. “Well, he
should be awake soon.”

“Were you there?” Evangeline sat in the

chair. “He’s claustrophobic and he has
anxiety attacks sometimes.”

“I was there. I tried to keep him calm.”
Evangeline giggled. “Boy, you had your

hands full.”

There was a soft moan and Caden

opened his eyes. He looked at Evangeline,
and then his eyes came to a stop on Kellan.

“Why are you here? I do not wish to be

poked and prodded again.” Caden snarled.

“No problem, I wouldn’t put up with

your attitude anyway.” Kellan waved his
hand in the air. “Good luck.”

The door whispered shut and Caden

looked at Evangeline.

“What?”
“Weren’t you a little rude?” Evangeline

arched a perfect eyebrow.

“He stuck a needle in my arm!” Caden

pouted.

“You are the biggest baby.” Evangeline

smoothed his hair back. “He was really hot,
too.”

“You noticed?” Caden chuckled softly.
“How are you really? Was it awful?”

Evangeline sat back in the chair.

Caden lay back and sighed. “If I am truly

honest, the paramedic made things a bit
easier. He was very calm and told me
everything he was doing before he did it. I
was very rude to him.” Caden closed his
eyes. “I shall make it up to him.”

“I’m kind of hoping he’s straight, boss.”

Evangeline giggled.

“Shut your mouth.” Caden smiled.
The door opened and the doctor strolled

in looking at his chart. He looked up and
Caden tried to smile.

“Well, doctor, how is my leg?”
Alexander looked at Kellan’s mate. The

man was beautiful; if he were gay he’d be
fighting Kellan for him. He smiled and
cleared his throat. “You have a compound
fracture, Mr. Fournier; we have started you
on antibiotics to prevent infection. Because
the bone was exposed to the air, bacteria
are one of our greatest concerns.
Thankfully, the paramedic on call tried to
wrap the area and keep it covered,
lessening your chances of infection. You
are looking at six weeks or more to
recuperate.”

Caden sighed. “How long will I be in

the hospital?”

“Well, that depends,” Alexander

narrowed his eyes. “Can you stay in bed?”

Evangeline giggled and Caden smacked

her hand.

“If I must, I will do what I have to.”

Caden looked around the room. “Where are
my things?”

“In the closet over there,” Alexander

nodded to the corner. “If you can resist
getting up and follow orders I’ll try to have
you out in a week, but you must promise to
stay off your leg.”

“I will, doctor, thank you.”
“I will be back to discuss some other

things with you.” Alexander arched a brow.

“Yes, thank you.” Caden watched the

doctor leave and motioned to the closet.
“Can you be a dear and get my phone.”

“Are you calling someone about work?

Because if you are I’m not getting it for
you.” Evangeline crossed her arms.

“I’m calling Grayson, silly.” Caden

rolled his eyes.

“Already did that.” Evangeline propped

Caden’s pillows. “Now relax, I’ll take care
of everything.”

“I do love you.” Caden crooned.
“Uh huh, if only I had a dick we’d be

perfect.” Evangeline smiled.

“Don’t be crass!” Caden laughed.
Evangeline looked down at her boss.

The man could be a royal pain in the ass
and sitting on said ass was not something
Caden could do easily. It was going to be a
long month.

~~

For six weeks Caden thought of nothing

but recovery, and the paramedic. He’d sent
gifts, cards, flowers, chocolates and all
were returned unopened. It was pissing him
off. He’d apologized over and over for his
behavior and had gotten the cold shoulder
from paramedic Kellan Brady. The man
was delicious and Caden couldn’t stop
thinking about him. He dreamt of him at
night, fantasied about him during the day.
The best part of it all? Kellan had no idea
who he was. Or if he did, he couldn’t have
cared less.

Caden could finally walk without the aid

of a cane and decided to hit Pikes Place
Market. He obeyed the rules, stayed off his
leg and got the green light from Doctor
Romasko. Grayson came to visit a few
times in the six weeks of recovery, but
Caden was too embarrassed to tell him
about his crush and subsequent brush-off
from the paramedic. He was not used to
being told no.

The day was warm and dry and Caden

walked slowly, trying to take it easy on his
leg. Up ahead, a nice round ass was bent
over looking at fresh vegetables and Caden
had the urge to bite it. The man stood up
and Caden’s breath stopped. It was the
paramedic. He stopped in his tracks trying
to decide if he wanted to speak to the man

or not; he was not ready to be turned down
again. Caden swore softly. Since when was
he such a pussy? He made his way over and
stood behind Kellan Brady. He hadn’t said
a word when the man in front of him
stiffened, and turned slowly. Caden gave
him a weak smile.

“Hello, Kellan Brady.”

Kellan crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you stalking me now?” Jesus, but the
man was beautiful. Kellan wanted to throw
him on top of the vegetables and fuck his
brains out. For over a month he’d dreamt of
Caden Fournier, what it would be like to
make love to him, kiss him and hold him. It
was stupid, really; the man had a girlfriend,

or wife, whatever. It was pointless to lust
over a straight man. That hadn’t stopped
him from getting updates on the man from
Alexander. Kellan looked at the man’s
perfect cupid bow lips. Fuck, he wanted to
bite them.

“No, I am not stalking you.” Caden

frowned. “I needed groceries for my house
and I have not been here yet. After weeks
of staying inside, I wanted to get out.”

“Why not just send your girlfriend?”

Kellan turned back to the bin of vegetables.

“My girlfriend?” Caden furrowed his

brows.

“Yes, the woman at the hospital.” Kellan

sighed in frustration. “Did you hit your
head, too?”

“Evangeline is not my girlfriend, she is

my assistant. I do not have a girlfriend Mr.
Brady.”

“I’m surprised,” Kellan turned to look at

Caden. “She looked like your girlfriend or
wife.”

“Unless she sprouted a penis, she is not

my type.” Caden crossed his arms over his
chest.

Kellan stopped mid-reach for a bell

pepper. “What?”

“I’m gay, Mr. Brady. I have no interest

in women. It does translate the same in the
states does it not?”

Kellan stood there. He couldn’t even

speak. His mate was gay. He opened his
mouth then closed it.

“Oh, please do not tell me you are

homophobic.” Caden raised a brow.

Kellan stammered. “Jesus! No, I’m not a

homophobe.”

Caden looked up at Kellan. At his five

foot ten, Kellan stood taller than him.
“Then why did you look like that just
now?”

“I was surprised is all.” Kellan smiled.

“I should have known.”

“Excuse me?” Caden arched a brow.
“The chocolates, flowers and gifts?”

Kellan chuckled, softly.

“I was trying to apologize; you would

not take my calls or see me.” Caden
blushed, this was not like him. He was
being reduced to a babbling idiot in front of

this man. In all fairness, Kellan Brady was
absolutely breathtaking. He could think of
nothing but sucking his dick until them man
screamed his name. “I would have
apologized in person, but I was stuck in
bed.”

Kellan’s mind went directly into the

gutter on that statement. He had a vision of
Caden underneath him, writhing on the bed
as Kellan fucked him senseless. “Well, I’m
standing right here.” Kellan gave him a wry
smile.

Caden blustered. “You are quite an ass; I

am not sure you deserve an apology.”

Kellan stepped into Caden’s private

space, looking down at him. He lifted the
man’s face to his own with his fingertips,

and smiled. “No more than you were.”

All the air left his lungs as he looked

into midnight pools. Caden fought and
reached for words, but none came. He was
completely transfixed to the spot,
captivated by the man in front of him.

Kellan lowered his head and tilted it, as

if to kiss Caden. He stopped within inches
of Caden’s pouty, cupid bow lips. “You
could just say sorry. I’ll accept that.” He
whispered.

Caden nodded.

“No, you say sorry.” Kellan smiled.
“Sorry.” Caden whispered.
“Good,” Kellan stepped away and

looked at his watch. “Well, as much as I’d

love to stand here and talk all day, I have a
job to do.” Kellan looked at the dazed
expression on his mate’s face and had to
smile. It’d taken every damn ounce of
control he’d had not to kiss the man. “You
take care, Caden.”

“Wait,” Caden snapped out of his daze.

He couldn’t let Kellan get away. “Could
we maybe have dinner? You know, so I can
make it up to you?”

Kellan pretended to think about it. “I’m

off Friday—”

“Perfect!” Caden smiled. “Would you

like me to pick you up?”

Kellan pulled a card out of his wallet

and handed it to Caden. “This is my home
number and cell, call me this week and

we’ll figure it out. Since you sent me cards
and, well, stuff, you know my address.”

Caden nodded. “I’ll see you Friday, Mr.

Brady.” Caden watched the man walk
away, that tight ass swaying back and forth.
His mouth watered. “I have a date.”

~~Chapter Four~~

Caden swore time was going

backwards. He’d made Evangeline hide
Kellan’s card from him so he wouldn’t call
him until Wednesday. They’d had a brief
conversation on the phone and Caden
invited him out to his house for dinner.
Kellan agreed and the date was set - seven
on Friday. Now Caden was walking
frantically around his kitchen. It had taken
him a good two days to plan the menu and
in the end he decided to make couscous, a

Moroccan meal. He’d never been so
nervous; his damn palms were sweating.
His eyes drifted to the clock again. Dammit
it was only five. Caden sighed and checked
the pot again. The smell of cumin invaded
his senses and he sighed; he loved the dish
and only made it with lamb. His hand
hovered over the pot with the cayenne
pepper. Should he make it spicy? What if
Kellan was allergic? Dammit, he should
have asked. His ringing phone brought him
out of his argument with himself.

“Hello?”
“Caden, it’s Kellan. Look we’re at the

scene of an accident and I don’t know how
long I’ll be so I just wanted to call you and
let you know.”

“Are you all right?” Caden could hear

Kellan’s tone of voice, he sounded upset.

“I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” Kellan

ran hand through his hair; they’d gotten the
kid and mom out of the van right before it
exploded. The mother was screaming at
them to take her child first. Scott had pulled
her out as he was trying to unbuckle the
kid’s seatbelt. He’d gotten out seconds
before the van exploded and was hit with
the blast trying to protect the child.

“If you’d like to make it another night…”
“No, it’s okay, Caden, I’ll be there. I just

wanted to let you know.”

“All right, if you’re sure,” Caden held

the phone a little tighter. He felt…he didn’t
know what the feeling was. Concerned?

Worried for Kellan? “Please be careful.”

Kellan smiled into the phone. It was

cute, the concern in Caden’s voice. “I will,
see you as soon as I can.”

“All right, I look forward to it.”
“Me too, Caden.”
Caden hung up the phone and stared at it.

He picked it back up and dialed Grayson’s
number. The phone rang a few times before
Grayson’s cheerful voice came over the
line.

“Hey, Caden!”
“Grayson,” Caden smiled. Grayson

always sounded so happy. It was probably
due to the drop dead gorgeous husband he
had. “I wanted to call you and tell you I
have a date.”

“You do! That is so awesome, Caden!

What does he do?”

“He’s a paramedic. His name is Kellan

and he’s so beautiful Grayson - dark hair
and eyes and he’s taller than me—”

“Kellan Brady?”
Caden stopped. “Why yes, that is his

name. You know him?”

Grayson laughed. “Yes, I know him. I’ve

known him for years. You’ve got a good
man, Caden.”

Caden smiled and played with the string

on his apron. “He’s so beautiful, Grayson.”
Caden sighed. “I don’t think he even knows
who I am.”

“Tell me all about it.”

~~

Kellan rinsed the blood out of his hair

and took a deep breath. If he hadn’t been a
werewolf he’d be dead. The kid would
have died as well. As it was, the ten year
old looked at him with wide eyes as the
explosion knocked him on his ass. When
the child had seen the cut disappear on his
face, Kellan had put a finger to his lips and
smiled. The kid probably thought he was a
superhero. The child smiled and pretended
to lock his mouth with an invisible key.
Kids were easier as far as Kellan was
concerned, eager to believe that he, Scott

and Jude were superheroes. He stepped out
of the shower and tousled his short black
hair.

His body was buzzing; he was going to

be alone with his mate, hopefully naked and
sweating. Kellan chuckled and grabbed his
duffel bag; he walked out to the parking lot
and hit the remote on his black Ford
Raptor. It was the one thing he’d bought
with money from Alexander after he’d
graduated. He hardly ever drove it; he
could walk to work so why bother? Sliding
into the seat, he pulled out of the hospital
parking lot and headed for Caden’s. Caden
Fournier, a walking wet dream, and he was
all Kellan’s. Kellan smiled and drummed
his fingers on the steering wheel. He’d

resisted calling the man or even looking for
him after their encounter at the hospital -
why ponder what could be? At the time
he’d thought Caden was straight, a cosmic
joke played on him by the mate gods, if
that’s what they were.

Driving over Magnolia Bridge he had

the weirdest sensation of déjà vu. It seemed
like just yesterday he was standing next to
Caden’s crumpled BMW trying to calm the
man down. He turned onto Constance Drive
and looked at the house numbers; finding
Caden’s house he pulled over and parked
next to the curb. Caden had a beautiful
view of Puget Sound. Kellan looked in the
rearview mirror and checked his
appearance one more time. Satisfied, he got

out and made his way up the walk to the
front door. He rang the bell and waited
patiently. The door opened and Kellan’s
heart stopped. Caden was in faded blue
jeans with a black t-shirt. Fuck.

“Hi.” Kellan blurted.
“Hello,” Caden smiled, moving out of

the doorway. “Please come in.”

Kellan stepped over the threshold and

looked at the house. It was beautifully
decorated, a warm coffee-colored paint
covered the walls and the furniture was
modern; a sectional couch surrounded a
fireplace with a plasma TV above it.
Kellan could see himself on the floor
fucking Caden in front of a roaring fire.

“Kellan?”

Kellan realized he’d been staring at the

fireplace. “Yes?”

“Would you like me to start a fire?”

Caden stuffed his hands in his pockets,
better to have them in there than roaming
Kellan’s body.

“I can do it,” Kellan looked around.

“Just tell me where the wood is.”

It’s in my pants. Caden smiled. “It’s

right next to the fireplace.”

Kellan inhaled a wonderful fragrance.

“Is that cumin?”

“It is. You have a good sense of smell. I

made couscous.”

“With lamb?” Kellan’s mouth watered.
Caden was shocked. “Why yes, have you

had it?”

“I love it.” That was the truth. Alexander

had made it one time and Kellan was
hooked, he’d varied the recipe himself
quite a few times. “Did you use cayenne?”

“I did,” Caden felt like he should sit

down, the man knew about couscous? “I
wasn’t sure how much I should use, not
knowing if you could handle the spice.”

“Oh, I like it spicy.” Kellan looked right

at Caden.

Caden swallowed hard. “Well, I have

some wine. Would you like some?”

Kellan crossed the space between them

and his hand went directly to Caden’s face,
his thumb gently caressed the man’s
cheekbone. “Depends. Am I driving

home?”

“You are very direct.” Caden licked his

lips, nervously.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since I walked

through that door.” Kellan pulled Caden
into his chest. “Fuck, I have to taste your
lips.” Kellan breathed.

“Mon dieu…” Caden moaned.
“No shit.” Kellan brought Caden’s lips

up to his own; Caden’s mouth opened to
him instantly and he moaned. His hand
gripped Caden’s hair at the nape of his
neck as his tongue dove inside the warm,
tantalizing mouth. Caden’s arms wrapped
around his neck and Kellan pulled their
hips flush together. The feel of Caden’s
erection on his thigh fueled the desire

within him and he found himself picking
Caden up off the floor, devouring the man
in the front hallway. A warm hand slid up
his stomach, under his shirt and Kellan
broke from the kiss. Caden’s lips were red
and he was breathing hard. Kellan put him
back down on the floor. “I’m sorry; I didn’t
mean to attack you like that.”

“I am not complaining.” Caden tried to

fix his raging hard-on; he was so horny he
wanted to fuck Kellan standing up. Jesus,
the man could kiss! “We should eat dinner,
I think.”

Kellan looked Caden up and down,

licking his lips. “I like what I see so far.”

Caden actually blushed. What the fuck?

Since when was he so…stupid, around a

man? “Are you hungry?” As soon as the
words left his mouth, he saw a flash of
desire in Kellan’s dark eyes.

“Oh yes, I’m very hungry.” Kellan

looked at the nice sized bulge in Caden’s
Levi’s. The smell of arousal permeating
from Caden had his canines threatening to
elongate. He stepped away and smiled.
“So, shall we?” Kellan moved past Caden
grabbing his hand along the way. They
walked into the kitchen and Kellan’s
stomach growled. “That smells so good.”

Caden finally recovered from the kiss

and moved into action, he grabbed plates
and made sure Kellan was seated
comfortably at the table. He spooned a
generous amount of couscous for Kellan,

and poured him a tall glass of wine. Seating
himself across the table, Caden picked up
his own wine glass.

“Bon appétit.” Caden sipped his wine,

eyeing Kellan over his glass.

“Guess this answers the question of if

I’m driving home.” Kellan looked at the tall
glass of wine in his hand.

“I think after that kiss you should not be

surprised.” Caden sipped his wine, looking
over Kellan’s athletic physique.

Kellan spooned a generous helping of

couscous into his mouth and licked his lips.
“It’s perfect, just the right amount of
seasoning. You’re a good cook.”

“I am when the dish interests me.”

Caden spooned his own helping into his

mouth; he closed his eyes and savored the
taste.

“It’s much better made with lamb; I’m

not fond of any other meat in mine.” Kellan
licked the spoon and slid it back into his
mouth.

“I agree,” Caden slid the spoon between

his lips. “The lamb is much more tender
and succulent.”

“Yes,” Kellan nodded slowly.

“Succulent.” Kellan couldn’t stop watching
Caden’s mouth. He wanted to suck on those
pouty lips. “Is your leg feeling better?”

“Yes it is, why?”
Kellan flew across the table; he picked

Caden up in one arm and carried him down

the hall. “Where’s the bedroom?”

“Last door,” Caden breathed.
Caden’s mind was on auto pilot. From

the second he hit the bed Kellan ravaged
him. His pants were almost torn off and his
dick was inhaled. He gripped the sheets
crying out as the first orgasm ripped
through him. He didn’t even have a dick in
him yet and he was spouting like a geyser.
Kellan’s fingers expertly fingered his ass
and Caden swore he passed out. The next
thing he knew, Kellan’s warm mouth was
enveloping him again, sucking him hungrily.
A finger fucking him and a good hard
suction on his cock and Caden was gone.
He came crying out, his fingers gripping
Kellan’s hair. His back arched as he shot a

stream of cream into Kellan’s mouth as
Kellan’s hands gripped his ass, shoving his
member even further down his throat.
Caden lay back panting as his orgasm
ebbed away. He felt Kellan’s warm lips
traveling up his abdomen and then they
were on his mouth, kissing him gently.

“Oh God, I’m sorry.” Kellan let his

forehead rest against Caden’s. “I didn’t
mean to go crazy like that.”

Caden chuckled. “Do not apologize for

that. It was absolutely fantastic.”

“I couldn’t stop myself,” Kellan

whispered. “I had to taste you.”

“I’m yours, I am not going anywhere.”

Caden caressed Kellan’s face. “You are
beautiful.”

Kellan kissed Caden’s raw lips softly.

“You have such beautiful eyes. I thought
you were straight, that’s why I sent
everything back, Caden. I couldn’t bear the
thought of not being able to have you. I
thought that I would have to suffer watching
you touch a woman, kiss a woman and think
of you making love to a woman. I couldn’t
take it.”

Caden was speechless. Kellan had

wanted him all along? “I have not stopped
thinking about you since that day, Kellan. I
have wanted you just as much.”

“You have?” Kellan looked into those

beautiful blue eyes.

“Yes, I know I was not nice when we

first met. I do not do well in chaotic

situations. I wanted to apologize. I would
like to see you again.”

“And again and again?” Kellan smiled,

licking Caden’s lips, nibbling gently on the
lower one.

“And again.” Caden smiled, opening his

mouth to Kellan’s tease. The kiss was soft
and sensual and Caden actually heard
himself whimper. Kellan’s hand swept his
face gently and threaded into his hair
settling into a relaxing massage; Caden
moaned as Kellan’s hips glided over his.
He’d been looking for the one man who
made his heart beat a bit faster, and he’d
found a man who made his heart hammer
against his ribs. “Kellan….”

Kellan broke from the kiss looking into

Caden’s beautiful face. “God, that’s sexy,
the way you say my name.”

Caden realized Kellan was still dressed.

“This does not seem fair.”

Kellan chuckled. He sat up, straddling

Caden. He pulled his shirt over his head
and threw it into the corner; his hands slid
down his toned stomach and stopped at the
button of his jeans. “You want to do it?”

“No, I am very much enjoying your

striptease.” Caden waggled his eyebrows.

Kellan laughed and slowly popped the

button out of the fabric. He gripped the
zipper and pulled it down slowly. “You
sure?”

Caden licked his lips looking at the

washboard abs in front of him; he ran his
fingers over the ridges. “Beautiful.” Caden
looked at the impressive biceps on Kellan.
“You must work out a lot.”

“I do,” Kellan winked.
Kellan stood up on the bed, one foot on

either side of Caden and pulled his pants
down. He balanced on one foot and took
one pant leg off. Kicking the other leg off,
the jeans flew into the corner with his shirt.
He adjusted his erection in his tight black
briefs and lowered himself on top of
Caden. Wrapping his arms underneath the
smaller man, he pulled him tightly to his
chest.

“You fit just right.” Kellan kissed

Caden’s nose.

“I do,” Caden breathed as Kellan’s lips

touched his softly. It was barely a whisper
of a kiss but it had him in a daze. He’d
never been kissed like this; Kellan’s lips
flowed over his softly, long languid flicks
of his tongue teasing, rubbing and twining
with his own. He could orgasm just from
kissing Kellan. The way the man’s hands
held his face, the thumb gently rubbing back
and forth - it was so …romantic. Caden
actually sighed into Kellan’s mouth.

Kellan raised his head. “You all right?”
Caden nodded. He felt fingertips tracing

his jaw, moving up to his eyebrows, down
his nose and finally across his lips. He
opened his eyes to see Kellan looking at
him. “The way you kiss me…”

Kellan blushed. “I haven’t had a lot of

practice. I really haven’t been with too
many guys.”

“No?” Caden tried to keep the shock

from his face. The way the man kissed him,
touched him, he would have thought he’d
had many men.

Kellan shook his head. “I always wanted

something they couldn’t give me.”

“What is that?”
“The feeling that you get when you know

this is the one. That this is the one person
you should be with just from the kiss.”
Kellan caressed Caden’s face. “The feeling
I get when I’m with you.”

Caden pulled Kellan down and kissed

him. “I feel the same way.” He whispered.

“It is crazy.”

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

Kellan smiled when Caden kissed his neck,
running his fingers into his hair.

“No, do you?” Caden licked a path up

Kellan’s neck to his jaw.

“No,” Kellan slid his hand under

Caden’s ass pulling him into his hips.

“If it is all right, I would like you to kiss

me all night.”

Kellan palmed Caden’s face. “Stop

talking.”

~~Chapter Five~~

Caden woke to soft breathing above him,

warmth on his back and a protective hand
on his stomach. He laced his fingers
through Kellan’s and sighed in total
comfort. Last night he’d been kissed for
hours and even now he wanted more. His
lips still tingled with the feel and taste of
Kellan Brady. He couldn’t get enough of
the man. He closed his eyes and

remembered the feel of Kellan’s hands on
his body. He would have thought they’d be
hardened by his job, but they were smooth
and soft as silk. He felt Kellan’s nose
nuzzling his hair and smiled.

“You are awake.”
Kellan smiled in Caden’s hair. “No, I’m

not.”

Caden chuckled softly. “Would you like

some coffee? Breakfast maybe?”

Kellan turned Caden on his back and

cupped his face. “I can make you
something.”

“You already make me something,”

Caden smiled. “I am excited, nervous and
aroused all at once.”

Kellan smiled wickedly. “All that and I

haven’t even made love to you.”

Caden shivered thinking about Kellan’s

strong hands on his body, being filled by
the man on top of him. “You are very
different from most men.”

“You have no idea.” Kellan sighed.

How the hell was he going to tell Caden
what he was? What if he ran? He didn’t
think he could handle that.

Caden brought Kellan’s face to his own.

“I want to know everything there is to know
about you.”

“So, are we starting something here?”

Kellan brushed his lips against Caden’s.

“It has already started. I would like to

keep seeing you.” Caden looked at Kellan.
“I would like to only see you.”

“So, a relationship?” Kellan smiled and

pulled Caden into his arms. This was what
he wanted; he’d finally gotten his mate.
Alexander always told him that he and his
mate would feel the same pull towards
each other. He believed him now.

“Yes, we…fit. I do not know why, but I

feel as if I have known you forever.” Caden
touched the soft skin of Kellan’s throat.
“There are some things you should know
about me.”

Kellan arched a brow. “Were you once a

woman?”

Caden laughed loud. “No.”
“Then I don’t care, nothing you could

tell me would change anything, Caden.”
Kellan looked at the time. “I should get you

fed.” Kellan moved down the bed and
looked at Caden’s leg; he ran his hands
over the scar. “It looks so much better.”

“It feels better.” Caden sat up. “Would

you like a shower?”

Kellan looked at his clothes in the

corner. “If I’m staying the whole weekend I
should grab a bag of clothes. I can’t fit into
yours.” He dressed quickly and leaned over
to kiss Caden. “I’ll be right back, it
shouldn’t take too long.”

Caden got out of bed and threw some

sweat pants on. “All right, I’ll make
breakfast.”

Kellan grabbed his keys and opened the

door; he turned and gave Caden a kiss

again. “Be right back.” Walking down the
steps, Kellan turned and smiled at Caden,
giving him a short wave. He unlocked his
truck with the remote and went to open the
door. Within seconds he was swamped
with cameras in his face.

“Are you Mr. Fournier’s new love

interest?”

“Did you spend the night with Mr.

Fournier?”

Kellan looked back at the house and saw

Caden’s look of horror. “Was this what you
meant?” Kellan motioned to the
photographers.

As soon as they spotted Caden, they

rushed him. Kellan gave Caden a small
smile as he jumped into his truck. The door

shut and he peeled away from the curb and
headed past the news vans. As soon as he
got back on the bridge he’d lost most of the
camera crews. Kellan sighed. In all
fairness, Caden had tried to tell him.

~~

Caden sighed. Kellan hadn’t been back

and it was going on almost two hours since
he’d left. He knew this would happen.
Checking the time, he pulled eggs out of the
refrigerator and grabbed a pan. He rubbed
his face with his hands. It had been so
perfect and then the paparazzi ruined it all.
He should have told Kellan the truth; it was
obvious the man didn’t have a clue as to

who he was. His heart seized in his chest.
What if Kellan couldn’t handle it? He felt
sick. He couldn’t lose the man already.
Caden heard a soft tap against the window
and he turned and walked to it. There, on
the beach, stood Kellan. Caden felt his
heart soar and he raced out the back door.
Running across the sand, he flew into
Kellan’s arms. Theirs lips crashed into an
urgent kiss.

“I did not think you would come back.”

Caden breathed.

Kellan took Caden’s face in his hands.

“I’m not leaving you for anything. We’ll
deal with it all. Together.” Kellan dipped
his head and took Caden’s lips; he kissed
him long and hard. They broke from the

kiss breathing hard and Kellan smiled. “I’m
sorry it took me so long, I didn’t want them
following me back.”

“I was worried, that it was too much—”
“You’re worth it.” Kellan held Caden

close to him. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
Caden told him everything over breakfast,
well most of it. There were some things he
kept to himself for a later time. Kellan took
it in stride and even told him he didn’t need
to worry about anything.

Kellan sat back, regarding Caden. “It

sounds like a soap opera. I’m so sorry,
about your mother.”

“I used to watch them, soap operas, as

an escape.” Caden smiled at Kellan rolling
his eyes. “I did, it is part of the reason I

moved to the states. I was tired of being
months behind. But I found one I absolutely
loved. They had a gay couple on it.”
Caden sighed. “Unfortunately, one of them
died.”

“In real life?” Kellan looked at Caden in

shock.

“No, on the show; he was hit by a train.”
“Well that sucks.” Kellan looked

at Caden’s face. “Are you all right?”

“I was very upset; the other gay man was

left all alone.” Caden wiped his nose with
a napkin. “I have stopped watching soap
operas.”

Kellan tried to be understanding, but a

soap opera? “I have no idea what to say.”

“I will make you watch it, you’ll see.”
“You are going to make me watch it?”

Kellan raised a brow.

“I have it on DVD.” Caden smiled.

“Please?”

Kellan took Caden’s hand. “Okay, just…

don’t tell anyone.” Kellan ran his thumb
over the soft skin of Caden’s hand. “There
is something I need to tell you though.”

“Were you once a woman?” Caden

smiled.

“No,” Kellan laughed.
“Then I do not care.” Caden looked over

Kellan’s body: The tight white t-shirt
showed every muscle on the man’s torso
and the tight, faded jeans outlined his
amazing thighs, not to mention the bulge in

his pants. Caden licked his lips thinking
about the size of Kellan’s dick.

“Eight and a half inches.” Kellan

winked, noticing where Caden’s eyes were.

Caden’s eyes flew to Kellan’s face.

“Ouch.”

Kellan smiled. “I’ll be gentle, I

promise.”

“It has been,” Caden thought about it,

when was the last time he’d had sex? “I
can’t even remember the last time I had
sex.”

“Do you…have anything here?” Kellan

smiled.

“I have what we would need.” Caden

looked at Kellan. “I am clean.”

“So am I.” Kellan played with Caden’s

fingers.

Caden swallowed hard. “I would like to

be with you, but there is no rush.”

“Well,” Kellan stood up and put his

hand out. “I plan on taking my time.”

Caden put his hand out and was pulled

into Kellan’s embrace. A hand was on his
ass massaging his cheek as Kellan’s other
hand caressed his face. As always, his
heart hammered in his chest. The feel of
soft lips covering his made Caden moan
and then he was swept up into Kellan’s
arms. He felt as if they floated down the
hallway. He was gently lowered to the bed
all while Kellan efficiently removed what
little clothing he wore. Kellan had guessed
where he kept his supplies and when he

entered Caden’s body, it was as if he
belonged there.

There was hardly any pain as Kellan

made love to him with slow, shallow
thrusts, soft caresses and deep sensual
kisses. They moved together and just when
he thought he couldn’t hold back anymore
Kellan would slow down; the thrusts
became deep and the hand on his erection
would ease back. Caden wrapped his arms
around Kellan’s neck as he was picked up;
he straddled Kellan and they moved
together. Mouths fused as they moved and
Kellan’s hands slid down his back to cup
his ass. His orgasm rose up so fast he cried
out, gripping Kellan so tightly he knew he’d
leave bruises on the man. A warmth spread

through him as Kellan’s orgasm entered
him. Caden let his head fall back as Kellan
kissed his neck, licking at his collarbone.
Then he was lowered back onto the bed,
Kellan still safely buried inside him.

“Are you all right?” Kellan whispered

softly.

“It was wonderful,” Caden smiled as

Kellan’s fingertips caressed his face.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Kellan

moved a stray strand of hair from Caden’s
brow.

“You didn’t, I was surprised.” Caden

chuckled. “As big as you are, I thought you
would rip me in half.”

“I’m not that big.” Kellan smiled.
Caden looked at his own penis. “Yes,

you are.”

Kellan looked between their bodies at

the man’s penis. “I saw it, I felt it. It’s not
small.”

Caden closed his eyes. “I could stay

here forever.” Caden let out a sated sigh.
He could see spending the rest of his life
with this man. It had taken him by surprise;
his feelings for Kellan Brady were strong.
He felt a strong arm pulling him in closer
and the warmth from Kellan settled into
him, lulling him to sleep.

Kellan kissed Caden’s forehead. “Get

some sleep, we have all weekend.” Kellan
closed his eyes and lie back on the pillow.
The soft sound of Caden’s heartbeat drifted

into his ears and he smiled. He could hear
everything. He’d wanted to mark his mate;
he’d have to control his lupine side around
Caden. The man was just that, a man. And
he needed to stay that way; a lot of
werewolves had human mates. He could do
it, too.

“You’re mine, Caden Fournier.” Kellan

whispered.

“I am all yours, Kellan Brady.” Caden

mumbled.

Kellan smiled.

~~Chapter Six~~

From that weekend on, Kellan and

Caden were inseparable. They dealt with
the camera crews and the media in their
faces. After a month, things calmed down
and Kellan was just ‘the paramedic’ Caden
Fournier was dating. They dined together,
went to the beach, football games and
shopped at Pikes Place Market together.
They spent every waking moment together
whenever they could. Kellan spent most
nights at Caden’s; his Raptor was getting

some mileage finally. He was recognized
on the job now, which was comical
sometimes. He didn’t get as many women
trying to hook him up for one. After all, he
was dating a billionaire.

The first weekend Caden had gone out

of town on business, Kellan went to Cougar
Mountain with Scott and Jude for a run.
They ran through the forest playing and
chasing the wildlife. It had been too long
since he’d run full out in wolf form. He
wanted to tell Caden the truth, needed to
tell him. He wanted Caden to know
everything; they weren’t whole unless the
truth was out. They were back by the cars
getting dressed when Scott looked at him.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Scott

smiled.

“I want him to know.” Kellan sighed.

“What if he freaks out?”

“He’s your mate Kel; it sounds like he’s

in love with you.” Jude pulled his pants up.

“You think so?” Kellan pulled his shirt

on.

“Are you serious?” Scott leaned against

the truck. “Have you seen some of the
photos of the two of you?” Scott shook his
head, chuckling. “The way he looks at you
says it all Kellan.”

“Yeah?” Kellan knew he was blushing.

After a month with Caden he was already
in love with him. He wanted to scream it
from the top of the Space Needle. “I’m in
love with him.”

“No way!” Jude laughed. “I couldn’t

tell.”

“Shut up.” Kellan grumbled smiling. He

suddenly felt eyes on him and stiffened.
“Do you feel that?”

“I did,” Scott looked around. “Are we

paranoid?”

“Not sure.” Jude looked towards the

forest. “We should go anyway, though.
We’re on in two hours.”

Kellan opened the truck door and looked

around the forest. He didn’t smell anything
and the feeling of being watched had eased.
He shrugged his shoulders and got into the
truck. He grabbed his phone and saw he
had a text from Caden.

Miss you!

He smiled and sent one back.
Miss you too!
Kellan smiled, putting the phone on the

seat; he backed out of the parking lot and
pulled behind Scott’s Ford F-250. They’d
be at work in two hours and after that he’d
see Caden again. The thought made him
smile.

~~

Caden was in a hurry to leave the office.

He’d missed Kellan so much his heart was
aching for the feel of the man’s hands on his
body. Due to their schedules, they’d only
been able to make love a handful of times.
Caden sighed; he couldn’t bring himself to
make love to Kellan. It’d been so long
since he’d been with a man he didn’t think
he could do the man justice. He knew he
was being stupid but he couldn’t help it.
Kellan hadn’t complained, he didn’t mind
being the top and Caden had no problem

being a bottom. He looked in the mirror and
scowled at himself.

“Chicken.”
Caden left the bathroom and stopped.

Sitting in front of his desk was a man.

“Can I help you?” Caden was shocked

when the man turned around with a wide
smile.

“Hello, Caden.”
“Carson Drake? What the hell are you

doing here?” Caden walked to his desk. “I
have nothing to say to you.”

“No?” Carson smiled and leaned

forward. He put a DVD player on the desk
and hit ‘play’. “Pay attention Caden, I
wouldn’t want you to miss any of this.”
Carson sat back and crossed his arms.

Caden watched the video. It was of

Kellan, Jude and Scott; it looked like they
were in the forest. Kellan started taking his
clothes off as did the other two. Caden
watched as Kellan closed his eyes and then
something happened. Caden’s mouth
dropped open as Kellan changed into a
wolf right in front of his eyes. “What…?”

Carson smiled demonically. “Your

boyfriend is a werewolf Caden. Guess he
didn’t tell you, did he?”

Caden sat down in his chair, mouth

agape. Kellan was a werewolf? Why didn’t
he tell him? Caden closed his eyes. He
knew why. He would never have believed
it. It dawned on him what Carson Drake
wanted and he opened his eyes.

“How much to keep you quiet, Carson?”

Caden pulled his checkbook out.

“Well, well, Caden. I guess I’m not

surprised you took it so well. That just
convinces me you are in love with Kellan.”

“Don’t you dare hurt him.” Caden stood

up and leaned over the desk.

“Oh, trust me this isn’t about hurting

Kellan, it’s about hurting you, Caden. I
don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?”
“It’s very simple Caden; break it off

with Kellan Brady. You are never to see
him again or I take this tape and distribute
it to every news channel in Washington
State.”

“They would never believe you, it’s a

trick of the camera.” Caden balled his fists.

“Maybe,” Carson sat forward. “But one

medical checkup and they’d know for
sure.”

Caden slumped in his chair. “Why?”
“You ruined any chance I had of ever

making a living, Caden. When you turned
me down no one would work with me. I
look at this as a fitting punishment for you;
you’ll spend the rest of your life knowing
you broke Kellan’s heart and you can never
have him.” Carson rose from the chair and
smiled. “You can keep that copy, I have
plenty more.”

Caden waited until the door shut behind

Carson and covered his face with his
hands. How could he possibly give up

Kellan? He was in love with the man and
he didn’t care what he was. But if he
didn’t, Kellan would be exposed, followed
by cameras at every turn and if they did
take his blood they would run tests on him,
maybe even cage him. Caden sighed in
frustration. He looked out the window of
his office, his throat was closing up and he
knew he was crying. The wetness ran down
his cheeks and landed on the window sill.
How could he walk away? Caden closed
his eyes, he had no choice. He walked back
to his desk and picked up the phone.

“This is Mr. Fournier; please have the

jet fueled and ready to go.” Caden hung up
the phone and heard a soft knocking at his
door. “Come in.”

Evangeline walked in holding a folder in

her hands. By the look on her face, Caden
knew what she had to say. It was just more
bad news on top of what he’d already have
to do.

“Caden…” Evangeline tried to smile.
“I’m leaving for a while; please alert me

to anything of importance.” Caden grabbed
his jacket.

“Are you leaving with Kellan?”

Evangeline looked at her boss. “Caden?”

“No, I will be going alone.” Caden

grabbed his briefcase.

“You shouldn’t be alone.” Evangeline

grabbed his hand. “At least let me come
with you.”

“I will call,” Caden kissed her cheek.

“Watch out for Kellan, please.”

“Did you two break up?”
Caden stopped at the door. “I’m bored;

you know how I can get Evangeline. The
relationship ran its course.”

“Bullshit.” Evangeline crossed her arms.

“You didn’t tell him and now you’re
running. Don’t you think he deserves to
know? Let him make his own decision.”

“I shall call you when I am settled.”

Caden looked over his shoulder. “I trust
you to keep quiet.”

Evangeline watched the door shut and

sighed. “Stubborn ass.”

~~

Two days. It’d been two days since he’d

heard from Caden. He’d called his office,
his home, his cell, nothing. Evangeline
didn’t even know where he’d gone. He left
on his jet and didn’t even file a flight plan.
He’d just left. Kellan felt empty. He
couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. He stared out
the window of his apartment at the falling
rain. The door opened and Scott and Jude
walked in with the mail.

“There’s a letter here for you.” Scott

handed it to Kellan. “It’s from Caden.”

Kellan looked at the letter on the table.

He picked it up and opened it, his eyes
taking in every word. It was handwritten.

Kellan,

As much fun as we had, we both know

we are from two different worlds. I hope
you can find true love someday, and that
they will appreciate you in a way I could
not.

Caden.

Kellan sat back in the chair and dropped

the letter on the table, the pain in his chest
making it difficult for him to breathe. He
couldn’t believe it; this was how it was
ending? Caden was his mate, as far as he
knew no mate had ever walked away. He
didn’t even tell him he was a werewolf and

it was over; he put his head on the table and
breathed in deep. He felt a hand on his
back.

“I’m sorry, Kellan.” Scott rubbed his

brother’s back. “I don’t understand it.”

Jude shook his head. “I’m not buying it,

that guy is head over heels in love with
you.”

Kellan wiped his eyes and stood up.

“I’m going to my room.”

Scott watched as Kellan walked slowly

to his room, closing the door behind him.
He looked at Jude with a brow arched.
“Something is fucked up about this.”

“Where do we start?” Jude picked up his

cell phone.

“Grab the address book,” Scott grabbed

his own cell phone. “We have a lot of work
to do.”

~~

Caden walked along the beach feeling

the ocean air across his face. The sun was
out for once, not a cloud in the sky - a very
rare occurrence in the South of France.
He’d come home, and it felt empty without
Kellan. His toes sank into the sand and a
feeling of peace swept over him. His
childhood home loomed behind him in the
distance; he’d purchased it a few years
back hoping to make new memories in it,
now it was filled with sadness. He wanted
to bring Kellan here, fill it with new

memories. He tipped his face up to the sun
and felt it warming his skin. His hands
reached out to the side and a gust of wind
swept across his body. He could almost
feel Kellan’s hands on him.

Putting his shoes on, he started walking

toward the cemetery. Flowers lined the
walls and lavender was all around. The
town of Vitrolles had been stuck in time
when he’d been a child, now it was more
modernized and had lost some of its allure.
It was still beautiful however, and Caden
came home as much as he could. The
cemetery was empty as Caden walked
along the path; he sat down at the bench and
looked at all the tombstones of loved ones
gone.

“Caden?”
Caden turned to see Claire Charmaigne.

She owned the bakery in town and they had
been childhood friends before Caden was
shipped off to boarding school. He’d kept
in touch however, and knew her husband
had passed away last year of cancer.

“Hello, Claire.”
“I did not expect you so early in the

season, what brings you to town?” Claire
sat on the bench.

“Missed home.” Caden tried to smile.
“You are full of shit, no?” Claire smiled.
Caden’s eyes went wide and he feigned

shock. “Claire! Such language.”

“You should know, you taught me all the

bad English words.” Claire winked.

Caden noticed the bag in her hands and

could smell fresh croissants. “Are you
going to share?”

Claire smiled and pulled the warm, flaky

pastry out. “Now, tell me why you are
looking so sad.”

Caden told her everything, well

everything he could without exposing
Kellan. Claire listened, her face going from
a smile to a frown when Caden told her
he’d left Kellan in Seattle. Without the
whole story she couldn’t know the sacrifice
he’d made for the man he loved. Caden
sighed and looked at the half eaten
croissant in his hand.

“I could not stay.”

“That is a load of merde.” Claire looked

at him. “You did not even give him the
chance - you were afraid he would leave
you, so you left first.”

“It’s not that simple.” Caden sighed in

frustration.

“Do you love this man?” Claire took a

bite of her croissant.

“I do, very much. I have never loved

anyone as I do him.” Caden looked at the
sky. “It does not seem fair, why choose for
me to find love now?”

“It is better than to have never found it at

all.” Claire gave him a sad smile. “I do not
regret one day I spent with Giles. If I had
known he was going to die would I change
anything? I think not, the time we spent

together was worth it.” Claire took Caden’s
hand and smiled at him. “You must do what
makes you happy, and this man, he loves
you.”

“I don’t know that, he’s never said it.”
“Sometimes,” Claire palmed his face.

“Words are not needed.”

Caden smiled and took her hand. “And

how are you? Everything is going well with
the bakery? I see you expanded.”

“Oui,” Claire smiled. “That would not

have anything to do with you purchasing the
buildings and selling them to us cheaper
would it?”

“I have no idea what you are talking

about.” Caden smiled.

“You are an extraordinary man Caden

Fournier. You are nothing like your father
and you have proven it throughout the
years. The people of this town know what
you have done, even though you have tried
to stay anonymous.” Claire looked up at the
sky. “You have left your mark in the
world.”

Caden closed his eyes as a breeze

caressed his face. He could almost feel the
spirits around him. “I have missed it here.”

“I hope you do not stay.” Claire

squeezed his hand. “I hope you go to your
man.”

“I wish I could,” Caden looked at Claire

with a sad smile. “I really do.”

~~

Kellan rolled over and looked at the

clock. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with
the heels of his hands. Another sleepless
night. A week had gone by and he still
couldn’t sleep or eat. Alexander threatened
to set him up with an IV if he didn’t start
eating. He rolled onto his back and looked
at the ceiling; he missed Caden. He knew
he was wasting away and he didn’t care.
His cell phone chirped and he looked at the
caller ID hoping it was Caden. It wasn’t.
He grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

“Hello?”
“Kellan?”
“Grayson?” Kellan sat up on his elbows.

“Is something wrong?”

“I can’t get a hold of Caden. It’s been a

week and he won’t answer his phone. He
never does that to me. I know he said you
guys were dating, so I thought maybe he
was so preoccupied with you he kind of
just turned it off or something.”

Kellan sighed and lay back down.

“Caden ended it with me, Grayson.”

“What?” Grayson looked right at his

husband, Taylor, in the kitchen. “What do
you mean he ended it? Aren’t you guys
mates? I mean when he told me you guys
were together I assumed you’d found your
mate —”

“Yes, he is. I mean was.” Kellan wiped

his eyes. “He left. I don’t know where he is
and all he said was that it was over. No
one knows where he is, not even
Evangeline.”

Grayson furrowed his brows.

“Something’s not right with this shit; I
know he cares about you.”

“Well, he obviously doesn’t, Grayson.

He left and he hasn’t tried to get a hold of
me.”

Grayson looked at the time. “Look, I’m

going to find him okay? I’ll call you and let
you know what’s going on.”

Kellan sighed. “How are you going to

find him when no one else can?”

Grayson smiled. “I think I have an idea

where he went. I’ll call you Kellan. Just

remember one thing, Caden Fournier cares
for you, I’d even say he’s in love with you.
So don’t give up. I’ll call as soon as I know
something.”

“Okay, bye, Grayson.”
“Bye, Kellan.” Grayson hung up the

phone and looked at Taylor. “Something’s
wrong. I know Caden loves Kellan, he
wouldn’t just leave.” Grayson picked the
phone up again and hit speed dial. He
smiled when Riley’s voice came across the
line.

“Grayson, sweetie, how are you?”
“Hi, Riley, I’m fine. Look, I need a

favor.”

“Anything you need, you know that.”
“Good,” Grayson smiled. “I need to

borrow your jet.”

~~Chapter Seven~~

Grayson looked out the window of the

cab at Marseilles. France was truly
beautiful, it was a shame he was coming on
business and not pleasure. There was no
way Caden would have broken it off with
Kellan; just seeing pictures of them together
in the tabloids told Grayson that Caden was
in love. He knew Caden would be in
Vitrolles, he just knew. When he’d met
Caden he could see the look in his eyes
when they discussed France; the man would

come back here, and Grayson could feel it.
As they pulled into Vitrolles, Grayson
looked at all the little shops and smiled. He
paid the cab driver and got out in front of a
bakery. Caden’s house wasn’t too far from
it and Grayson was hungry. The bell above
the door chimed as he walked in and the
smell of almonds invaded his senses. He
looked at all the pastries, his mouth
watering.

“Allo?”
Grayson looked up to see a short dark-

haired woman looking at him. “Hello, do
you speak English?”

“Yes I do. What can I help you with?”
Grayson looked at all the pastries.

“Wow, I don’t even know where to start.”

He laughed.

“Well, I can recommend a few favorites.

There are of course croissants, pain au
chocolat, eclairs, profiterole — which is a
cream puff — beignet, mille-feuille —”

“Oh! That one looks good, what is it?”

Grayson bent over looking through the
glass.

“Oh, that is a croissant with almond

paste inside; it is very good.”

“I’ll take six of those.” Grayson looked

up to see the woman looking at him with an
arched brow. “What?” Grayson blushed.
“I’m hungry.” The woman laughed and
Grayson smiled. “I thought I’d bring one to
my friend, Caden.”

“You are here to see Caden?”

“Well, yes. He is a good friend of

mine.” Grayson looked at the woman.
“What is your name?”

“Claire. Caden and I have been friends

for a long time.” Claire eyed the younger
man. “You are not the one he loves.”

“No, my name is Grayson Drake, but I

know the man he loves. He’s miserable and
I want to know why Caden left him.”

Claire nodded. “He was just here this

morning; he should be at the beach below
his house.” Claire smiled. “I hope you can
convince him to go home.”

“I’m not leaving until I do.” Grayson

smiled taking the bag from Claire. “Thank
you, what do I owe you?”

“Oh, it is free. Tell Caden I said go

home.” Claire winked.

“I will, thank you very much Claire. You

have a good day.”

“You as well, Grayson Drake.”

~~

Grayson stepped onto warm sand and

looked down the beach. Just as Claire had
said, Caden was facing the water. Grayson
smelled the warm sea air and closed his
eyes, he already loved it here. The town
was quaint and the people were very nice.
He smiled looking into his pastry bag; he’d
eaten three of the croissants already and
was now in love with them. As he got
closer to Caden he could see the man was
barefoot, his face was tipped up and his
hands were out at his sides, his dress shirt

flapping open with the ocean breeze rolling
off the water.

“Hello, Caden.” Grayson stood about

twenty feet from him.

Caden turned at the sound of a voice.

“Jesus! You scared the shit out of me.”

“What are you doing here, Caden? Why

did you leave Seattle?” Grayson stepped
closer. “Don’t say you don’t love Kellan.”

“I don’t, now, go home.” Caden turned

toward the path up the hill.

“Why are you lying to me? I thought we

were friends, Caden!” Grayson shouted.

“You don’t understand! I can’t tell you!

There are some things about Kellan Brady
you don’t know and I refuse to hurt him!”
Caden trudged up the path to his house.

“Oh, Caden…” Grayson sing-songed.
“What?” Caden turned around to see

Grayson standing naked on the beach.
“What the hell are you doing?”

“Is that thing about Kellan something

like this?” Grayson shifted. He looked at
the shocked look on Caden’s face and
trotted over to him, smelling the air. Caden
wasn’t scared, just shocked. He’d taken a
risk in shifting, but the beach was secluded
and he didn’t feel anyone else watching
them.

“Mon dieu,” Caden whispered. He

crouched down to look at the black wolf
with green eyes. “You are one, too.” Caden
smiled when Grayson huffed at him, he ran
his fingers through the soft fur on Grayson’s

neck. He looked around the secluded
beach. “Let us go to the house.”

~~

Caden waited patiently for Grayson to

shift back to his human form and get
dressed, his mind going a mile a minute.
What did this mean? If Grayson was a
werewolf as well, how many more were
there? How could this help Kellan?
Grayson came back out pulling his shirt
over his head and Caden smiled at his
friend.

“Well now, I was not expecting that.”
Grayson smiled. “Now, tell me what the

hell is going on.”

“Carson Drake is what’s going on.”

Caden rubbed his face with his hands. “He
came to me a little over a week ago. He
had a video of Kellan shifting into a
werewolf and he threatened to go to the
news channels with it if I didn’t break it off
with Kellan. He wanted to hurt me.” Caden
smiled sadly. “It worked. I miss Kellan so
much. I love him, Grayson.”

Grayson sat down on the couch and

looked at Caden. “You should have come
to me; you could have trusted me with this.”

“I trusted no one,” Caden looked at

Grayson. “I would never let anyone hurt
Kellan. If I go back, Carson will follow
through with his threat.”

“That’s where you’d be wrong.”

Grayson stood up. “Carson Drake would
never leak that video to the press.”

“What makes you so sure?” Caden

arched a brow.

“Because he would risk exposing

himself as well,” Grayson looked at Caden.
“Carson Drake is a werewolf, Caden.”

Caden sat back on the dining room table.

“What?”

“Taylor, Jagger, Xander, me, the list

goes on and on. We are all werewolves
Caden, eventually Kellan would have told
you. It’s not something you can keep a
secret for long, especially during sex.”

“So he really would not go to the press?

What makes you so sure?”

Grayson leaned against the wall smiling.

“Because Wayne Maccon would kill him
on the spot, that’s why. And if there’s one
thing I know about Carson Drake, it’s that
he’s scared shitless of Wayne.”

“Wayne is?”
“Not someone you ever want to mess

with.” Grayson smiled. “He’s the alpha of
the Denali pack and he comes from created
werewolves. If he looks at Carson
sideways the guy pisses his pants.”

“What does this mean then?” Caden

stood up.

“It means,” Grayson took Caden by the

shoulders. “You, are going home to the man
you love.”

~~

Wayne hung up the phone looking at

Jagger. “We have a problem.”

“I figured that out when Grayson called

you out here from Denali.” Jagger ran a
hand through his hair. “What’s he done
now?”

“So, you know it’s your father.” Wayne

looked at his beta.

“Well, he’s the only one who would

bring you to the city.” Jagger looked out the
window. “Are you going to have to kill
him?”

Wayne stood by Jagger and put a hand

on his shoulder. “I won’t, unless it’s
absolutely necessary. I don’t want to leave

you an orphan.”

Jagger laughed. “That man wasn’t my

father; you are more of a father to me than
he ever was.”

“I’d be proud to call you my son,

Jagger.” Wayne looked at the city of
Anchorage spread out for miles. “We are
going to have to lure him out. He threatened
to expose Kellan Brady if Caden didn’t
break it off with him; he even showed him a
video of Kellan, Scott and Jude shifting.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jagger sighed. “What

do we do?”

“We go to Seattle; we call in all the

packs and nab him.” Wayne looked at
Jagger. “And we hope he goes without a
fight.”

“If it comes to that, let me do it, Wayne.”

Jagger looked at the man who had become
a father to him.

Wayne nodded. “You have my word.”
“Good enough.”

~~

Kellan came off shift in a daze, his shirt

was covered in blood and he just wanted to
go home and sleep for twenty four hours
straight. Once again, he’d had the power to
save a life and had let it slip through his
fingers. If he’d taken the time with the
grandmother, the grandson would have
died. Alexander had a point, who was he to
pick and choose? The grandmother was in
her eighties and she had pleaded with him
to save the grandson instead of her. Life
was a crapshoot. It didn’t make me him feel

any better; the only thing he could be
thankful for was that she’d seen her
grandson take a breath before she had
passed on.

The hot water rinsed away the gasoline

on his skin and the blood from his hair and
face. He scrubbed his skin hard and closed
his eyes. Caden’s face was right there, it
always was. He would live the rest of his
long life loving one man. Kellan turned the
water off and stepped out of the shower,
toweling himself dry. Scott and Jude were
in the office filling out paperwork. He just
couldn’t do it today. He dressed, grabbed
his bag and walked down the hall to his
brothers.

“I’m going home guys.”

“Okay, take care and get some sleep.”

Scott smiled. “You did what you had to do
Kellan.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kellan sighed. “See you

guys at home.”

Kellan walked through the emergency

room and out the doors, zipping his jacket
against the chill. A gust of wind blew his
hoodie right off and a very familiar smell
wafted up his nostrils. Kellan turned
quickly and saw Caden standing by the
hospital doors.

“Caden?” Kellan narrowed his eyes. It

was a mirage, he was seeing things.

“You look good.” Caden smiled, making

his way over.

“So do you.” Kellan straightened up.

“What brings you by?”

“Well, I missed my boyfriend.” Caden

smiled and walked closer. “Tell me
something, did you smell me just now?”

“What?” Kellan stammered.
Caden leaned into Kellan’s ear. “I hear

werewolves have a fabulous sense of
smell.” He whispered.

Kellan backed up so fast he almost fell

over; he ended up holding onto a car
parked beside him. “What did you just
say?”

“I think we should take this discussion

elsewhere.” Caden smiled taking Kellan’s
hand. “Don’t you?”

Kellan nodded and then realized no

words were coming out. “Um yes, I’m right

down the street.”

They walked hand in hand, stealing

glances at each other. Kellan couldn’t
believe it was real; he was still convincing
himself he was in bed, asleep and having a
wonderful dream. They climbed the stairs
to his unit and Kellan unlocked the door
then threw the keys on the table. He took
his jacket off and looked at Caden; he was
standing at the window looking out over the
courtyard.

“I dreamt of this you know.” Caden put

his hand on the window. “Coming back
here, you still wanting me.”

“I do still want you Caden, I never

stopped.” Kellan came up behind him,

wrapping his arms around Caden’s waist.

“I didn’t want to leave you; I did not go

by choice. It is because of what you are that
I left to protect you.”

Kellan turned him around. “And what is

it you think I am?”

“You are a werewolf.” Caden smiled at

the look of shock on Kellan’s face. “Carson
Drake came to my office; he showed me a
video of you and your brothers shifting into
werewolves. He told me if I didn’t end it
with you, he’d expose you. I couldn’t let
that happen, Kellan.” He palmed Kellan’s
face. “I am in love with you.”

Kellan pulled Caden into his arms. “You

should have told me, I thought you didn’t
want me anymore.”

“I will always want you Kellan.” Caden

wrapped his arms around Kellan’s neck.

“I love you, too. You should have come

to me; Carson would never follow through
—”

“Yes, I know that now. Grayson came to

France.” Caden chuckled. “He gave me
quite the shock.”

Kellan chuckled. “Let me guess, he

shifted?”

“Right there on the beach.” Caden

nodded. “I would have never left; I felt I
had no choice. If Carson had leaked the
video,” Caden shivered. “I would have
blamed myself for what could have been
done to you. They would experiment on
you, maybe lock you up.” Caden choked on

the words.

Kellan pulled Caden into his arms. “It’s

okay; it’s not going to happen.” He ran his
nose through Caden’s hair taking in the
scent of the man he loved. “I missed you so
much.” Kellan whispered.

“I have missed you,” Caden looked up.

The midnight eyes searched his. “I would
love it if you kissed me now.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Kellan’s hand went directly to Caden’s
cheek; he looked into sapphire eyes and
took Caden’s mouth.

They were walking backwards, clothes

discarded along the way. The bedroom
door was open and Kellan kicked it shut
with his foot as he picked Caden up. His

hand gripped the soft globes of Caden’s ass
as he eased him onto the bed. Lips soft as
silk met his and then a warm mouth opened
to him. A soft whimper escaped his lips as
Caden took over the kiss.

Kellan found himself on his back as

Caden’s tongue investigated him. Soft
kisses along his torso and a gentle bite to
his nipple and Kellan arched his back as
Caden’s strong hand gripped his erection.
His eyes closed as he felt a tongue gliding
along the shaft of his penis, licking and
teasing. It was as if they’d never been
apart, the heat exploded between them and
Kellan heard himself crying out as Caden
entered him in one thrust. His canines
exploded from his gums and claws jetted

from his fingertips; there was a soft gasp
and he opened his eyes to see Caden
smiling at him.

“Look at how beautiful you are.” Caden

whispered. He drew back almost
completely before sliding back into
Kellan’s warmth. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes, oh God yes…” Kellan whined.

The noises leaving his mouth shocked him -
he’d never been so…vocal during sex.
“Harder…” Kellan groaned as Caden’s
dick slid out almost completely again, the
blunt tip sliding in and out to the crown. It
was a torturous tease. If he thought Caden
was a submissive bottom he couldn’t have
been more wrong. The sheer sexual
prowess the man showed in bed had

Kellan’s mouth wide open and he was
actually screaming Caden’s name. He was
not gentle; in fact, Kellan had an idea that
Caden was fucking him through the bed
because he knew he could. His legs spread
out to the side, Caden’s fingers gripping his
ankles, his whole body moved with the
sheer strength of the man’s thrusts.

He couldn’t stop staring at him; Caden

was biting his bottom lip and grunting as he
fucked like a man on a mission. It was
want, need and absolute I-have-to-own-you
sex and, God help him, Caden owned his
ass. He had never been taken with such raw
power before. His orgasm hit and Kellan
almost flew off the bed. His back arched
high and the whole time Caden fisted his

cock, milking it. It was crazy and all Kellan
could do was watch Caden’s biceps as he
hammered himself home, driving into him
like he hadn’t hit the end yet. A loud
agonizing groan rose from Caden and
Kellan’s ass was immediately overcome
with a scorching heat; Caden collapsed on
top of him and gripped his hair tightly.

“I love you, Kellan Brady,” Caden

growled. “You are mine.”

“I am yours,” Kellan breathed. “I always

will be.”

They lay in bed for hours, just touching

each other - fingers caressing arms, legs,
abdomens. Kellan sighed as Caden’s lips
covered his again. The pure passion in the
kiss took him by surprise and he gasped

when Caden bit his bottom lip. Hard.

“I want to eat you alive.” Caden smiled

wickedly.

Kellan chuckled, pulling Caden down by

his hair. “Oh, yeah?” He felt a pressure on
his tunnel and looked up at Caden smiling
demonically. “What are you up to?”

Caden looked down. “Seven inches.” He

pushed in.

“Ohhh…fuck!” Kellan felt fingers

gripping his balls and instantly-hard dick
and then Caden’s thumbnail was dipping
into his slit.

“How does that feel, my love?” Caden

drove in hard and bottomed out; seconds
later Kellan’s dick erupted all over his
hand. He had to admit that watching Kellan

come unglued did wonderful things to his
ego. He’d always been worried about his
dominant side; he didn’t need to be with
Kellan.

“Jesus,” Kellan breathed out slowly.

“Who knew you’d be such an animal in
bed.” He chuckled softly.

Caden laughed loud. “Oh yes? It takes an

animal to please another.”

Kellan took Caden’s face in his hands.

“So you are okay with this? I mean you’re
not freaked out?”

Caden smiled and pulled out slowly; he

rolled over on his side and looked at the
beautiful face in front of him. “Although I
was quite surprised when I saw the video, I
was more concerned about protecting you. I

could not nor will I ever allow Carson
Drake to hurt you.” He took Kellan’s hand
in his own and laced their fingers together.
“I have been informed of a plan. We will
be seen in public and then we will leave
for France.”

“Why France?” Kellan arched a brow.
“Wayne, the alpha wolf?” Caden

watched as Kellan nodded. “He is
convinced Carson will not try anything in
the states. They will be flying over before
us on Riley Esposito’s jet and lay in wait.”

“Is Alexander going, too?” He saw the

confused look on Caden’s face. “Doctor
Romasko, he is my alpha.”

Caden’s eyes widened. “I did not know.

I believe they said all the packs, something

about Northern and Queets as well as
Denali.”

“That makes sense; Carson could have

back-up, although I would hope not after
the last time. Wayne showed him what
would be coming to him if he ever tried to
come after any of the packs.”

“You were there?” Caden sat up on his

elbow.

“Yes, there was a huge fight in the

Denali Park. Me, Scott, Jude and Nicholas
were there. We’d never seen anything as
huge as Wayne in wolf form; he’s almost as
big as a horse. Anyway once Carson was
beat, Wayne broke his leg in half with one
hand.” Kellan shivered

Caden gasped. “That would take quite a

bit of strength.”

“No shit,” Kellan chuckled. “I think we

all stood there with our mouths hanging
open.”

“And your alpha? Is he as strong?”
“Alex? Oh no, he’s just the regular

kind.” Kellan laughed. “Sam Waters and
Troy Bishop have that line running through
them, though. Sam’s husband, Dakota, was
forced to change him after Carson tore Sam
open.”

“That is awful!” Caden sat up. “And

Troy Bishop?”

“Shot by an ex-boyfriend.” Kellan shook

his head. “Sawyer had no choice; they both
would have died if not for the bite of their

mate.”

“Wait, are you saying they were saved

by the bite of a werewolf?”

“Yes, I know how they feel. If anything

would happen to you I would do the same
to spare you death. Alex is always going on
and on about the repercussions of saving a
life that was meant to move on.” Kellan
caressed Caden’s face. “I couldn’t not help
you.”

Caden tried to smile. “There are rules

that cannot be broken, Kellan. Sometimes
that life is meant to expire.”

“I don’t buy it, not when I have the

ability to stop it. Look, Sam wasn’t meant
to die that day and neither was Troy.
Horrible circumstances happened to those

guys. They have been deployed numerous
times to the damn desert. They’ve been
shot, stabbed, blown up and came home
safe. It was not their time to die.”

Caden rolled over on top of him and

smiled. “So, I am your mate.”

“Yes you are, Caden Fournier.” Kellan

smiled. “For life.”

Caden closed his eyes and felt strong

arms come around him. “Tomorrow we go
out to dinner, and then we will leave for
France.”

“How do you know the camera crews

will follow us?”

Caden smiled. “I have a great PR

person.”

~~

Kellan looked out over the Sound; they’d

gone to Seacrest Park and were seated
overlooking the water. They had been
hounded all the way from the apartment to
the waterfront and Kellan had to laugh. The
paparazzi’s main question is when had they
gotten back together and was it for good.
Caden answered all their questions calmly
all while holding his hand tightly. Now they
sat in peace and Caden was looking over
the wine list. Kellan smiled at his mate.

“Hey.”
Caden looked up to see that gorgeous

smile. “Yes?”

“I love you.” Kellan winked.
Caden felt his heart race. “I love you,

too. May I ask you a question?”

“Sure,”
“Grayson has said he wanted to wait for

his mate before making love. You did not,
why?”

Kellan sat forward. “Are you upset by

that?”

“No, just curious.”
“Well, Grayson was what? Eighteen? He

could afford to wait a bit. I was starting to
give up hope.” Kellan shrugged. “I mean
it’s not like I was banging everything that
moved; I’ve had maybe four partners. If I’d
known you’d be my mate, I would have

waited for you Caden, no matter how long
it took for us to find each other.”

“You are very romantic.” Caden smiled

taking Kellan’s hand in his own. “The way
you are, the way you kiss, it is like I am in
a romantic movie.”

Kellan felt his cheeks heat. “Well I

watched enough of them. I always loved the
way the man would kiss, almost like in
slow motion. I always thought it was so
sexy. There is something to be said for
passionate kisses, too, though.” Kellan
picked up his crab leg and cracked it.
Pulling the meat out he dipped it in butter
sauce and sucked it into his mouth, his eyes
never leaving Caden’s.

“You have a way of making everything

sexy.” Caden breathed. “I am very fortunate
to have such a sexy mate.”

“As am I.”
“Are you ready for France?”
“Well, seeing as I’ve never been there,

yes.” Kellan wiped his mouth off. “Would
you like some of my crab?”

Caden leaned forward and opened his

mouth, Kellan placed the tender meat on his
tongue and he sucked Kellan’s fingers into
his mouth. “Mmm, so good.”

“You are so scandalous.” Kellan

chuckled.

Caden sat back smiling and licking his

lips. “You hadn’t even heard of me,
therefore I am far from scandalous. I try to
stay out of the public eye as much as

possible. When I made my money I could
not even shop. In France they do not give a
shit who you are, only in America do they
chase you down.”

“Not true,” Kellan pointed at him with a

crab leg. “Paris is bad, look what happened
there.”

“They were American paparazzi.”

Caden smiled wicked.

“Agree to disagree then, although right

now I tend to agree with you.” Kellan
looked out at the water; the media were
actually on boats snapping pictures.

“Over the years I have given them

exclusives, they have to eat just as
everyone else does. They choose to print
only what they want. Two years ago I gave

quite a bit of money to cancer research.”
Caden frowned. “That barely registered a
blip, my breakup however…” Caden rolled
his eyes, “was front page news for weeks.”

“Oh really? So what did this guy do for

a living?”

“You will laugh.”
“Okay, now I’m really intrigued.”

Kellan arched a brow.

“He was a stripper from Australia.”

Caden wiped his mouth with his napkin and
took a big gulp of wine.

Kellan chuckled. “Oh, not the Thunder

from Down Under,” He laughed when
Caden’s face turned red. “Oh my God! It
was!”

“He had very sexy moves.” Caden

smiled taking Kellan’s hand. “But nothing
like yours, you are very different.”

“So are you,” Kellan lowered his voice.

“I didn’t even think you were like that in
bed, Jesus.” Kellan smiled at the
mischievous look on Caden’s face.
“What?”

“I have a very overpowering side.”
“Yes, I saw that, or should I say felt that.

I actually loved it, that you were so
forceful. It was a total turn-on.”

“So you would like it if I did that

again?” Caden leaned forward, his foot
sliding up Kellan’s pant leg.

Kellan gulped his wine. “Yes, I would

like that.” He sucked in a breath, as

Caden’s foot traveled between his legs. “I
think I’m ready to go now.”

“Yes, that is a good idea.”

~~Chapter Eight~~

Kellan looked out the window of the jet

as the lights of New York came into view.
The city was beautiful at night; he wished
they were stopping for a longer period of
time. As soon as the jet pulled up and
stopped, Caden was up and on his way to
the cockpit. Kellan stretched his legs out
and cracked his neck from side to side. He
smiled when Caden came back down the
aisle; he had a boyish grin on his face.

“What are you up to?” Kellan narrowed

his eyes.

“Are you hungry? There is a wonderful

pizza place not too far from here.”

“Pizza?” Kellan tilted his head. “You,

eat pizza?”

“Yes, I eat pizza.” Caden chuckled,

smacking Kellan’s arm.

“Does it have caviar on it?” Kellan

side-stepped the next hit.

The cab ride almost gave Kellan a heart

attack. The cabbie weaved through traffic
on the Grand Central Parkway and almost
sideswiped another vehicle merging onto
the Brooklyn Queens expressway. By the
time they arrived at their destination,
Kellan was sweating. Caden paid the
cabbie and as they walked to a lighted

restaurant Kellan turned and saw the
Brooklyn Bridge was right across from
them. He looked up and saw the sign,
Grimaldi’s pizza. Caden took his hand as
they waited in a long line of others waiting
for the almost-midnight snack. Kellan
looked at the others walking by with their
slice and his mouth watered. When it was
their turn, Caden not only ordered four
slices, he ordered a whole pie.

“Wow, are you hungry?” Kellan

laughed.

“No, but you are.” Caden smiled and

took a bite. The rich sauce made him moan,
as did the flavor of the cheeses.

Kellan took a bite and almost came in

his pants. “Holy shit, this is really good.”

“You have no idea,” Caden chuckled,

with his mouth full.

They sat down at one of the tables and

Kellan took his time savoring the taste of
the pizza. The sound of the traffic on the
bridge was almost comforting; New York
had a feeling to it.

“I say when all this crap with Carson is

done and over with we come back here.”

Caden nodded. “Yes, I would like you to

see the city at night - other than Brooklyn,
that is.”

“As long as I get to see it with you,”

Kellan smiled.

Caden felt his heart aching, and he took

Kellan’s hand. “Let’s get back to the plane;
I cannot wait for you to see my home.”

Kellan almost shit his pants on the cab

ride back to La Guardia; he swore the cab
driver was trying to kill them. Once they
were seated back on the plane Kellan
relaxed and reclined the seat.

“This is a very nice jet.” Kellan

chuckled. “Do you have a lot of them?”

“No, smartass.” Caden laughed and sat

down next to him. He laced their fingers
together. “Try to get some sleep; we have
another eight hours.”

“Gimme a kiss.” Kellan leaned over.

Caden leaned in to meet Kellan’s warm

lips, the taste of sauce still lingered. “Get
some rest.”

~~

Alexander dropped the last chart on the

desk and stood up, cracking his back and
neck. He’d been on all night and was late
for the rendezvous with the rest of the
packs. He knew Wayne would be able to
handle Carson along with Archer, but his
own pack was there as well. He grabbed
his coat off the back of his chair and looked
at his watch; Riley’s jet would be coming
back for him. As he left his office, a
wonderful floral smell wafted up his
nostrils and he turned to see a dark-haired
woman looking at him.

“May I help you?”

“I hope so Doctor Romasko. I believe

you treated my patient. Caden Fournier?
I’m his doctor, Evangeline Coulier.”

Alexander nodded, looking into very

grey eyes. “Yes, I did.”

“I hope you did not disclose Mr.

Fournier’s medical condition to anyone.”
Evangeline eyed the doctor. Jesus but he
was tall, at least six foot three. His black
hair was short and complemented his green
eyes.

“I am bound just as you are by doctor–

patient confidentiality, Mrs. Coulier.”

“I am not married, and Evangeline is

fine Dr. Romasko.”

Alexander smiled. “Alexander.”
“Do I detect a Russian accent,

Alexander?” Evangeline smiled. He had
strong hands and his broad shoulders fit
into his leather jacket just right.

“Yes you do - Leningrad. I detect a hint

of French?”

“Coulier is a French name, not a

stretch.” Evangeline chuckled.

“Neither is Romasko.” Alexander put his

hand out. “May we walk and talk? I have an
appointment I must meet.”

“I wanted you to look at Caden’s newest

scans,” Evangeline sighed.

“I can do that,” Alexander took the x-

rays and walked over to a corner, making
sure no one could see them; he held the
scans up to the hospital light. “It has spread
further.” Alexander sighed. “Did he not do

chemotherapy? Radiation?”

“I have tried every drug protocol there

is, he’s done everything he can. Now he’s
resigned to try and live his last days
happily.”

Alexander looked at the scans again. “A

few months?”

Evangeline nodded. “That’s what I

think.”

Alexander cursed softly. This would kill

Kellan and if he knew he would certainly
change Caden on the spot. Alexander knew
the pain that changing caused in someone
who was in perfect health; to change Caden
would bring the man unspeakable pain, if
he survived the change at all. “I will be
back in a few days.” Alexander looked at

the beautiful face in front of him; it had
been a long time since he’d had the
company of a woman. “Maybe I could take
you out to dinner? If you are agreeable?”

“You need some lessons in English

slang,” Evangeline smiled and tilted her
head. “I would love to have dinner.”
Evangeline produced a card from her
purse. “This is my number; call me when
you get back.”

“We will discuss Mr. Fournier’s

options; I am not one to give up hope
easily.” Alexander smiled.

“Neither am I, Alexander.” Evangeline

adjusted her purse. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, yes you will.”

~~

“Dakota, stop stuffing your face.” Sam

whispered.

“I can’t help it,” Dakota’s words were

muffled by the almond paste-filled
croissant in his mouth. “God. These are so
good.”

“I told you.” Grayson giggled.
They were on the ridge above Caden’s

house, all of them downwind to avoid
detection. So far they had seen nothing
except some nude bathers, who were
female. They were all eating French

pastries like they were going out of style
and Claire was keeping them well fed. The
house they’d rented was a few down from
Caden’s and they spent their time outside in
shifts, switching out the night shift with the
day. Right now the day shift, which
consisted of Dakota, Sam, Grayson and
Taylor were watching the roads and the
people on the beach below. They hadn’t
seen Carson, but were sure after that with
all of the media coverage that followed
Caden and Kellan to La Guardia, he’d be
following right behind them.

“Jesus, I’m glad I’m a werewolf.”

Taylor took a bite of the pastry and
moaned. “I could eat these for every meal.”

“When this is all over I say we spend a

whole week here.” Grayson sat back on his
elbows, smelling the air.

“Why don’t we just buy a house here,

babe? I mean if you love it that much.”
Taylor squeezed Grayson’s thigh.

“Really?” Grayson sat up. “We could do

that?”

Taylor arched a brow. “Did you really

just ask me that?”

Grayson threw his arms around Taylor.

“I love you so much!”

“Shhh!” Sam looked at Grayson. “Hello?

Werewolf hearing.”

Grayson zipped his lip and turned back

to Taylor smiling wide. “God, you are an
awesome husband.” Grayson whispered.

Taylor winked. “Love ya, baby.”

Sam looked out over the water. “So, I

don’t get it. If Caden owns this entire
beach, why are there people walking all
over his property?”

“Oh,” Grayson sat up. “I got the story

from Claire. Turns out Caden’s father
owned all the properties that covered the
beach. When Caden got enough money, he
bought them all out from under his dad and
opened them to the public again.”

“That was nice of him.” Dakota smiled.
“Oh, he’s done a lot for Vitrolles.”

Grayson looked up at the sky. “He’s a good
man.”

“Yes, he is.” Taylor took Grayson’s

hand and laced their fingers together.

Sam looked at his watch. “It’s almost

lunch time.”

“Good, I’m hungry.” Dakota crammed

another croissant in his mouth.

“Jesus…” Sam smiled and looked

around. “I’ll go this time.”

“Bring me some of those little pickles

please, babe.” Dakota winked.

“Keep your eyes and ears open.” Sam

crouched down and climbed up the hill.

“He’s so stealthy.” Grayson giggled.
“He’s an assassin.” Dakota chuckled.

“Now, give me that other bag of pastries.”

~~

Kellan looked out the window of the

limo. Marseilles was beautiful. So far he
loved everything about it, and they weren’t
even out of the town limits yet. Caden was
on the phone speaking in French and Kellan
was trying hard not to eavesdrop, but he
caught enough to figure out that Caden was
revising his will. Kellan hoped Caden
wasn’t putting him in his will; he didn’t
want the man’s money. They got off the
main road and turned onto another. Kellan
caught the sign - well the sign and numbers.
Av. Jean Moulin and the road was D55F,
whatever that meant. Houses lined the
streets and there was beautiful greenery
was as far as the eye could see. The smell
of lavender was strong.

“We will be stopping at my friend

Claire’s bakery.” Caden smiled.

“Sounds good.” Kellan’s stomach

growled in agreement.

Caden chuckled. “You are still hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.” Kellan pulled

Caden into his lap; he kissed his neck and
ran a hand into Caden’s soft hair. “I love
the way you smell, it’s unique.”

“It’s Frenchman ‘Eau de toilette’.”

Caden laughed, as Kellan bit his lips.

“Well whatever it is, it’s delicious.”

Kellan ran his tongue up the rapid pulse in
his lover’s neck. “You taste good, too.”

Caden felt his dick getting hard in his

chinos. “You need to stop that, or I will be
walking into the bakery with an erection.”

“Mmm, I love the sound of that.” Kellan

cupped Caden’s crotch. “I can smell you,
babe.” Kellan growled into Caden’s ear.

Caden leaned back as Kellan’s hand

gripped him through his pants; his breath
was taken from him seconds later when
Kellan took his mouth in a rough kiss.

“Kellan…” He gripped Kellan’s hair.
The car stopped and Kellan growled

into Caden’s mouth. “I was just getting
started.”

Caden moaned as Kellan’s hand

released his aching prick. He sat up looking
out of the window. “Ah, we are here.”

Kellan got out of the limo and helped

Caden out. They walked into the bakery,
announcing their arrival with the bell on the

door. The smell of the pastries made his
mouth water instantaneously.

“Oh God, that smells wonderful.”

Kellan inhaled.

Caden smiled as Claire came out of the

back room. “Allo, chéri .”

Claire smiled at Caden, and her eyes fell

on the gorgeous man beside him. “Eh ban,
mon salaud!”

Kellan smiled. “That I understood - now

why would you be damned?”

“Caden was not lying, you are

breathtaking.” Claire looked him over.
“Claire Charmaigne.”

Kellan took her hand. “Kellan Brady, a

pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.”

Claire blushed.

“Tsk tsk, Claire, stop drooling over my

man.” Caden winked.

“I am just glad that he is your man.”

Claire smiled wide. “I have been taking
care of your friends, they eat a lot.” Claire
giggled.

“Oh, you’re going to be making so much

money.” Kellan looked through the glass at
all of the food.

“Claire, please give me four of

everything.” Caden smiled at Kellan who
was hypnotized by the food. His cell phone
rang and he looked at the caller ID. “I will
be right back.”

Kellan stared at the food. “What is

that?”

“You all seem to like the smell of it; it’s

a croissant with almond paste inside.”
Claire handed him one. She watched it
disappear in one bite. “You are hungry?”

“Always famished,” Kellan smiled

looking at Claire.

“You are in love with Caden.”
Kellan smiled, it wasn’t a question it

was stated as fact. “Yes, I am.”

“You would not leave him for any

reason, would you?”

“No, not for any reason.”
“Good,” Claire smiled. “It is what he

needs, to be loved unconditionally.”

“It’s what he deserves.” Kellan smiled.

The bell over the door rang, and Caden

walked back in. “Everything okay?”

“Yes,” Caden smiled. “Are you ready to

go to the house?”

“Yes, it was a pleasure to meet you,

Claire.” Kellan kissed her hand.

“You as well.” Claire said.
“I expect you at the house for dinner

when I call Claire.” Caden arched a brow.

“I will come, if only for the couscous.”

Claire laughed.

Caden narrowed his eyes. “Pouffiasse.”
Claire’s eyes went wide. “Such

language!”

Kellan furrowed his brows “Slut?”
Caden cracked up. “My man knows

French.”

“Take your pastries you foul-mouthed

man.” Claire laughed hysterically.

“Bye, we’ll see you soon.” Caden kissed

Claire on her cheeks.

Caden dismissed the limo driver and

they walked the rest of the way. Kellan
didn’t mind, it was beautiful out. The
streets were quiet. Most people rode bikes
from what he could tell and those who did
have cars had very small cars. Kellan had
never seen cars so small. They walked up a
gravel road and Kellan looked at the
property; vineyards surrounded both sides
of the long driveway.

“You make wine?”
“For my personal collection, I do not

sell it.” Caden smiled gripping Kellan’s
hand tighter.

“It’s so beautiful; I’ve never seen so

much lavender.”

“It gives the wine a unique taste; I let it

grow wild all over the property.”

The two story house came into view and

Kellan gasped. Red roses weaved up the
front of the house almost reaching the roof.
There was a table and chairs off to the side
of the front porch with an umbrella,
lavender surrounded the house.

“It’s beautiful, Caden.”

“Thank you, come inside.” Caden

unlocked the front door and went about
opening all the shutters, letting light and air
in.

Kellan walked around the house, all the

furniture had an antique look. The kitchen
was light and airy with a small table and
four chairs; a pantry was across from the
stove with only a curtain to hide it. Kellan
smiled and walked towards the first
bedroom, the king sized bed took up most
of the wall and the frame reminded him of
crowns.

“It is solid oak,” Caden peeked over

Kellan’s shoulder. “Rococo style.”

Kellan smiled. “Late Baroque.”
“Ah, we have a scholar?”
“I studied France a lot when I was

learning the language,” Kellan looked at the
antique armoire in the corner. “It’s
beautiful, you know.”

Caden walked around the room. “I

always wanted some kind of antique feel to
my home, and that is also why my hotels
have antique furniture in some of the
rooms.” Caden smiled, pulling Kellan out
of the room. “I wanted people to have a
sense of home if they needed it. The other
two bedrooms have walnut beds; I love the
smell of real wood.” Caden pulled Kellan
back into the kitchen. “My mother loved the
kitchen; the window opens to a beautiful
view of the ocean. It was right here that I
learned to make couscous.” Caden smiled,
closing his eyes. “I can almost smell the
seasonings, hear her softly humming.”

“You miss her,” Kellan held Caden

tightly.

“I do, she had a way of making me smile

when I was sad.” Caden looked up at
Kellan. “The way you do.”

Kellan looked into beautiful blue pools;

he touched his lips softly to Caden’s as he
wrapped him up tight. “I couldn’t have
asked for a better mate.”

“You are sweet,” Caden smiled. “You

should go take a shower; I’ll get us
something to eat.”

“Okay,” Kellan stepped away, giving

Caden a smack to his ass. “I’m sure I can
find the bathroom.”

“Towels are right next to the shower.”

Caden called over his shoulder. He looked
in the pantry and found fresh bread; thank
God for Claire. Caden chuckled and looked
in the refrigerator, it was stocked as well.

He grabbed the Camembert and Brie
cheeses, as well as salad fixings. He heard
a low whistling from the bathroom and
smiled. “You have found the tub?”

“Jesus, is this copper?” Kellan’s mouth

dropped open.

“Yes it is.”
“How much did this set you back?”

Kellan laughed.

“Almost seventy thousand dollars.”
Kellan coughed and almost choked. “I

don’t even want to touch it now.”

“It is just a tub,” Caden laughed. “Just

get in it.”

After a half an hour, Kellan came back

fresh from the shower and looked at the
kitchen table. A large salad bowl was

filled with what looked like romaine
lettuce, spinach leaves and cherry
tomatoes. The smell of garlic filled the
kitchen, as well as vinegar. Kellan sat
down and looked at the loaf of bread.

“Wow, this looks good.” Kellan took a

bite of one of the cheeses.

“Eat as much as you want, there is

more.” Caden smiled, filling a large bowl
with salad.

“You know how much I can eat right?”

Kellan arched a brow.

“I love that you have such a voracious

appetite.” Caden sat back, munching on his
bread.

“It’s not just for food, either.” Kellan

looked over Caden’s body; he was dressed
casually in jeans and a t-shirt.

Caden smiled wickedly. “Eat first; you

will need your strength.”

Kellan laughed and took a bite of his

salad. It wasn’t a huge meal, but it was
enough. Kellan sat back and looked at
Caden sipping his wine. They talked about
Caden’s job, which was really not a job,
just fun. Kellan listened intently, while
Caden told him how he came into so much
money, how his life changed when his
mother died and how he managed to
survive when his father told him he’d fail.
By the end of dinner, Kellan wanted to
know every damn thing there was to know
about Caden. They fell into bed after

washing up and Kellan pulled Caden close
to him. The bedroom window was open
and the sound of waves crashing onto the
shore was peaceful, as well as the warm
breeze with the smell of lavender.

“I already love it here.” Kellan kissed

Caden’s forehead.

“I’m glad.” Caden closed his eyes; he’d

left everything to Kellan, all his money and
properties. He was happy in the knowledge
that Kellan loved the house, and hoped he
would still love it once he was gone.
Caden felt his throat constricting, he’d been
ready to go, and then he met Kellan. “Good
night, my love.”

“Night Caden, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”

~~Chapter Nine~~

Dakota sat with Wayne and Conner for

the morning shift. Sam was on his way back
and Sawyer and Troy were patrolling the
road with Jagger and Xander. They were
joined by Mateo and Josh overnight, and
now the two of them sat on top of the house
with tranquilizer rifles. Dakota heard rocks
rolling down the embankment and looked

up to see Alexander. He smiled and cocked
his head to the side.

“Not very stealthy,” Dakota winked.
“I am not in wolf form.” Alexander

whispered.

The hair on his neck stood straight up

and Dakota took a deep breath. “Oh my
God, what is that?”

Wayne stiffened as well. “You smell it,

too?”

Dakota looked up as Sam joined them.

“Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” Sam looked at Dakota

and Wayne. “I don’t smell anything but the
air and Caden.” Sam motioned below to the
beach below. A slight breeze wafted
another scent, Sam inhaled deeply. “Oh

God, now I do. What is that?”

Wayne closed his eyes. “It’s Caden, he’s

sick.” Wayne opened his eyes, looking at
Alexander. “You should know anyone with
my bloodlines has unique abilities.”

Alexander couldn’t help the intake of

breath; both Dakota and Wayne looked at
him. “What?”

“It’s the smell of death, Dakota,” Wayne

narrowed his eyes at Alexander. “We can
smell it, Alexander. Tell me now.”

Alexander sighed. “He has cancer, a

very aggressive cancer. It has spread
throughout his body.”

“Oh no,” Dakota looked at Caden

smiling, as he walked barefoot down the
beach.

Sam heard a loud whistle, and looked up

to see Mateo waving his rifle.
“Something’s up.”

Wayne shielded his eyes, scanning the

beach. He moved closer to Conner. “You
stay right by me, understood?”

Conner nodded.

~~

Kellan woke up in bed alone; he went to

the kitchen to find a note from Caden telling
him to meet him down at the beach. Kellan
changed and walked down the path, hearing
the waves hitting the shore. He smiled,
seeing Caden down the beach quite a ways
down. Almost as if he sensed him there,

Caden turned and gave him a brilliant
smile. Kellan waved and started walking.
His smile turned to horror as Carson flew
out onto the beach, grabbing Caden.

“No!” Kellan ran.

~~

Caden felt the arm across his throat and

tried to breathe. “Carson, let go.”

Carson’s eyes darted around the beach,

the smell of werewolves hit him full force.
“I see you’re not alone.”

“No, I’m not.” Caden watched as men

came down from the hill; one in particular
looked very menacing. “That one does not
look happy.”

“Don’t come any closer, Wayne!”

Carson shouted. “I’ll bite him!”

Wayne stopped; Caden might not survive

the bite, not with his immune system so
weak. “Just let him go.”

“No way, you’ll kill me this time.”

Carson shook his head, growling as his
eyes fell upon Conner.

Wayne pulled Conner behind him,

glaring at Carson. “Back off, Carson. Now.
This won’t end well for you.”

The sound of rapidly approaching feet

had Carson turning in the direction of the
sound. Kellan was almost on top of him. In
a flash, his canines elongated and he bit
Caden.

“No!” Wayne shifted and sent a mental

message to Dakota, who shifted seconds
later.

“Caden!” Kellan shouted. He ran into

Carson, shoving him full force into the
sand.

All hell broke loose as Jagger and

Taylor jumped on their father. Seconds
later Mateo and Josh pumped Carson full of
tranquilizers. The beach was pure chaos
and the shouting was deafening. They all
stopped as Caden’s roar of pain sliced
through all of them. Kellan saw Caden on
his knees in the sand, his hands out in front
of him, his fists balled tightly. His face was
one of pure agonizing pain.

“Caden!” Kellan flew to Caden’s side.

He was promptly knocked out of the way

by Wayne and Dakota. “What are you
doing?” Kellan shouted. He watched in
horror as Wayne bit down on Caden’s
throat and Dakota sunk his canines into
Caden’s thigh. “What the hell!” Kellan felt
a hand on his shoulder and he was being
dragged away by Scott. “Let go!”

Alexander grabbed Kellan. “They must

do this Kellan, or Caden will surely die.”

“What? No one dies from a werewolf

bite!” Kellan shouted.

“Kellan!” Alexander turned Kellan to

face him. “They will if their immune system
is compromised, their body is too weak to
handle the change.”

“What…what do you mean?” Kellan

looked at Caden writhing on the sand. “Let

me go to him.” Kellan ran to Caden’s side.
“Oh God, Caden.”

Caden tried to open his eyes but the heat

was searing through every part of his body.
He managed to open one and look at his
arm. Where the vein was supposed to be
blue under his thin skin, it was red. Fire
was shooting up his arm at an incredible
rate.

“Kellan…” Caden opened both eyes to

look at his lover’s face.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” Kellan

whispered.

“I…” Caden’s body convulsed, his back

snapped and he screamed in pain.

“Oh God, Caden…” Kellan tried to hold

him in his arms but Caden’s body was

thrashing about. The change was different;
Caden’s hands would form claws, and then
go back to fingers, his skin rippled and hair
grew then receded. Kellan winced, hearing
bones cracking and Caden’s agonizing
screams were hurting his heart. “Jesus!”
Kellan looked at Alexander. “We have to
help him!”

Alexander shook his head sadly. “We

cannot. I’m sorry Kellan, but it has to be
like this.”

“Why?” Kellan looked at Alex. “What

aren’t you telling me?” Caden stilled in his
arms and Kellan realized he’d stopped
breathing. “No!” He put Caden down and
started CPR.

“Kellan…” Alexander started forward.
“Don’t you come any closer!” Kellan

shouted. He resumed CPR, giving Caden
breaths. “Oh God, don’t leave me.” Caden
remained lifeless and Kellan pumped his
hand over his heart. “Come on! Don’t you
dare fucking leave me, Caden! Do you hear
me?!” Kellan’s hand came down hard in a
fist on Caden’s chest and Caden’s eyes
flew open. “That’s it, come on, take a
breath.” Kellan wrapped his arms around
Caden, crying. “Breathe, please…”

“Kell…” Caden’s eyes closed and he

felt his body exploding with heat.

“Talk to me,” Kellan caressed Caden’s

face.

“Love…you.”

Kellan felt Caden’s body go limp, the

panic hit and he searched for a pulse. It
was there, going a mile a minute. Kellan
looked up at the circle of werewolves
around him. “What the fuck is going on?”

Wayne looked at all the men. “Get

Caden to the house; take Carson to the
house as well. Keep him pumped full of
that shit until I can get him out of here.”

“Wayne,” Jagger looked at his alpha.

“Why didn’t you just kill him?”

“I know what you said Jagger, but family

is family. He won’t be killed, but where
he’s going he’ll be wishing he was.”
Wayne looked down at Kellan. “Get Caden
into a bed, he’s not done yet.”

Kellan picked Caden up and looked at

Alexander. “I want answers.”

Alexander nodded. “I will give them to

you.”

They all turned to see Archer running

with John, Sawyer and Troy, they all came
to a stop and Archer looked at Carson
down on the sand.

“Well, I see he made it here.” Archer

raised a brow.

Sawyer looked at them. “He came in by

sea; we didn’t realize it until we smelled it
on the sand.”

“Well, I see you guys had some

problems.” Troy motioned to Caden in
Kellan’s arms.

Archer looked at the sky. “Let us get

inside.”

~~

It was so quiet in the bedroom you could

hear a pin drop. Caden’s body was shifting
back and forth from wolf to human, as if
trying to make up its mind. Kellan kept a
cool wash cloth on Caden’s forehead, he
was soaked in sweat and his body kept
convulsing. Kellan looked up at Alexander.

“What the hell is going on? Why is his

body reacting like this?”

Alexander sighed and rubbed his face.

“Caden has a very aggressive form of
cancer Kellan; he had maybe a few months
left to live.”

Kellan looked down at Caden on the

bed. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“He wanted to live the last months of his

life happily. I think he knew if he told you,
you’d try to change him and he didn’t want
you to have the guilt.”

“Fuck that!” Kellan stood up. “I couldn’t

give a rat’s ass about guilt! I would have
saved him!”

Dakota coughed softly and walked to

Kellan’s side. “Look, you say that now, but
those of us who have done it do feel guilt. I
know I do over Sam and I know Sawyer
does because of Troy. But even those were
in the best of circumstances, if you could
call it that, both Troy and Sam were in
perfect health. Wayne explained it to me

about Caden. Carson’s bite would have
surely killed him, but because Wayne and I
are different, Caden may have a chance.”

“Well he’s not fucking dead is he? “

Kellan growled at Alexander. “You had no
right to keep this from me!”

“I had every right, I am his doctor first,

your alpha second. I took an oath Kellan,
and now I have to call his other doctor and
bring her here.”

“What? Who?” Kellan sat on the bed and

took Caden’s hand.

“Evangeline is his doctor; she is the only

one besides us who knows the truth of his
condition. She must be told what has
happened.” Alexander looked at Wayne
and Archer. “We have no choice, but I will

not act without both of your blessings.”

Wayne nodded. “If this woman has kept

his condition secret, we can assume she
will keep ours.” Wayne turned his
attentions to Kellan. “You should not be in
here, Dakota and I will look over Caden
now.”

“Excuse me?” Kellan stood up.
Caden’s loud shriek had them all turning

to look at the bed. His body flailed on the
bed and he shifted in the blink of an eye. A
black wolf with sapphire eyes looked at all
of them; the lips curled and a menacing
growl resonated through the room. Wayne
stepped in front of Kellan and pushed him
back.

“Get out now.”

“What the fuck?” Kellan backed up, as

Caden’s growls got louder.

Dakota pushed the rest of them towards

the door. “Move, now.”

“His human side has been taken over by

his lupine side; he’s not Caden right now.”
Wayne pushed Kellan further back. “Get
out now!”

Caden’s fur stood up on end and he

flashed his canines as he moved around the
bed. Another menacing growl filled the
room as he bared his teeth, snarling. Wayne
shifted along with Dakota and let out
growls of their own. Wayne turned to
Sawyer and sent the mental message.

“Shit, get out right now.” Sawyer opened

the door motioning everyone out.

They all left the room and stood outside

in the hallway. It was quiet for a few
seconds and then the sounds of a fight
inside could be heard. Kellan stiffened
when he heard a snarl and then a soft
whine, more loud growls and then a body
thumped against the door. They all waited
with bated breath as more snarling was
heard. Something broke inside the room
and Kellan put his hand on the doorknob.

“Don’t,” Alexander put his hand over

Kellan’s. “You don’t know what’s going on
in there, none of us do. Wayne knows what
he’s doing.”

More snarling, more thumps around the

room and more sounds of something
breaking. Kellan couldn’t wait anymore; he

shoved Alexander out of the way and
turned the knob. A growl shook the whole
house and then a whimpering came from
behind the door. They all turned to see
Sawyer chuckling.

“Someone got spanked.” Sawyer

winked, trying to ease the tension in the
hallway.

The door opened and Dakota walked out

in human form, he shut the door behind him
and looked at all the men in the hall.
“Could someone get me some pants?”

“What the hell happened?” Kellan

looked at Dakota; he had blood on his
arms.

“Your boyfriend is very stubborn,”

Dakota smiled. “Wayne had to put him in
his place. I’ll tell you what, man; Caden
has one hell of a vicious streak. I think
you’re going to be the bitch in this
relationship.”

Scott chuckled.
“Anyway,” Dakota smiled at Scott and

then turned his attention back to Kellan.
“Wayne’s going to come out in a second
and talk to you. But I can tell you this much
- Caden is not in there right now.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Kellan

sighed in frustration.

“That means,” Wayne came out in human

form and shut the door behind him. “Your
boyfriend’s body is in serious need of
repair, and right now the stronger half is

taking over. Caden’s lupine side will
continue to override the human side until
it’s satisfied that Caden’s human body is
fully repaired. So, on that note, you don’t
go in there unless you’re in wolf form. Just
like any other animal that’s wounded,
Caden’s lupine side is in defense mode.”

“Can I see him?” Kellan looked at

Wayne.

“Yes, but only for a little while, he still

needs to rest and we need to make him eat.”
Wayne looked at all the men standing
around. “So maybe we should get some
food cooking?”

“Yes,” Archer nodded.
“I think there are steaks in the

refrigerator along with a rabbit.” Kellan

took his shirt off. “I’ll be in there with him
until you make me leave.” Kellan watched
them all leaving and finished undressing; he
opened the door and closed it quickly
behind him. Caden was on the bed on his
side, breathing heavily. He raised his head
as Kellan walked into the room and let out
a low growl. “I know, babe, just give me a
second.” Kellan tried to smile. He shifted
into his wolf form and jumped up on the
bed, Caden growled again and Kellan
moved closer. He whined softly and lay
beside his mate nuzzling his neck, Caden
growled again and Kellan felt canines in
his neck. He whined softly and licked
Caden’s nose; the canines let up and he
heard a soft huff. Kellan closed his eyes

and listened to his mate’s heartbeat, he
sighed and let the warmth envelope him.

~~

Conner took a glass of water and a plate

to the bedroom where Carson was being
held. He opened the door and peeked in.
Carson was in chains in the corner. Conner
crept in and left the plate on a nearby table.
He heard a low growl and backed up
quickly, hitting the armoire behind him.

“So, you turned on me,” Carson eyed

Conner, “little faggot that you are.”

“If you need anything else Scott or Jude

will bring it to you.” Conner turned to
leave.

“What are you afraid of, Conner? I’m

chained up.” Carson chuckled.

As Conner turned to open the door, the

sound of metal scraping the floor flooded
his ears and Carson gripped his ankle. “Let
go!” Conner shouted.

The door almost flew off the hinges; a

loud, menacing growl filled the room as
Wayne flew in. Conner backed up as
Wayne picked Carson up in one hand and
threw him against the wall.

“Do not ever put your hands on him

again!” Wayne growled, his claws and
teeth appearing.

Nearly everyone flew into the room.

Dakota stepped in front of Wayne, taking
his hands. “Breathe, Wayne.”

Wayne shook his head clear, his eyes

shifted back to color. It seemed as if the
every eye in the room was on him. He
backed up, looking into Dakota’s eyes.
“Make sure Carson is out of here by
morning.”

Wayne left and the room was very quiet

until Preston coughed quietly.

“Well, that was…interesting.”
Dakota palmed Conner’s face. “Are you

all right?”

Conner nodded. “I was just dropping off

his food. I thought he’d still be drugged
up.”

Mateo smirked, flipped the tranquilizer

gun off his shoulder and shot a round into
Carson. “There.”

Josh shot Carson again. The men in the

room were all looking at him with raised
eyebrows. “What? Just making sure.” Josh
chuckled.

Wayne went out the front door. He bent

over, putting his hands on his knees trying
to regulate his breathing. His eyes shifted
again and claws sprung from his fingertips.
The overwhelming urge to rip Carson to
shreds was building inside him. Wayne shut
his eyes tightly. Get a grip.

“Wayne?”
Wayne’s skin rippled, he turned to see

Conner fidgeting nervously. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, you said to take shifts

feeding Carson. It was my turn. I should
have been more careful.”

Wayne studied Conner. He was looking

down at his hands, like a child ready to be
reprimanded. Wayne let out a loud sigh,
walking over to Conner. He lifted the
younger man’s face up to his own and tried
to smile. “It wasn’t you, it’s me. I should
have known better than to have you be part
of the shifts. You shouldn’t be anywhere
near Carson Drake.” Wayne looked into
honey-brown eyes; Conner was
breathtaking. Wayne cleared his throat,
stepping back.

“So…you’re not mad at me?” Conner

stepped closer to Wayne.

The energy and aroma permeating from

Conner sent delicious tingles down
Wayne’s spine. He stepped back again,

trying to put some space between them.

“No, I’m not mad at you.” Wayne turned

toward the house to see Preston, Tucker
and Wesley coming out. “Why don’t you get
cleaned up for dinner, all right?”

Preston high-fived Conner on his way

into the house. He stood in front of Wayne
and tilted his head. “What’s up, Wayne?”

Wayne cocked an eyebrow at his pack.

Jagger and Taylor stepped out onto the
veranda. Wayne let out an irritated sigh.
“What is with the inquisition?”

“You tell us.” Jagger crossed his arms

over his chest. “That was definitely an
alpha move in there. Except for one thing,
you acted like Conner belongs to you.”

“Because he does!” Wayne shouted.

“Whoa…” Preston backed up as

Wayne’s claws flared from his fingertips.

“Carson had no right to turn Conner.”

Wayne growled.

“Why?” Taylor came down the steps and

stood in front of Wayne. “Because you
should have? Because after all this time,
you have feelings for someone?”

Wayne blinked and his eyes shifted.

“Why are you all ganging up on me?”

Jagger chuckled. “Come on guys, back

off and leave Wayne be.” Jagger raised an
eyebrow, when the pack didn’t move. He
cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes.
“That’s your beta talking, boys. Move it.”

Xander sighed, watching from the

window with Grayson. “God, that’s so
hot.”

Grayson chuckled.
Conner went about setting the table. He

stirred the pot of stew as Archer sat down
at the table eyeing him. Conner felt eyes on
him and looked over his shoulder. He
smiled uncomfortably at the scrutiny.
“Archer?”

“You have feelings for your alpha.”

Archer stated it plainly.

Conner knew his face turned five shades

of red. “Um…well...I…”

Archer sat back and chuckled at the

flustered boy. “It is all right, Conner. It is
just the two of us for now. I am not the only
one who has noticed.”

Conner dropped the spoon. It hit the

floor with a loud clank. “Who… who else
knows?”

Archer raised a brow, smiling. “Most of

the pack.” Archer laughed as Conner
lowered himself onto a chair in shock. “It
is all right, Conner. I believe your alpha is
highly confused at his own feelings.”

“But, Wayne had a female mate.” Conner

whispered.

Archer waved his hand in the air. “When

it comes to matters of the heart, love knows
no bounds, young one. Be patient with him;
he will come to terms with his feelings in
time.”

Sawyer strolled in and sat at the table

with Archer and Conner. He looked over at

Conner. The kid had the most beautiful
eyes; they were almost hypnotizing. No
wonder Wayne was so confused. “Wayne?”
Sawyer sat back, chuckling softly at
Conner’s look of astonishment.

“I swear my thoughts are off.” Conner

shook his head.

“Yeah? But your eyes still work.”

Sawyer winked at Conner.

“Oh shit.” Conner banged his head on

the table.

Archer stood. “Let us get dinner on the

table.”

“Food?” Josh poked his head in the

kitchen.

“Come on.” Sawyer laughed, pulling

Conner up from the table.

~~

When Kellan opened his eyes again it

was dark outside. Caden’s warm body was
in front of him and Kellan’s eyes went
wide at the size of his mate. Caden was a
least twice the size he was before. He
nuzzled Caden’s neck and whined softly,
there was a reciprocating nuzzle and a soft
huff from Caden. At least Caden’s lupine
side recognized his mate. The door opened
and Wayne came in with a plate of food.
Caden raised his head and growled. Wayne
raised a brow.

“Watch your tone. I’ll put the smack

down on you again.” Wayne turned his

attentions to Kellan. “Are you all right?”

Kellan whined softly and nuzzled into

Caden’s warmth.

“All right, if you need anything just

holler.” Wayne chuckled. “Get some
sleep.”

The door shut softly and Kellan raised

his head to smell the food. He nudged
Caden trying to get him up. Caden let out a
low growl of protest and Kellan nipped at
him playfully. He realized just then how
that could be interpreted; he was not about
to get it on in wolf form. He felt canines in
the back of his neck and let out a growl of
his own, one that meant ‘Oh hell no.’ Caden
released his grip and padded around the
bed before jumping off; he hit the floor and

sniffed the air. Kellan watched as his mate
devoured all the food on the plate and then
scratched at the door. Ah shit. Kellan
howled softly until the door was opened
and Dakota peeked in.

“Bathroom?” Dakota looked at Caden

and furrowed his brows. “You better do
your shit without a fight or I’ll put you
down. Got it?”

Caden huffed softly and tilted his head.
“Yeah, I can kick your ass.” Dakota

arched a brow. “Come on.”

Dakota opened the door further and

Kellan followed his mate out into the
house. All the men were now in wolf form
guarding an area outside. They all waited,
ready to pounce if Caden made a run for it.

Kellan did his business then waited by the
front door for Caden; he took his time and
then looked up when he was finished.
Kellan whined at his mate, getting his
attention. He didn’t know if Caden was just
tired or truly wanted to be close to him but
he padded over and nuzzled his neck,
whining softly. Kellan pushed Caden in the
ass with his nose, urging him inside the
house. Caden went straight to the bed and
jumped on it. Kellan jumped up and lie
down comfortably, within seconds he felt
Caden behind him nuzzling his neck and
whining softly. He closed his eyes and
listened to the strong heartbeat on his back.
He could at least be thankful that Caden
wanted him in wolf form. Maybe he’d heal

fast and then he’d have his mate back. He
hoped.

~~

Evangeline showed up the next day;

Alexander had sent the jet back to get her.
She was escorted into the house and stood
looking at the group of men all looking at
her. It was strange; she expected to hear
from Alexander, but not like this. He’d
been cryptic on the phone and she was
worried when he mentioned Caden had
gone through a change. She walked into the
kitchen and saw a large pot of stew boiling.
Putting her briefcase down she turned to
look at the men who had followed her into

the kitchen.

“Well, is anyone going to tell me what is

going on?” Evangeline looked at all of the
uneasy faces. “Alexander?”

Alexander moved forward and took her

hands in his. “This will not be easy to hear
—”

Evangeline lost her footing. “Oh God,

he’s…”

“No, no, no, he is very much alive.”

Alexander sighed. “He is not quite himself
right now.”

“What does that mean?”
“I think you should see for yourself.”

Alexander led her to the master bedroom
and cracked the door open.

Evangeline peeked inside and saw what

looked like two wolves sleeping on the
bed. One of them looked up, sniffing the air
and looked right at her. Evangeline sucked
in a breath. The eyes were sapphire.

“I…what is this?” Evangeline turned to

look at Alexander.

“Caden is no longer dying of cancer; he

is, however, now a werewolf.”

“Pardon?” Evangeline raised an

eyebrow.

Alexander closed the door and escorted

her back to the kitchen. “Look, I know how
this sounds, but I am telling the truth. If you
do not believe me I can provide you with
proof.”

“And how would you go about doing

that?”

Scott raised his hand. “Oooh, can I?”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “Yes Scott,

go ahead.” Alexander turned to face
Evangeline. “I am a werewolf myself, the
alpha of the Northern pack. Scott, Jude,
Kellan and Nicholas are my pack
members.” Alexander turned her to face
Scott and held her around her shoulders.
“Now, watch.”

Evangeline watched the man in front of

her; he removed his shirt, all while smiling.
She averted her eyes when his pants came
down. She felt a hand on her shoulder
urging her to keep her eyes on the man
undressing. The man’s skin was rippling,
and right before her eyes he was on the

floor, claws sprung from his fingers. With a
shake of his head, ears protruded from the
top of his head and then it was over. A
black wolf sat on its haunches staring at
her.

“Shit,” Evangeline whispered. She

turned to look at Alexander. “This is
obviously something that needs to be kept
quiet.”

Alexander nodded in relief. “I knew you

would see it that way.”

“My loyalties lie with my patient,

Alexander, and if Caden truly is a
werewolf than I will protect him, just as I
always have. Your secret is safe with me.”

Wayne stepped forward putting his hand

out.

“Thank you ma’am. Caden is going

through some changes right now. His body
will remain in wolf form until the lupine
side is assured Caden’s body is strong
enough to shift back to human form.”
Wayne motioned for her to sit at the table.
“In the meantime, no one goes in there
unless they are in wolf form.”

Evangeline shook her head. “I must see

him; he will understand me, won’t he?”

“I would think so, he understands me

when I tell him I’m going to tear him a new
one.” Wayne chuckled softly.

Evangeline smiled. “You must give me a

few moments with him.”

“I will go in with her,” Dakota stood up.

“I think I proved myself when I threw him

into the door.”

“That was you?” Sawyer laughed. “I

thought it was Wayne.”

“Nope, Wayne bit him in the ass.”

Dakota smiled. “Then he threw him into the
wall.”

“Well, let’s go,” Evangeline stood up.

“The faster I do this, the faster I can get
used to the idea.”

Dakota walked in front of her to the

bedroom, he put his hand on the doorknob
and looked at Evangeline. “If at any time
you feel threatened by him, just give me the
signal okay?”

“What is the signal?”
“Screaming?” Dakota shrugged his

shoulders. “I’ll be watching his body

language, anyway.” Dakota opened the
door and stepped inside; he allowed
Evangeline in behind him and then shut the
door. Caden raised his head again and
growled softly.

Evangeline made her way over to the

bed and looked at her boss; he was truly
beautiful as a wolf. The teeth snapped as
she made her way closer and sat on the
edge of the bed.

“Um, I don’t think that’s wise,” Dakota

watched Caden closely.

Evangeline smiled. “Look at you, aren’t

you beautiful. They have told me you are
cancer free now Caden; I cannot tell you
how happy I am to hear that. I didn’t want
to think of life without you. You took me in,

schooled me, gave me a place to live; I
will forever be grateful to you, Caden.”
Evangeline smiled and leaned forward as
Caden came closer to her. There was a
loud growl and his nostrils flared.
Evangeline frowned.

Dakota’s mouth dropped open in

surprise as Evangeline smacked Caden on
his muzzle.

“Don’t you growl at me, Caden

Fournier!” Evangeline crossed her arms
over her chest.

Dakota couldn’t believe it. Caden

whined and lay down next to Evangeline
and settled his head in her lap. He shook
his head in disbelief. “Well, I wasn’t

expecting that.”

“He is like a spoiled child.” Evangeline

sighed. “He has to be disciplined with a
hard hand.”

“Yeah I got that yesterday.” Dakota

chuckled softly.

Evangeline smiled as the other wolf

came to her and laid on her other side.
“Kellan?”

“Yes, that’s Kellan. He hasn’t left

Caden’s side since the change.” Dakota sat
down in the chair by the door. “You’ll find
that when he returns to his human form he
won’t have one trace of cancer left in his
body. We were very lucky and got to him in
time, it could have gone either way and
Kellan actually saved his life.”

Evangeline ran her fingers through the

soft fur on Caden’s back. “You are very
lucky, Caden, to have a man who loves you
so much. Now, I am going to the kitchen
with everyone else, try and behave
yourself.” Evangeline bent and kissed
Caden’s cold nose. She rose from the bed
and walked out the door with Dakota. They
stopped in the hallway and Dakota closed
the door. “How long will he remain like
that?”

“Well now, that is a good question.

Hopefully his lupine side will see fit to let
Caden shift; it’s a wait and see game right
now.” Dakota smiled. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I am actually.” Evangeline smiled.

“So you are one as well?”

“Yes, I am.” Dakota smiled walking

towards the kitchen. “Wayne changed me; I
was on the brink of death.”

“And the others?”
“Some were made; my husband is one of

them. The man we were waiting for,
Carson Drake, he mortally wounded my
husband. I had no choice.” Dakota smiled
sadly.

“You do not seem happy you had to

change him.” Evangeline took Dakota’s
hand. “You must not look at it that way, you
saved his life. You must always look at him
and know he has a second chance at life
because you loved him enough to save
him.”

Dakota smiled. “Thank you, that means a

lot to me.”

“You are not a monster.” Evangeline

smiled. As they neared the kitchen,
Evangeline noticed one person missing,
Alexander. She excused herself and went
out the front door. There, standing on the
veranda, was Alexander. The ocean breeze
blew through his hair softly and Evangeline
had never seen a man so sexy.
“Alexander?”

Alex turned and smiled. “I take it, it

went well?”

“Yes, I disciplined him.” Evangeline

came to stand next to him. She looked up at
his face, the green eyes searching hers.
“What is it?”

“You know what I am now,” Alexander

sighed. “I will not hold you to our dinner
plans.”

“The hell you won’t.” Evangeline arched

a brow. “You don’t get to make decisions
for me, Alexander, you are not my alpha.
Yet.” Evangeline smiled at Alexander’s
look of shock. “Werewolf or not, you are
smart, talented, a doctor and not to mention
drop-dead gorgeous. Let’s not forget
straight, because that seems to be something
we women don’t find often in a sexy man.”
Evangeline chuckled softly. “So, what do
you say?”

Alexander took her hands in his. “I think

I am very lucky to have found someone so
understanding. I have been alone a long
time; it is hard to be with a woman without

my lupine side wishing to go free.”

Evangeline smiled wickedly. “Oh,

really?”

Alexander stifled a laugh. “Oh my, I can

see we are evenly matched, Evangeline.”

~~Chapter Ten~~

Kellan’s eyes opened. It was light

outside and he had no concept of time
anymore. He stretched his legs out and
looked at Caden still in wolf form. He
closed his eyes and concentrated on shifting
to human form. He felt confident that Caden
would not attack him now. The bones
crunched and readjusted, talons became
fingers and his eyesight was back to color.
Kellan rolled over and faced Caden; he ran
his fingertips over his soft muzzle.

“I love you, do you know that? This

would have happened one way or another
Caden, you are my mate and I would have
saved you no matter what the cost.” Kellan
smiled as Caden’s eyes opened. “I can see
the love in your eyes, please come back to
me.” Kellan moved closer to Caden and put
his arms around him, there was a soft huff
and whine in his ear. “I love you, more than
anything.”

~~

When Kellan opened his eyes again it

was dark out, time seemed to fast forward.
Caden was still asleep and Kellan moved
slowly; he needed to eat and take a shower

badly. He kissed Caden’s nose and smiled.
Closing the door softly, he made his way to
the kitchen to find the men all gathered
around the table eating. Wayne looked up
as he entered the room.

“Clothes would be good, there is a lady

present.” Wayne smiled.

“Oh, shit, I mean shoot.” Kellan blushed

and left the kitchen.

“I don’t mind.” Evangeline giggled. “I’m

a doctor you know.”

Kellan returned with sweats on, he took

a bowl out of the cupboard and smelled the
stew on the stove. “Rabbit?”

“Yes,” Wayne nodded to Dakota. “Take

some food to Caden, please; Kellan needs
to get cleaned up.” Wayne turned his

attentions back to Kellan. “How is he?”

“Well he didn’t attack me when I shifted

back to human form, so that’s progress.”
Kellan sat down and grabbed a piece of
bread.

Wayne nodded. “He knows you are his

mate, it will take him a bit to get used to the
power flowing inside him.”

Sam coughed and looked up from his

bowl.

“Yes, I remember what that was like.”

Sam looked at Troy. “You do too, don’t
you?”

“Oh hell yes,” Troy shivered. He saw

Sawyer’s face and took his hand. “Don’t,
you know I’m grateful, so pull your head
out of your ass.”

Kellan looked up from his bowl. “What

day is it?”

Wayne smiled. “It’s been three days,

he’s coming along nicely, Kellan, don’t
worry. The first twenty four hours were the
most crucial. He is a lot stronger than we
give him credit for.”

“Oh I know he is, trust me.” Kellan

sighed. “I just miss his voice.”

“He’ll come around,” Wayne took

Kellan’s hand. “He loves you very much.”

“Yes,” Evangeline nodded. “He is very

much in love with you. His attorney called
me; he changed his will, Kellan. You
would own everything if Caden were to
die.”

“I don’t want his money,” Kellan looked

up. “I just want him.”

Evangeline reached out to take Kellan’s

hand. “He knows that, we all do. I have
never seen Caden so happy before he met
you. You have changed him in a way no one
else could, you gave him hope.”

“Well, now he’ll have life and I won’t

apologize for what I would have done if
this hadn’t happened.” Kellan looked at
Alexander. “Sometimes rules are made to
be broken.”

Alexander nodded. He’d thought the

same thing when he saw Kellan lying in a
pool of blood, ripped open by a bear. In
that moment, he’d made the decision to
save Kellan’s life and he would never

question that decision. Alexander palmed
Kellan’s face. “You are like a son to me, I
will never regret saving your life, Kellan.”

Kellan closed his eyes; Alexander had

become the father he’d lost. “I love you,
Alexander.”

“And I you.” Alexander smiled and

kissed Kellan’s forehead. He looked up to
see Jude and Scott with their arms crossed.
“I love you two as well, I love all my
boys.”

“As long as you love me the most.” Scott

chuckled and winked.

“Finish your food.” Evangeline looked

at Scott.

“Yes, Mom,” Scott chuckled and saw the

look of shock on Alexander’s face. “Oh

come on, you’ve been alone for how long?
A decade?”

“Must we talk about my love life?”

Alexander sighed.

“Or lack of it,” Jude grumbled.
Alexander shot him a look. “Shush.”
Kellan ate like a starving man, he’d been

letting Caden eat all the food that was
brought to the room and now felt his body
finally getting some strength back. He
wiped his mouth and smiled at all of them
staring at him.

“What? I was hungry.” Kellan got up and

put the bowl in the sink. He turned and
looked at the men again. “I’m going to
shower and then I’ll be back to eat some
more.”

~~

After a long hot shower and another

overfilling bowl of stew, Kellan made his
way back into the bedroom to find Caden
sitting on the bed. There was a soft whine
and Kellan smiled, he sat on the edge of the
bed and ran his fingers through the fur on
Caden’s neck.

“I miss you, I really want to kiss you but

I can’t do that when you’re still in wolf
form. I miss your hands on me.” Kellan
took his pants off and watched as Caden’s
lupine eyes looked at him from head to toe.
Kellan crawled under the covers and lay on
his side. “Don’t you miss me Caden?

Wouldn’t you like to make love to me?”
Kellan ran his hand under the blanket
making sure Caden knew what his hand
was doing. “Oh yes…” Kellan moaned
stroking his cock. “Caden…I miss your
hands on me.” Kellan opened his eyes to
see Caden’s mouth open, tongue lolling out
to the side. “Look at me, all hard and
leaking for you.” Kellan breathed. “Take
me Caden, make me yours.” Kellan could
see the longing in Caden’s eyes, but it
wasn’t enough. Kellan sighed and released
his cock. He rolled over on his side and
closed his eyes. “Good night Caden.”

~~

Over the next few days Caden followed

him everywhere, always in wolf form.
Kellan stayed in human form after the night
he’d tried unsuccessfully to seduce Caden.
Kellan turned his face into the sun and took
a deep breath of lavender and grape infused
air. They were walking through the
vineyard this morning, Caden by his side.
Kellan looked down and ran his fingers
through Caden’s fur. He was at his hip
now, his transformation complete. Kellan
sighed, it was all well and good to know
that Caden knew they were mates, but he
wanted to make love to his man. More than
once he’d smacked Caden on his muzzle

when he tried to mount him, they were not
having sex like that.

The sound of an approaching vehicle

caught Kellan’s attention. The men were
back from dropping Carson off in Siberia.
Literally. Wayne had purchased land out in
the far reaches that were untouched and
he’d explained that Carson would be
forced to remain in his wolf form in order
to survive the cold harsh winter. Kellan
smiled as Nicholas waved at him from the
driver seat; it occurred to him right then
and there what he could do. He made his
way up to the house and into the bedroom
shutting the door behind him. Caden jumped
on the bed and Kellan opened the shutters
leaving just enough space to see out, but not

get out. He turned to see Caden waiting for
him on the bed and gave him a wide smile.

“Be right back, gorgeous.”
Kellan went out front and helped Taylor

and Jagger unload the car. He smiled at
Nicholas and got a raised eyebrow from
him.

“What?” Nick put his hands on his hips.
“I need a favor.” Kellan watched the

house out of his peripheral vision and saw
Caden watching them out the window.

“What kind of favor are we talking

about?” Nick shut the car door.

Kellan leaned into his ear and

whispered his idea. “Well?”

Nick scrunched his brow. “Do you think

it will work?”

“Are you opposed to the idea?” Kellan

arched a brow.

Nick looked Kellan over from head to

toe with a seductive smile. “Nope.”

Kellan laughed. “You so need to get

laid.”

Nick waggled his eyebrows. “Come

here, sexy.”

Kellan was pulled forcefully into Nick’s

arms and then lips were on his. The loud
howl from the house was followed by
sounds of breaking glass. Caden was trying
to get out of the room.

“I think it’s working,” Nick smiled, lips

still attached to Kellan’s.

Seconds later the front door of the house

opened and a buck-naked Caden walked

out, a look of rage on his face.

“Hello, honey.” Kellan smiled.
“What the fuck?” Caden shouted.
“I think I’m going to back away now.”

Nick took a step back from Kellan.

“You dare to kiss my man!” Caden

lunged for Nicholas; he was stopped by
Wayne’s hand inches before his fingers
ripped into Nick’s face.

“Back. Off. Right. Now.” Wayne

growled. “Kellan did what he had to do,
and it worked.”

Caden blinked, looking at his fully

formed hand. His human hand. He sucked
in a breath and looked up at Kellan. “Mon
amour.”

Kellan took Caden in his arms and held

him. “I’m so glad to see you.”

Wayne motioned to Jagger to get Caden

some clothes, and he smiled at Caden and
Kellan in a warm embrace.

“It’s good to see you Caden.” Wayne ran

a hand through his hair. He’d been worried
Caden might not ever be fully human again.

Caden looked at Kellan and smiled. “It

is good to be back.”

Kellan threaded his fingers through

Caden’s soft hair and kissed his cheek.
“I’ve missed you so much.”

Caden pulled away slightly and looked

at Kellan, his face looked haggard. “I am
sorry for what you have been through.”
Caden smiled as Jagger offered him a pair

of sweat pants. He pulled them on and
looked at the group of men all smiling at
him. His eyes fell on one of them and he
put his hand out. “I am sorry I took a bite of
your arm.”

Dakota shrugged his shoulders and

smiled, taking Caden’s hand and shaking it.
“I’m sorry I threw you into the door.”

“I’m not sorry I threw you into a wall.”

Wayne laughed. “You needed a good smack
down.”

“And you gave it to me good.” Caden

smiled. “Is it strange that I remember
everything?”

“No, it’s normal.” Wayne shook his

head.

Caden felt the hair on his arms prickling

and he took a deep breath, the smell was
like an aphrodisiac and it was coming from
Kellan. “Oh my,” Caden licked his lips
looking at Kellan.

“Um, so anyway,” Dakota looked at

Kellan. “We should let you guys, um, go
into the house.”

Kellan looked at Caden’s eyes. They

were blown wide open. “Oh.”

Caden grabbed Kellan, throwing him

over his shoulder with a growl.

Dakota watched Caden almost run to the

house. “See?” Dakota looked at all the
guys. “The bitch.”

Scott chuckled.

~~

Kellan hit the bed and bounced once

before Caden jumped on top of him. He
was whipped onto all fours and in seconds
Caden entered him with one thrust. The
pain speared his tunnel causing him to cry
out in pain.

“I’m sorry my love,” Caden slammed

into Kellan with abandon, God help him, he
couldn’t stop. The need to own Kellan,
mark him as his own, was overwhelming.

“Oh Jesus,” Kellan held onto the bed

and squeezed his eyes shut as the pain in
his ass became almost unbearable and then
Caden came. The howl resonated
throughout the house and Kellan roared in
pain when Caden’s canines sunk into his

shoulder meeting with bone. The effect was
immediate. Wayne’s bloodline raced
through him and Kellan’s breath was
sucked out of his lungs as Caden’s bite tore
through his veins, scorching him internally.
His body jerked and shuddered as the
power raced through him and his fingers
gripped the headboard ripping it right off.

“Shit!” Caden jumped backwards as a

loud growl left Kellan’s chest. Blood slid
down his back from where he’d bitten him.
“Kellan, oh God…I’m so sorry.”

Kellan could hear his fucking heartbeat

in his ears; he released the headboard and
collapsed onto the bed, panting. His pulse
was through the roof and he blinked his
eyes, the color fading in and out as his

lupine side was fighting to come out.
Kellan felt hands on his ass and then a
tongue laved at his aching hole. His legs
were spread out further and he looked over
his shoulder to see Caden feasting on him.

“Caden…” Kellan dropped his head

onto the pillow and arched his ass.

“I am sorry I hurt you, my love.” Caden

speared his tongue inside tasting his own
release.

Kellan sighed in pleasure; the perks of

being a werewolf meant that pain was
fleeting. His body was already recuperating
and the warm tongue bath almost put him to
sleep. Warm lips moved up his spine
accompanied by a hot tongue and hands
massaged the globes of his ass. Kellan

turned his head and met with Caden’s lips,
their mouths opened to each other and
Kellan moaned as his mate finally kissed
him. Deep, languid kisses, tongues rubbing,
searching and Kellan was rolled onto his
back.

“I missed you.” Kellan caressed

Caden’s face softly.

“I wanted to come back to you,” Caden

ran his fingertips down Kellan’s cheek. “I
have missed you in my arms.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Caden? You

had to know I’d change you. We’re mates.”

“That is precisely why I did not.” Caden

kissed Kellan’s lips softly. “I accepted my
fate; I was willing to happily live with
what time I had left. I did not want to be in

a hospital and when the accident happened
I thought God was going to give me a
quicker route.” Caden laughed softly. “And
then there you were,” Caden smiled as
tears slid down Kellan’s face. “I thought,
how unfair can God be to give me someone
so beautiful? As it turned out, God had
plans of his own.” Caden wrapped his arms
around Kellan. “You did not change me,
Kellan, and you should not blame yourself
for those who did. I am forever grateful to
Wayne and Dakota.”

“Not Carson?” Kellan chuckled softly.
Caden shook his head. “He lit the fuse,

Dakota and Wayne set it off. I feel so much
power coursing through me.” Caden tipped
his head. “And voices.”

Kellan nodded. “Wayne’s line of

werewolf is much, much stronger than my
own. You’ll have to talk to him about
dealing with it.” Kellan closed his eyes as
Caden’s lips descended on his own, soft
moans escaped his lips. His eyes flew
open. “What?”

“I did not say anything.” Caden arched a

brow.

“You said you love me.” Kellan smiled.
“You heard me,” Caden licked a path

across Kellan’s neck. “You are tired my
love; please, close your eyes and sleep.
Everything is all right now, we are
together.”

Kellan relaxed and closed his eyes as

Caden’s soft breathing lulled him to sleep.

~~

Kellan woke up to a warm breath across

his neck. Caden’s arms were wrapped
around him protectively. Kellan sighed and
closed his eyes. Thank God, Caden was
still in human form. It’d taken him a while
to go to sleep last night, worrying about
Caden shifting back to wolf form. The
warm arms around him convinced him
otherwise. Kellan turned over slowly and
looked into the peaceful face of the man he
loved. His plan with Nicholas worked
perfectly, just as he hoped it would.
Knowing Caden had a vicious dominant

side; he’d used it against him and gotten his
mate back. Kellan chuckled at the memory
of Caden walking out of the house naked as
the day he was born, ready to take Nick out.

“It was not funny.” Caden opened his

eyes.

“Ooops forgot you can hear my thoughts.

Yes it was. It was hilarious.” Kellan
smiled wide.

“Another man kissing you is not funny,”

Caden growled playfully and bit Kellan’s
lip.

Kellan chuckled as Caden flipped him

on his back, straddling him. “Well, I knew
you had a dominating side, I just didn’t
know how strong it was.”

Caden took Kellan’s hands and pinned

him to the bed, threading their fingers
together. He leaned over and brushed his
lips across Kellan’s. “Are you all right
with it?”

“Mmm, yes, I love how forceful you

are.”

Caden sat back and smiled. “Oh yes?”
“Ohhhh yesss.” Kellan pulled him down.

~~

An hour later they emerged from the

room, dressed and famished. Kellan’s legs
were wobbly as he entered the kitchen.
Caden had almost fucked him through the
bed. He smiled at all the men at the table

and took a seat next to Nicholas. There was
a low growl and Kellan looked up to see
Caden staring at Nick.

“Honey, it was just to get you to shift.

Nick is like a brother to me.”

Nicholas smiled wide. “I get it, Caden.

Kellan’s right, though, it’s not like that. I’m
still waiting to find my mate.”

Caden’s shoulders relaxed and he sat

down with a sigh. “Sorry, I don’t know
why I reacted like that.”

“It’s your dominating side,” Dakota

sipped his coffee. “Sam has one, too, but
we both know who the top wolf is in our
marriage.” Dakota giggled.

Sam sat back in his chair and threaded

his fingers together behind his head. “Yup,

it’s me.” Sam laughed and then grimaced
when Dakota kicked him under the table.
“Ow.”

Xander shot a look at Jagger.
“What? I didn’t say shit.” Jagger zipped

his lip.

“It’s not always about who the stronger

wolf is,” Wayne sipped his coffee. “It’s
about the man that you are. Kellan is a
strong, domineering man; Caden is,” Wayne
raised a brow, “extremely stubborn.”

“I agree with that statement.” Evangeline

stood at the kitchen entrance smiling.

Caden stood and made his way over to

her. He took both her hands in his and tried
to smile. “I am sorry I growled at you.”

“It’s all right darling, which is why I

smacked you.” Evangeline giggled. “I wish
I could have taken a picture of you just
then.”

“Me, too,” Dakota laughed. “It was

priceless.”

Caden looked at Evangeline closely.

“You are all right with all of this?”

“Of course I am, I’m just so happy

you’re cancer free Caden.” Evangeline
smiled at Kellan. “You have a very good
man at your side.”

“I know,” Caden looked over his

shoulder at Kellan. “He puts up with a lot.”

Kellan chuckled. “Trust me, if that’s the

worst you got, it isn’t shit.”

Caden turned his attentions back to

Evangeline. “Are you all right? Have you

been taken care of?”

“Yes, I have.” Evangeline smiled at

Alexander.

Caden followed her line of sight and

smiled wide. “Well, Doctor Romasko it is
good to see you. I do appreciate you
keeping my condition to yourself.”

“Please, call me Alexander. It’s my job

as a doctor to keep your condition between
us, Caden. It was hard to keep it from
Kellan.”

“Yes, I really didn’t appreciate that.”

Kellan sat back crossing his arms.

“Too bad,” Caden smiled wide. “Suck it

up.”

Scott chuckled and took another bite of

toast. “Yep, you guys are perfect for each
other.”

There was a knock on the door and they

all looked at each other. Kellan frowned as
no one moved.

“Okay then, I’ll get it.” Kellan pushed

his chair out and made his way to the front
door. He opened it to see Claire with a
large bag. “Good morning, Claire. What
have you brought us this morning?” Kellan
inhaled deeply. “Almond croissants!”

Claire chuckled. “Yes, I can tell how

much you all love them.”

“Well come on in.” Kellan moved aside

and allowed Claire in the house. “Let me
just get that for you.” Kellan took the bag
and stuck his face in it.

Claire laughed. “I am so glad you all

enjoy my pastries. I have never had to make
so many. I added a few loaves of French
bread as well.”

“Well come on in, everyone’s in the

kitchen.” Kellan led the way and smiled as
he walked back into the kitchen. As soon as
he put the bag down it was ripped in half
and the men devoured the pastries.

“Oh my,” Claire smiled. “I am thinking I

should have brought more.” Claire’s eyes
fell upon Caden. His face almost glowed
and his cheeks were pink. “Caden? You
look…so healthy.”

“Evangeline has started me on a new

treatment.” Caden looked at Evangeline
with a raised brow. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Yes, and he’s responding very well.”

Evangeline smiled. “Why don’t you have a
seat, Claire? Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, that would be lovely.” Claire sat

down looking at all the men at the table. It
was like looking at an all-male review,
they were all breathtaking. “I am glad to
see you all looking so happy.”

“And well fed,” Dakota smiled. “Thanks

to you.”

Wayne coughed quietly. “Excuse me? I

made the stew.”

“With the ingredients Claire brought.”

Dakota pointed at him with his croissant.

“Yes. Thank you very much, Claire.”

Wayne smiled taking her hand. “We
appreciate all that you have done for us.”

Claire blushed and smiled. “Of course, I

could not let you all starve.”

Caden watched the exchange with a

smile. Claire obviously found Wayne
attractive. His eyes fell upon Conner; the
younger man’s face showed his feelings for
Wayne. Caden cleared his throat and sat
down at the table next to Kellan.

~~

After Claire went back to the bakery,

Caden sat at the table full of werewolves
and smiled.

“So, what are the plans now?” Caden

kissed Kellan’s hand.

“Well some of us have to get back to

work.” Jude sat back in his chair. “We’ve
already taken almost two weeks off.”

“Sorry,” Caden looked at them. “I do

appreciate you all taking the time to come
out and help.”

“It’s not a problem.” Scott smiled.

“You’re family Caden, and that’s what
family does.”

Caden looked at Kellan with a wide

smile. “Family, it has been a long time
since I have had a family.”

“Well how about we all meet up in

Denali next week?” Wayne bit into the
flaky croissant and moaned. “Oh God, that
is good.” He closed his eyes chewing.

“Sounds good.” Jagger sat back drinking

his coffee. “Some lessons still need to be
learned.”

“Can’t wait.” Kellan laughed.
Mateo coughed and looked at Sam, Troy

and Josh. “You know we need to let two
more people in on this.”

Troy nodded and looked at Sawyer.

“James and Derek need to be made aware.”

Wayne looked at Archer and Alexander.

“Well? They are both government officials,
what are your thoughts?”

Archer chewed his croissant and

furrowed his brows. “If Sam and Troy trust
these men, I believe we should as well.”

Alexander nodded his head in

agreement. “I am with Archer.”

“Then it’s settled,” Wayne looked at the

table. “We bring them to Denali.”

Josh rubbed his hands together. “Oh, this

is going to be so much fun.”

~~

Over the next few days the house cleared

out and Caden and Kellan were left alone.
They spent countless hours making love and
walking the beach hand in hand talking
about life. Kellan wanted to know
everything about Caden’s condition and
was surprised at how little time Caden had
left before the change. Kellan was furious
at the thought that Alexander had known

and refused to tell him.

“Kellan, he had no choice.” Caden

pulled Kellan into his arms.

“That’s a load of crap!” Kellan pulled

away. “You would have died, how is that
right, Caden? Were you ever going to tell
me at all or were you just going to pass
away by yourself? How could you even
think that was okay?”

Caden took Kellan’s hand. “I was going

to tell you, I swear I was, but then when I
found out that you were a werewolf and
you had the power to save my life,” Caden
shook his head. “I felt as if I would be
selfish if I allowed you to spare my life.
People die every day, Kellan, and they do
not have that luxury.”

“You’re lucky Carson bit you,” Kellan

growled. “If you died,” Kellan shook his
head. “I would have…I don’t know what I
would have done. A part of me would have
died with you; you are my mate, Caden.
You have no idea what that means, your
pain is mine. We are connected in a way
others never will be.”

Caden pulled Kellan back into his arms

and rested his head on his chest. The
heartbeat was strong and Caden sighed. “I
love you so much; let us not speak of things
we cannot change. We are together now.”

Kellan wrapped his arms around him

and smelled Caden’s soft hair. “I love you,
more than life itself Caden Fournier.”

Caden looked up. “Then show me.”
The windows were open and a soft

breeze blew into the bedroom, billowing
out the curtains and bringing in the smell of
ocean air. Caden’s fingers were wrapped
in his lover’s hair as they devoured each
other. Legs entwined, bodies moving,
Caden’s body floated on a wave of pure
ecstasy as Kellan made love to him. He had
never felt such love, and his face was wet
with tears as Kellan held his face and
kissed him. The taste of Kellan, the feel of
him inside his body, Caden was on an
overdose of pleasure as they rocked
together, skin against skin, lips pressed
together. Caden’s body, now pumping with
lupine blood was on the verge of an

explosion; Kellan’s final thrust sent him
over the edge, almost screaming.

“Kellan….”
“I love you, I love you so much Caden.”

Kellan exploded, his release filling Caden.

Kellan slumped on top of Caden and

kissed his neck, he’d wanted to bite him so
many times, mark him, but he was afraid
Caden would revert back to his lupine side.
He knew he was being stupid, but after
days of not having Caden in his arms, the
fear wouldn’t leave him.

“I’m in control now, Kellan,” Caden

whispered. “I will never leave you again.”

Kellan broke down and felt strong arms

come around him holding him tight. They
lie quietly, just holding one another until

they both drifted off, Kellan still buried
deep inside his mate.

~~

The Alaska air hit James Pruitt like a

whip to the face. He’d been in Arizona for
so long; he’d forgotten what cold was.
Being invited out to Denali National Forest
was strange to say the least, but he went
with it. When Mateo Esposito called, you
didn’t ask questions. James shielded his
eyes from the sun as a limo pulled up in
front of him. A blonde kid got out of the
backseat and smiled.

“James Pruitt?”
“That’d be me.” James smiled.

“Preston Dalton.” Preston put his hand

out. “Welcome to Alaska.”

James shook his hand and got into the

limo. “So, how do you fit into this little
meeting, Preston?”

Preston smiled wide. “You’ll be finding

out very soon, Mr. Pruitt.”

“Please, call me James.” James looked

out the window.

“So, are you friends with the Derek

guy?”

James’ head snapped back to Preston.

“Excuse me?”

Preston arched a brow. “Um, we picked

up some huge guy named Derek this
morning.”

James sat back in the seat, Derek was

here? James felt his pulse racing. He hadn’t
seen Derek in a little over four months.
He’d gotten the occasional phone call from
him, usually at two in the morning and they
spoke for a little over an hour each time. It
was never on a personal level, it was
always about work, but James could tell
Derek was calling to hear his voice. Being
a world away was taking its toll on the
General.

“You could say we’re friends.” James

smiled.

Preston blushed. “He’s gorgeous.”
“That’s what I hear.” James smiled.

He’d never told anyone the truth about his
visit to the fortune teller, the truth would

come out when the time was right. So far
she’d been right on with the rest of them.
Sam had his man with eyes like the stars;
Troy, the emerald eyes; Josh with his
surprise love. He didn’t know what the
fortune teller had told Derek and he’d
never asked. As they pulled into the park,
James smiled at his men waiting for him
with big smiles. The limo stopped and
James got out looking over his guys, he
hadn’t known them as long as Derek had,
but they’d become family to him. “Miss
me?”

“Hell yes, we did.” Josh chuckled,

grabbing James and hugging him.

“I can’t breathe, Josh.” James wheezed.
“Ooops, sorry boss.” Josh smiled wide.

“Welcome, to Denali.”

James looked around, snow was still on

the ground and it was June. The wind was
bone chilling and James rubbed his arms,
his teeth chattering. “Jesus, it’s cold.”

“This is warm,” Sam smiled. “Come on

in and let’s get you some coffee.”

James smiled as Sam put an arm around

him. Compared to the men who worked for
him, he was short. At five foot ten, they all
towered over him. Derek was six foot four
and weighed in at a whopping two hundred
thirty pounds. All muscle. James weighed
in at a measly one hundred eighty. They
walked into the warm cabin and James’
eyes immediately made contact with
Derek’s. He rose from the couch and

walked over to James.

“James,” Derek put his hand out. “It’s

good to see you.”

James took the offered hand and felt it

swallowed by Derek’s massive size. “I
was surprised to find out you were here. I
thought you were still in the sandbox.”

“Leave is a wonderful thing.” Derek

smiled still holding James’ hand. “Let’s
sit.”

They both sat, and James sucked in a

breath as a black wolf wandered into the
living room. It sat down in front of them
and tilted its head to the side, grey eyes
looking them over.

“Um, guys?” James motioned to the

wolf.

“Oh,” Sam smiled and sat down rubbing

Dakota behind the ears. “Derek, James, this
is my husband, Dakota.” He knew it was
going to be hard to accept and they had all
agreed this was the best way.

“Okay,” James said slowly. “I’ve seen

pictures of your husband, Sam, and he had
two legs, not four.”

Josh came around the couch with a robe

and hung it in front of Dakota, just enough
to cover his lower body when he shifted.
“Do your thing, Dakota.” Josh chuckled.

James felt his hand being squeezed, as

the wolf in front of them shook; in seconds
a man stood in front of them. James sucked
in a breath when the pressure on his hand
became unbearable.

“Derek, my hand.” James whispered, his

eyes never leaving the man in front of him.

Derek sat back, jaw hanging open.

“Well, fuck.”

“Well,” Mateo leaned against the door

frame. “I’m impressed, no screaming or
running.”

“He,” Derek looked at Sam. “He…”
“Is a werewolf, Derek, just like me and

Troy.” Sam smiled, helping Dakota into his
robe.

“Troy?” Derek looked over at Troy,

who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yup, Sawyer had to change me after my

ex decided I needed a bullet in the chest.”
Troy smiled, sitting down next to Derek

and James. “Are you guys going to be
okay? I mean if anything, this shit gives us
an edge in our jobs.”

James licked his lips slowly; they had

suddenly gotten very dry. “I’m…yeah, I’m
good I think. I need a shot of something
though.”

Derek nodded slowly. “Yes…alcohol is

good right now.”

Josh smiled wide. “I wish I had my

camera.”

Mark smacked his husband. “Go get

them a shot, babe.”

Riley giggled as Mateo wrapped his

arms around him. “You should see your
faces.”

Wayne sat forward looking at both men;

they seemed to be in shock. “Seeing as you
are both government, you can see where
discretion is the key here. I can’t have my
boys exposed. The other alphas agreed that
this had to happen; Sam and Troy still work
for you and sometimes circumstances
happen when the need to shift is a must. We
felt it was better to have you in the loop,
rather than out of it.”

James nodded. “Yes, I understand. You

have our word; we will never discuss what
we have seen here today with anyone.”

“Uh huh,” Derek tilted his head looking

at Troy. “So you too, huh?”

“Yep,” Troy smiled. “It’s kind of weird

at first, you can hear everything and see
further than before, smell ten times more. It

takes some getting used to, but in the end,
I’m here and alive thanks to my husband.”

“Werewolves,” Derek shook his head

smiling. “Just when I think I’ve heard it
all.”

James looked at the man in the corner

and smiled. “I know you, you’re Caden
Fournier.”

“I am Caden,” Caden smiled. “And also

a werewolf.”

“Is anyone not a werewolf?” Derek

raised a brow.

“I’m not,” Josh raised his hand. “Mark

and I as well as Mateo and Riley are still
human.”

James laughed. “If anyone could benefit

from being a werewolf, it’s Josh.”

“Hey!” Josh laughed.

~~

The fire was roaring, and so were the

men in laughter, after two bottles of Jack
Daniels lay empty on the coffee table.
Wayne explained to the newest members,
Kellan and Caden, what to expect from
their newfound power. All in all, Derek
and James had taken the news quite well,
even laughing when Troy and Sam shifted
in front of them. James rubbed behind
Troy’s ears and smiled when he got a cold
nose in his face.

“I wonder why the fortune teller didn’t

see this coming.” James smiled, petting

Troy’s head.

“Maybe she did,” Mateo shrugged his

shoulders. “But the most important part was
the love Troy would find in Sawyer.”
Mateo kissed Riley. “And the love I found
with Riley.”

“And Sam with me.” Dakota kissed Sam

on his nose.

Josh grabbed Mark. “My surprising

love.”

“I’ll say.” Mark laughed softly.
“Well gentlemen, it’s late.” Wayne stood

up. “I have cabins set up for you guys,
breakfast will be up at the lodge in the
morning. If you need anything we have
radios. Preston will accompany you to your
cabins.”

James stood up and stretched. “I am

tired; I think the alcohol went straight to my
head.”

“Well, you and the general have the first

cabin.” Preston smiled and grabbed his
jacket.

“Wait, we what?” Derek stood up in

shock.

“Bow chick a bow wow.” Josh

snickered and then put on his serious face
when both James and Derek raised brows
at him.

Preston giggled, zipping up his jacket

against the cold. “Well, let’s go.” Preston
opened the cabin door and waited for
James and Derek to walk out. He followed

out behind them and walked down the path.
“So, you guys have the closest cabin in
case you need anything.”

“Like what?” James smiled.
“Food, water, whatever.” Preston

grabbed the keys from his pocket. “Wayne
keeps them pretty much stocked though, so
that stuff is already there.” Preston
unlocked the cabin and flipped the switch
on, illuminating the living room. “There’s
wood next to the fireplace, one bedroom
and the couch pulls out.” Preston handed
them a radio. “If you need anything, just
give us a call.” Preston smiled at the two
men; they looked petrified. “Night.”

“Yes, goodnight, Preston, and thank

you.” James finally found his voice. The

door shut leaving him and Derek alone, in a
cabin, in the woods. “Um, you should
probably take the bed, I’m shorter.”

Derek looked at the couch then made his

way into the bedroom. A queen sized bed
sat against the wall and Derek swallowed
hard. “Well, it’s not really the width so
much as it is the length.” Derek felt James
standing next to him, and looked down. “So
couch or bed, really doesn’t make a
difference. I’m going to start a fire and we
can flip a coin for the bed.”

James looked at the difference between

the couch and the bed. “No need, I’ll take
the couch.” James went to the small
bathroom with his bag and removed his t-
shirt and pants. He pulled on a pair of

sweats and brushed his teeth. He was going
to be alone with Derek. His heart
hammered just thinking about it. He heard
what sounded like cursing coming from the
front room and rinsed his mouth out. He
shut the bathroom door quietly and peeked
around the corner. Derek was crouched in
front of the fireplace trying to light
newspaper on fire, except the match kept
going out. James smiled and dug in his bag
for a lighter; he bent down and handed it to
Derek. “This might help.”

Derek looked at the lighter and then up at

James. He was shirtless, in sweat pants,
shit. “Thanks.” Derek turned his attention
back to the fireplace and finally got the
newspaper lit. He turned to see James

opening up the couch and helped him. A
large blanket was folded neatly off to the
side and Derek grabbed it, opening it up to
fit the bed. “Are you going to be warm
enough?”

“With the fire and the blanket I should

be.” James stretched his arms up and
cracked his neck and back. He felt eyes on
him and looked up to see Derek’s eyes
fixated on his chest. “Derek?”

“Yes?” Derek snapped his head up and

looked at James’ eyes.

“You okay?” James crawled onto the

couch and pulled the blanket over his
shoulders. He watched as Derek came over
and sat on the edge of the couch. “What is
it?”

Derek’s hand hovered in front of James’

face before his fingertips closed the last
remaining inches, touching the soft skin. “I
missed you.”

James closed his eyes as Derek’s fingers

brushed across his cheek. “I missed you,
too.” The fingertips moved across his
cheek to his lips; James opened his eyes
and looked into Derek’s. “What are you
doing?”

Derek pulled his hand back. “I’m sorry, I

shouldn’t have done that.”

James sat up and looked at Derek’s face,

the eyes told him everything. Derek wanted
him. “Why do you keep fighting this,
Derek? I know you want me, and as more

than a friend. I can see it in your eyes, you
want to kiss me.”

Derek sighed and ran a hand through his

hair. “I…I can’t…I just can’t.”

James rolled over on his side away from

Derek. “It’s okay, I understand. Goodnight,
Derek.”

Derek stood up and looked at James on

the couch. Yes he wanted him, more than
anything he did. He just didn’t know how to
make himself take him.

~Chapter Eleven~

When Derek woke up, James was gone.

He took a quick shower and made his way
towards the lodge, where Riley and Mark
were standing out front. They both looked
over at him and smiled, waving. Derek
waved back and jogged the remaining
distance.

“Morning,” Derek looked at the lodge.

“Is everyone already inside?”

Riley took Derek’s hand. “James left this

morning.”

“What do you mean, left?”
“He said something about work,” Riley

gave Derek a sad smile. “But that wasn’t
why, was it?”

Derek heard more voices coming up the

trail. Josh, Mateo, Troy and Sam were all
joking around with Kellan and Caden. They
stopped when they caught his eye and
Derek sighed. Here comes the lecture. The
men smiled as they passed him and all went
inside, except for Josh.

“Oh God, they left you to talk to me?”

Derek sighed.

Josh crossed his arms and fixed Derek

with a look. “Yeah, they did. Want to know
why?”

“Do I have a choice?”
“No,” Josh pushed Derek onto the bench

in front of the lodge. “You run into
buildings with heavily armed men inside.
You’ve been shot, stabbed, blown up and
God help me I’ve never thought you were a
coward, until now.”

“Excuse me?” Derek stood up. “You’d

better watch your fucking mouth!”

“Or what?” Josh tilted his head. “You

are in love with James Pruitt. You don’t
even have to say it; all of us know it,
Derek. You’ve done twenty-five years in
the Army. You can retire and work solely
with the team now, you know you can. Yet
you stay in the Army because you can hide
there. You think staying in gives you a

reason not to tell the truth. The worst part is
I know James loves you and he’s stupidly
waiting for a man who can’t, or won’t, be
with him. So either let him off the hook
completely or reel him in and tell him you
love him. Be with him, out in the open and
fuck what anyone else thinks. Because if
you don’t, you may just end up losing the
one thing in your life you can’t live
without.”

Derek opened his mouth then closed it.

He looked at Josh. The man was definitely
angry. “When did you become such an
asshole?”

“The day we met.” Josh sighed and took

a deep breath. “Just think about it Derek,
don’t let James get away. You think I was

ready for Mark? Look what I did. I ran
away because, first off, I kissed the man
after the abuse he’d been through, and
secondly, I have fucked women my whole
life. Don’t you think I was a little freaked
out when I couldn’t stop getting hard
around Mark? I’m in love with him; fuck I
married him and I wouldn’t change one
damn thing about the man. You love James
and James loves you, although right now I
have no idea why.”

“Thanks,” Derek stood up and looked at

Josh. “How long have you guys known?”

“Forever Derek, it’s all over your face

whenever you look at him. James is a good-
looking guy, how long do you think he’s
going to stay single?”

Derek’s head snapped to attention at that

statement. “Has he said anything?”

“See, right there Derek, look at how you

reacted to just the thought of James being
with someone else. What will you do if he
finally moves on and then you have to
watch him with someone else?”

Derek sat back down on the bench. “I

haven’t thought about him with anyone else.
I choose not to think that way. I’m deployed
half the time and I can’t bear the thought of
him with anyone else. I call him all the
time.”

“Yeah? Do you tell him you miss him?

Or do you just talk about bullshit?”

“I told him I missed him last night.”

“And?” Josh crossed his arms.
“And then I…” Derek looked up at Josh.

“I fucked it all up.”

“You have to go back. I suggest you fix

this shit before you lose James altogether.”
Josh sat down next to Derek and smiled.
“Don’t let fear cloud your judgment, take
what’s yours. Because you and I both know
James is yours.” Josh stood up and rubbed
his hands together. “Now, let’s go eat
before I pass out. My husband fucked my
brains out last night and I need to
recharge.”

“Jesus Christ, Montgomery,” Derek

stood up and chuckled.

“Think about it, Derek - you and James,”

Josh smiled and winked. “You belong

together.”

Derek sighed as Josh went into the

lodge. He looked at the sky. He had a lot of
thinking to do.

~~

Caden sighed at the mountain of

paperwork on his desk. He’d put it off
thinking he’d be dead by the time it had to
be dealt with. Now he had no choice.
Kellan was back at work and he already
missed him. They’d been back in
Washington almost a week now and Kellan
had moved in with him. They’d fucked in
every room of the house and had started on
the porch and beach. Caden smiled at the

thought. Being with Kellan, everything fell
into place. He’d always been a dominant
lover; with Kellan he could be as rough as
he wanted to. Kellan had promised him a
run over the weekend and Caden was
confident that he’d be able to shift back
afterwards. His lupine side was strong, but
he’d become stronger. A knock on his door
had him looking up. Evangeline poked her
head in.

“Hey boss, is it okay to come in?”
Caden smiled. “Get in here, how have

you been my dear?”

Evangeline pulled out a scan and put it

on the desk. “Never been so happy to see a
clear scan, not one trace of the cancer
exists anymore.” Evangeline smiled sitting

on the edge of the desk. “You and Kellan
were fated to meet.”

Caden picked up the x-ray and smiled. “I

cannot believe it. Kellan told me it would
be gone, but to see it for myself.” Caden
shook his head. “It is truly a miracle.”

“They offered me chief of staff at the

hospital.” Evangeline waited for Caden to
have a coronary. She’d been his doctor
from the very beginning. “I’ll still be your
personal physician.”

“I am so happy for you!” Caden jumped

up and hugged her hard. “You know I do
not need a doctor now.” Caden’s smile
faded. “What about Dr. Romasko? Is he
aware?”

“I haven’t told him yet,” Evangeline

sighed. “I’m headed to the hospital now.”

Caden smiled. “He is a strong alpha

male Evangeline; I hope you know what
you are doing.”

“I’m not letting a man make decisions

for me, Caden. Yes he’s gorgeous and
smart and everything I have ever looked for
in a man, but at the end of the day this is my
career.”

“That’s my girl!” Caden hugged her

hard. “Now go, be a good doctor.” Caden
smiled and smacked her ass. “I must call
my man.”

Evangeline smiled and made her way to

the door. “Caden?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” Evangeline blew him a

kiss.

“As I do you.” Caden winked. Caden

picked up the phone and dialed Kellan’s
cell, it rang twice before Kellan’s
gorgeous, sexy voice came over the line
and Caden hardened.

“Hello baby,” Kellan chuckled.
“You are the only one I allow to call me

that.” Caden played with his tie as he
smiled from ear to ear.

“It’s because I’m good in bed isn’t it?”
“That may have something to do with it.

It could also be that you are fantastic
looking and I cream my pants looking at
you.”

“Well now,” Kellan laughed. “You are

picking up some American sayings aren’t
you?”

“Will you be home for dinner?”
“Yes, I will be. I look forward to being

alone with my man.”

Caden smiled to himself. “I will make

you something fantastic and we will have
dessert in bed.”

“Can’t wait, baby, love you and see you

soon.”

“Love you, too.” Caden hung up and

couldn’t help his huge smile. This was
what love felt like. He never wanted it to
end.

~~

Alexander looked through the chart on

one of his patients and sighed. The woman
was not making as much progress as he had
hoped she would. He placed the chart back
in the door and exited the room quietly.
Walking the silent hospital corridor he
thought about the conversation he’d had
with Wayne and Archer. It came as a shock
to know that Wayne could heal with a drop
of his blood without having to change the
person into a werewolf. Wayne had passed
that on and now Caden had the same
power, as did Kellan. Alexander sighed; he
was between a rock and a hard place. The
responsibilities that came with the ability
to heal the sick were more than he believed

Kellan could carry. The man would kill
himself trying to save everybody.
Alexander entered his office and smiled
when he saw Evangeline in the chair
behind his desk.

“Making yourself at home?”
Evangeline stood up and smoothed out

her skirt. “I wanted to talk to you about
something.”

“Could it be about the chief of staff

position?” Alexander smiled when
Evangeline looked surprised. “You do not
need to talk to me about it, I recommended
you.”

“You what?” Evangeline sat back down.

“None of the doctors here want the job, I

asked beforehand. None of us want to be
stuck behind a desk; we are doctors first.
The others,” Alexander shrugged his
shoulders. “are not as qualified as you.”

“So you’re really okay with this?”

Evangeline stood up and made her way
around the desk.

“Of course I am. I would not be smiling

would I?”

Evangeline gave her wicked smile. “You

only have to take orders from me at work.”
Evangeline ran her hand down Alexander’s
chest. “I’ll take orders from you in bed.”

“Oh my…”
“Oh yes…”

~~

Kellan parked his truck on the side of

the street; he shut the ignition off and
looked up and down the block. The street
was clear, no media vans. Kellan let out a
sigh of relief and got out of the truck.
Unlocking the front door, he smelled dinner
and then heard the sounds of water. He
dropped his bag off by the front door and
followed the sounds to the bathroom.
Caden was in the shower, surrounded by
steam. Kellan’s mouth filled with saliva
watching his boyfriend’s muscles flex as he
washed his hair. He undressed and got in
behind Caden, running his hands up and
down his torso.

“Hello, my love.” Caden leaned his head

back, connecting with Kellan’s lips.

“Mmm.” Kellan bit Caden’s lower lip,

sucking it in. “You taste so good.” Kellan
ran his hardened cock along Caden’s
crease.

Caden wrapped his arms behind

Kellan’s neck and arched his back. “I want
to feel you.” Spreading his legs out, Caden
coaxed Kellan’s cock between his legs and
slid down.

“Ohhh fuck!” Kellan sunk into Caden in

one thrust. He held onto the bathroom wall
trying to steady himself as Caden grabbed
the top of the shower door. Gripping
Caden’s hips, Kellan began a slow fuck.

Caden gripped the top of the shower and

thrust back onto Kellan. His feet left the
floor as Kellan gripped his hips, elevating
him and fucking him at an angle. Caden’s
teeth elongated and a loud growl rose from
his chest; Kellan’s fingers tightened on his
hips as the thrusting became pounding.
Being slammed into the shower door was
fucking turning him on beyond belief,
Caden was afraid they’d break it. His
orgasm spilled as Kellan’s exploded inside
him. His feet back on the bathroom floor,
Caden leaned against Kellan’s chest trying
to regain his sanity. Kellan was stroking his
still-sensitive cock as their lips met and
Caden gripped Kellan’s hair, deepening the
kiss.

“The water is turning cold.” Caden

smiled.

“It is?” Kellan pulled Caden around and

wrapped his arms around him. “What’s for
dinner?”

“Rack of lamb.” He laughed softly as

Kellan sucked in his bottom lip.

“God, I’m so spoiled.” Kellan picked

Caden up and stepped out of the shower.
Grabbing a towel, he started at Caden’s
feet and made his way up. Kellan stopped
at Caden’s leg; the scar was completely
gone. “I know I shouldn’t be surprised but I
am. I’ve never been present before when
someone was changed.”

Caden looked down at his leg. “It is odd

not to see the scar; it’s even odder to know

I’m not dying anymore.”

Kellan stood up and took Caden’s face

in his hands. “No you’re not, and I’m so
fucking grateful for that. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Caden wrapped his

arms around Kellan’s neck. “I have
whipped cream in the bedroom.” Caden
waggled his eyebrows.

“Rawr.”

~~

With dinner done, Kellan lie on the bed

a sticky and sweaty mess. As always,
Caden’s dominant side had fucked him into
a near coma. Not that he was complaining;

he loved Caden’s rough side. Besides,
Caden found new ways to play with
whipped cream. He licked the sweat from
Caden’s neck and kissed the rapid pulse.
He got a chuckle and a sigh.

“What is it, baby?” Kellan bit Caden’s

earlobe and sucked it in, licking it.

“I’m just so happy. It should be a crime

to be this happy.” Caden closed his eyes, it
hadn’t hit him yet and now it was. He was
alive and he was going to stay that way for
a long time. The tears came before he could
stop them and he felt strong arms holding
him closer.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Kellan looked into

Caden’s eyes. “This is going to take some
time to get used to. I’ll remind you every

day that life is a precious gift and you have
many more years to enjoy it.”

“And I will spend it with you.” Caden

sighed and wrapped his arms around
Kellan. “How did I get so lucky?”

“A semi-driver fell asleep behind the

wheel.” Kellan smiled.

“Is that what happened?” Caden propped

himself up on his elbow. “I always
wondered why the man didn’t stop.”

“Yep, and because of that I ended up on

that bridge and I found you in your car.”
Kellan caressed Caden’s face. “You
looked like a sardine in a can.”

Caden growled and jumped on top of

Kellan, pinning him to the bed. “You will
pay for that.”

“And pay and pay and pay….” Kellan

grabbed Caden around his waist.

“I have not forgotten what you said.”

Caden smiled, getting off the bed.

“What did I say?”
“You said you would watch the show

with me.” Caden grinned, putting in the first
disc.

“Now?” Kellan sat up.
“Yes.” Caden jumped back on the bed,

settling into Kellan’s arms. “You must
watch this; the doctor is such an ass.”

Almost twelve hours later Kellan was

exhausted. He’d cried so hard he didn’t
have any tears left. He felt like a gigantic
girl. Wiping his nose and eyes, he looked
over at Caden, who was still crying.

“Do you see what I mean? He is left all

alone!” Caden blew his nose.

“I see it, babe.” Kellan kissed Caden’s

forehead. “That will never happen for us,
I’ll be with you always.”

“I love you.” Caden kissed Kellan’s

lips, wrapping his arms around the man he
loved.

“And I you.”

~~

Saturday had the Northern pack at

Wenatchee National Forest. They were
joined by Preston, Tucker and Wesley from

the Denali pack. Evangeline had come with
them and now stood watching Alexander
getting undressed to shift. She let out a low
whistle at Alexander’s body.

“Well, you work out.” She winked.
Alexander blushed.
Scott laughed and pointed at his alpha.

“Oh shit! Look! Alex is blushing.”

Jude smacked Scott on the back. “Leave

him alone man.”

They all turned at the sound of an

approaching vehicle and smiled when they
saw Troy’s black Ford pulling up, loaded
with the Queets pack.

“Hey, guys!” Preston ran over to them

and stopped. He bent over and put his
hands on his knees. “Oh, hell.”

“Shit,” Sawyer stepped back with

Xander and Grayson. “You can smell
Wyatt.”

Preston fought for control as his teeth

elongated and his eyes shifted. He looked
at Sawyer. “You were holding him.”

“I didn’t even think…” Sawyer tried to

smile. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Preston backed away. “I’ll

just sit with Evangeline while you guys
run.”

“You sure? Troy can stay behind with

Xander and Grayson.” Sawyer looked at
Troy. “Do you mind, babe?”

“No, really,” Preston shook his head.

“I’m good, I can run anytime. Besides, I can
hang out with Taylor and Jagger.”

“Yes, you can.” Taylor grabbed Preston

in a tight hug. “We were going to hang out
while they ran anyway.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. He still believes

in you.” Sawyer sighed. “We’ve tried
everything.”

Preston smiled. “I didn’t think I’d made

that big of an impression. It was for a few
minutes, just to protect him. He’s stayed
with me as well.”

“You’re his mate, he’s never forgotten

you.” Jagger hugged Preston.

Evangeline looked at them in confusion.

“Why are you not with your mate?”

“It’s a long story, one that I have time to

tell as they go exercise.” Preston sat down
on the hood of his Jeep.

Caden sighed as Kellan wrapped him up

in his arms. He was finally going to get to
run free with others of his kind. He’d
looked forward to this day. Getting out of
his clothes, he watched as Kellan did the
same. Kellan’s muscular physique was
truly amazing, the strong thighs flexed as
Kellan took his pants off.

“Darling…” Kellan smiled, twirling his

boxer briefs around on his finger.

“Catch me if you can!” Caden winked

and shifted in seconds flat. He took off
running through the forest.

“Hey!” Kellan shifted and ran after his

boyfriend.

“That’s our cue.” Alexander looked at

the rest of them. “Let’s go.”

Caden had never felt so free, the wind

whipping through his fur, the exhilaration of
running in wolf form, it was like a drug. He
could feel Kellan’s presence right behind
him and pushed harder, running faster. A
single thought from Kellan stopped him in
his tracks causing Kellan to run into his ass.
He turned and huffed at Kellan.

“What did you say?”
Kellan tilted his head. “I didn’t say

anything.”

Caden padded around Kellan. “You

thought it.”

“Did not.” Kellan sat down on his

haunches.

“I heard you.” Caden nuzzled Kellan’s

neck. “You want to marry me.”

“You can’t prove it.” Kellan lowered

his head, nuzzling Caden’s muzzle.

Caden nipped at Kellan’s ears and

huffed. “No, but they can.” Caden nodded
to the rest of the wolves, all sitting down
looking at them.

“Crap.” Kellan looked back at Caden.

“Fine, but I will ask you in human form
and the right way.”

Caden rubbed up against Kellan. “All

right my love.”

Kellan ran next to his mate, his life was

complete now. He’d almost died, been
changed and found the love of his life on a
bridge. As they ran through the forest, he

kept close to Caden. The man would have
died if they’d never met, and if he’d known
about Caden’s cancer, he would have
changed him. No excuses and no apologies.
He’d marry his mate and protect him above
all else. Kellan felt the wind in his fur and
ran side by side with Caden, the rest of the
pack right behind them. As they came to a
stop, Kellan jumped on Caden knocking
him onto his back. He looked down into his
mates’ blue eyes and realized he’d do
anything…..for the love of Caden.

~~Epilogue~~

The fire was roaring and the men sat

around it as Wayne told stories of his life.
Kellan relaxed in Caden’s arms and took
everything in. He’d moved in with Caden
and they’d gotten married in Canada.
They’d come to the Queets reservation for
a meeting of the packs, which seemed to be
expanding at a rapid rate.

There were four men from the California

pack and four from the Oregon. He’d met
the alphas but not the pack members as yet.

California’s alpha was extremely
impressive to say the least; Jackson
Murphy stood over six feet tall with sun-
bleached hair and slate grey eyes. The
Oregon alpha was just as impressive. At
six feet, Jonas Brooks was easily movie
star material. He had chestnut brown hair
and amber eyes. He and Caden had been
lucky enough to meet both men before any
of the others had. Now Jude, Nicholas and
Scott were the only three who hadn’t met
them.

Wayne was slowly incorporating his

bloodline through the West. He’d been the
last of his kind until he’d changed Dakota.
Now his line was spreading.

Kellan had been lucky enough to find his

mate; he hoped Scott, Jude and Nicholas
would find love soon. Tucker and Wesley
were still mateless as well, and Kellan felt
bad for them. To not know what love felt
like was truly heartbreaking.

In other matters of the heart, Kellan

could see the confusion in Wayne each and
every time he was close to Conner. The
man did not know how to deal with his
rapidly growing feelings for the younger
wolf. The fates, as they say, had given
Wayne another chance at love and Kellan
hoped that Wayne would someday take
Conner as his own.

Nadine had her own issues to deal with.

The youngest of the wolves had left the
reservation and she was feeling the loss.

Wyatt had gone off to school in Seattle,
citing he had to spread his wings and try to
find his mate. Kellan guessed he
understood why the pack had tried to
convince him he didn’t have a mate.
Preston – his mate - was much older and
wouldn’t be able to make Wyatt his until he
was of age. Well, that time was rapidly
approaching.

They were waiting for Wyatt to come

home for Christmas break and his father,
John, was nervously sipping his beer,
watching the road.

“He’ll be here, John.” Joe took John’s

hand.

“He’s grown so fast. Where did my little

boy go?” John asked.

“He grew up, it happens to all of us.”

Dakota put an arm around John’s shoulders.
“I know you’ve missed him, but he feels
betrayed by all of us. We keep telling him
he doesn’t have a mate when we all know
he does. His anger will eventually
subside.” Dakota squeezed John’s
shoulders.

“He’s still angry. When he asked to

leave, it almost ripped my heart out.” John
sighed. “I can’t stand not seeing him every
day.”

“Teenagers are a bitch, Dad, you know

that from experience.” Xander tried to
smile. “We did what we thought was right.
Besides, this is what Preston wants; we
have to abide by his wishes.”

“I miss babies; will you guys please

hurry up?” Nadine shot looks at all the men
around the fire.

“We can’t make babies appear, but we

are trying.” Mateo said.

“And trying, and trying…” Sawyer

snickered.

They all turned at the sound of an

approaching vehicle. Jagger’s truck came
to a stop by the fire pit and Wyatt jumped
out of the passenger side. There was a
collective gasp from everyone around the
fire. Wyatt had grown up.

“Holy shit.” Josh’s mouth dropped open.
Wyatt put his hands on his hips. “Hello,

family.”

“Jesus, Wyatt.” Grayson stood up and

walked to his brother. He had to be almost
six feet tall. “Did you eat your Wheaties?”

“Nope, Cheerios, but I work out every

day and I eat right.” Wyatt smiled at his
father. “Dad.”

John stood up slowly. The sight of his

baby looking so grown up brought tears to
his eyes. “Wyatt.”

“Aw, Dad.” Wyatt walked to his father,

hugging him tightly. “I missed you,” Wyatt
whispered.

“I missed you, too.” John held his son

close.

Wyatt smiled at Josh, his mouth still

hung open. “Uncle Josh?”

“Yeah?” Josh finally snapped out of his

daze.

Riley had just come out of the house; the

screen door slapped shut and he stopped in
his tracks looking at Wyatt. “Wyatt?”

“Hey, Uncle Riley!” Wyatt ran to Riley,

enveloping him in a tight hug.

“Oh my God, look at you!” Riley took

Wyatt by the shoulders. He had to look up
at him; it was weird to say the least. “What
happened to you? Are you taking steroids?”

Wyatt laughed and punched his uncle in

the arm playfully. “Nope, just work out, run
and eat right, all the stuff Uncle Mateo told
me to do.”

They all looked at Mateo, who shrugged

his shoulders.

“He asked, I answered.” Mateo said.
“At least he stopped wearing the

eyeliner.” Sawyer whispered to Troy.

“I heard that.” Wyatt looked over his

shoulder.

“Your hair,” Nadine whispered. The

tears flowed freely now as she looked at
Wyatt. “You cut your hair.”

“Nay,” Wyatt walked to her, and took

her in his arms. “I had to, for football. I
couldn’t look like that palomino guy.”

Grayson snickered. “Polamalu.”
“Whatever.” Wyatt waved his hand in

the air, dismissing his older brother’s
statement. “Look guys, this is life and I will
be growing up. Please stop acting like I’m
dead or something because I put some
inches on. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Will you be wanting a beer, too?” Josh

arched a brow.

“Maybe later, with my shot of scotch.”

Wyatt winked. “Chill, people.”

Caden stood, looking at all the men

gathered around the fire. “Wyatt is growing
up; I suggest you all start treating him as
such. He couldn’t stay your little wolf
puppy forever.”

“Thanks, Uncle Caden.” Wyatt walked

over to Caden and Kellan. He smiled,
taking their hands. “I’m happy for you both.
It’s about time Uncle Kellan found his true
love.”

Kellan stood; he still towered over

Wyatt, which at least made him feel better
about that. “I’m so going to kick your ass in
‘Halo’.”

“Bring it.” Wyatt snickered.
“Dinner should be ready.” Nadine tried

to smile, but seeing Wyatt grown up had
hurt her heart. “I think we should all settle
inside.”

Caden waited for everyone to clear out

before taking Kellan’s hand. He looked up
at his husband with a wide grin. “I want
one.”

“You want one what?” Kellan asked.
“A child with you, and I would like to

start right away.”

“Like tonight?” Kellan chuckled, pulling

Caden toward the house.

“If I could make it happen that way I

would.” Caden stopped, pulling Kellan to
him. “Do you want that?”

“I would love a little Caden.” Kellan

kissed Caden’s lips softly.

“We shall have a little Kellan first.”
“Oh?” Kellan smiled wickedly.
“Oh yes, Kellan Brady. I want it all.”

Caden said.

“Well, Mr. Brady-Fournier, then you

will have it.”

~~The End~~

Sneak Peek

The General’s Lover

~PROLOGUE~

September 11, 2005

“Well hell, have you ever seen so many

suits in one room?” James looked over at

his partner, Lucas.

They were sitting at the bar, people

watching. James was pointing out the gay
men and Lucas was checking out the
women. The party was not only for the
remembrance of the

September eleventh attacks, but he and

Lucas were meeting their new liaison as
well. The last one, Command Sergeant
Major Fitzpatrick, was retiring. James
couldn’t have been happier. The man hated
gays.

Lucas slammed back his shot. “Yep, at

the last Peacock party. Now wasn’t that one
fun?” Lucas smiled wide.

“Yeah, no.” James scowled. The dick

head Command Sergeant Asshole had told

most of the room that James was gay. Not
that he gave a shit, he’d come out a long
time ago. Lucas had actually hit Command
Sergeant Asshole and was suspended for a
week. James had to smile at his partner;
Lucas Cain didn’t give a shit about rules.

“Oh, Holy Mother Mary,” Lucas

whispered under his breath. “Check out the
woman who just walked in.”

“Why on Earth would I check out a

woman, Lucas? Have you slammed too
many shots of scotch?

“It’s the man she’s attached to, dipshit.”

Lucas smiled and turned James’ face
around.

James could have sworn he stopped

breathing. The man who had just entered

was an Adonis. His hair was so black it
almost shone blue in the light. He had to be
at least six foot four and, judging by his
body in his dress blues, he was extremely
muscular.

“Oh. My. God.” James breathed.
Lucas chuckled softly. “I told you. Hey,

he’s talking to our boss.”

James felt his heart hammering in his

chest. The very tall, gorgeous Adonis was
talking to the head of Homeland Security,
and they were now looking his way.

“Ohgodohgodohgod…” James gripped

the bar as they started walking right
towards him and Lucas.

“Don’t talk; I’ll do all the talking. You

just stand there and look pretty,

sweetheart.” Lucas said.

As they made their way closer, James

got a good look at the man. He had an
aristocratic face, strong jaw, square chin
with a dimple and broad cheekbones.
James’ eyes traveled further up and saw
long, luscious black lashes that hovered
above aquamarine eyes. And those
aquamarine eyes were giving him a once-
over. James froze in place.

“Ah, here they are. Major General Derek

Jacobs, these are my finest men, Agents
Lucas Cain and James Pruitt.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both.” Derek

shook Cain’s hand first and then his eyes
settled on the man next to him. Good Lord.
Arctic blue eyes were looking at him in

awe. The caramel-colored hair was cut
short, not buzz cut, but clean. The man,
James, had perfect lips. Full bottom lip and
not too full top, strong long nose and
chiseled features. Jesus. He realized he
was still shaking James’ hand and pulled
his hand away slowly.

“So are you our new guy then?” Lucas

tried to keep James upright; he was sliding
down the bar staring at the new liaison.

“I am the new guy.” Derek cracked a

grin. “I heard what happened to
Fitzpatrick.”

“Homophobic asshole,” Lucas sneered.

“Oh, I’m sorry ma’am.” Lucas smiled at the
woman on their new liaison’s arm.

“Cynthia, why don’t you go find a higher

ranking official and cozy up?” Derek
smiled at his date.

Lucas raised his hand. “I’m a higher

ranking official.”

“See, sweetie?” Derek pushed her into

Lucas.

James watched as his wingman took off

with Derek’s date, leaving him alone with
the gorgeous man. “Do you always pawn
off your girlfriends at functions?”

Derek waved the bartender over. “Give

me whatever he’s drinking.” Derek
unbuttoned his jacket and leaned against the
bar. “She’s not really my girlfriend.”

“She’s not?”
Derek shook his head. “Nope, escort.”
James’ mouth dropped open. “Why

would you need an escort?”

Derek took the drink when the bartender

came back and slammed it. He dropped the
shot glass upside down and signaled for
another. “Okay, first off, any woman I
would bring to one of these would take it as
a sign of something else. Whether it’s a
commitment of some kind, or a promise of
something more and I really don’t need that.
I don’t want a girlfriend or a wife. I love
my remote.” Derek chuckled. “Not only
that, but God forbid you sleep with one of
them and then it’s the why-didn’t-you-call-
me routine. Then it’s that trap, the
dependent ID card and the placard in the
front of their car.” Derek sighed and took
another shot. “I just don’t have the patience

for women.”

“Yeah? Well men aren’t much different.”
“So it’s true, you really are gay.” Derek

sat back and eyed James.

“Are you going to have a problem with

that?” James crossed his arms and looked
up at Derek defiantly.

Derek bit his bottom lip to try and hold

back his laugh. His first thought was Mateo
Esposito. When he was in Bosnia with his
sniper unit, he and Mateo had gotten into a
wrestling match. The question of whether
or not Derek was gay was answered that
day. “Nope, no problems from me.”

James scowled. “You say that now, but

in a month from now you’ll be calling me a
homo.”

Derek leaned forward and bent down to

be at eye level with James Pruitt. “I will
never call you a homo.”

James blinked and then smiled. “Okay.”
Derek raised his shot glass. “To a long

partnership.”

They spent most of the night at the bar

drinking shot after shot. James could hold
his liquor but after about fifteen shots of
scotch, he was toast. Derek accompanied
him back to his hotel and made sure he got
to his room. James leaned back against the
door and gave a lopsided smile.

“Don’t freak out or anything, but I have

never seen anyone as beautiful as you.”
James slurred.

Derek rested his hand on the wall by

James’ head. “Why would I freak out? You
complimented me, thank you very much.”

James licked his lips and looked up to

see Derek’s eyes gleaming under lowered
lashes. “So, um, thanks for bringing me
back.”

“No problem, are you going to be

okay?”

James’ liquid courage kicked in and he

grabbed the front of Derek’s jacket pulling
him in closer. They were mere inches apart
when voices could be heard coming down
the hallway. Derek stepped back from him
and righted his uniform.

“Oh God, I’m sorry.” James wanted to

crawl in a hole and die. How

embarrassing! Crap, shit, fuck.

“It’s okay, I’m just not - well, you

know.” Derek tried to smile.

“Gay,” James nodded. “Yeah, I’m so

sorry. It won’t happen again I promise. Are
we…will we be okay?”

“We’re fine, James.” Derek shook

James’ hand. “I’ll see you at the first
meeting.”

“Okay,” James nodded and opened his

door; he felt a hand on his shoulder and
looked up to see Derek smiling at him.

“Goodnight, James Pruitt.”
“Goodnight, Major General Derek

Jacobs.”

Derek laughed. “Derek is fine.”
Yes you are. “James will do, Derek.”

~~Chapter One~~

PRESENT DAY

“Mom, I’m fine.” Derek sighed in

frustration. Every time he’d been deployed,
he’d had to deal with his mother. She made
it a point to have every number he owned
and called him at least once a day.

“Well, darling, I am your mother. You

can’t think I wouldn’t call you. How is the
weather?”

Derek sat back and looked at the phone

in his hand. He was in a combat zone and

his mom wanted to know about the
weather? “It’s gorgeous out Mom; not a
drop of humidity and the birds are singing.”

“Stop being sarcastic, Derek. I know I’m

not allowed to ask anything else, such as,
have you informed the person you are in
love with that you are indeed in love with
them?in f

“Mom,” Derek had to smile, Victoria

Jacobs knew better than to broadcast his
sexual preferences over a telephone line.
“No, I have not.”

“You are going to lose the love of your

life if you don’t do something about it
dear.”

“Yes, Mother.”
“You know I abhor when you call me

Mother, Bradly.”

“I abhor when you call me Bradly.”

Derek chuckled softly.

“It’s a family name, you’ll get over it.

I’m warning you darling, if you wait much
longer—”

“I know, Mom. Trust me, I know.”
“Your father, God rest his soul, would

be shouting at you to be a man about this.”

“I am being a man, I’m just…I don’t

know, Mom.”

“Oh stop blubbering! I raised a good

boy, now get off your butt and grab love
with both hands!”

“Jesus, Mom.” Derek laughed.
“I must go darling; the book club

members are here. I love you Derek, be

careful.”

“Love you too, Mom.”
The connection broke and Derek sighed

and threw a dart at the door. He was back
in the sand box and hating every moment.
The time difference was making it hard for
him to get a hold of James, and after Denali
he really wanted to talk to him. He’d finally
put in his paperwork for retirement and
was ready to run the team fulltime. He’d
fucked up colossally this time with James.
He’d lost control and touched him and then
backed off. Derek ran his hands over his
face and sat back in his chair staring at the
ceiling. Why couldn’t he just say what he
wanted to say? That after six years he’d
fallen in love with James and wanted to be

with him.

Derek got up and walked to the window,

the sun was just coming up on the horizon.
Soldiers were starting their morning
routine, and he would be out there with
them today. He was going to be forty-three
and had never gotten married. Not that he
looked it. Great genetics from his mother
ensured he looked thirty-three. He didn’t
even have a grey hair, which was
impossible, given his job. He supposedly
looked just like his father, although he’d
never known the man. He’d died before he
was born. He’d seen pictures of Derek
Bradly Jacobs; they both had the same
color eyes and hair, but Derek knew he
took after his mother as well.

She’d raised him all on her own. His

grandparents felt she’d married beneath her
when she married an Army man and had cut
her off. He didn’t even know his
grandparents; never met them, never
wanted to. He’d come out to his mother a
few years ago and had been shocked when
she’d already known. The fact that he’d
never married and never brought a woman
home was apparently a big clue. Then, he’d
told her about James. Derek smiled and
closed his eyes thinking about James again.
He’d known James had a thing for him from
their first meeting and he couldn’t deny
he’d found James gorgeous.

Derek picked up the phone and dialed

James’ home number. It rang four times

before it was picked up by an obviously
sleepy James.

“Hello?”
“Hey, James, did I wake you?” Derek

sat back down and looked at his papers.

“Not really,” James yawned and

stretched his legs out in bed. “I was just
lying here, kinda not watching TV.”

“Are you watching TV Land again?”

Derek chuckled softly.

“I like Betty White; she puts you guys to

shame with her wit.”

“I know I watched it the other night. You

were right, it is funny.”

James sat up in bed. “You actually did

what I asked you to do?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, I’ve done a

lot of things you’ve recommended.”

James smiled to himself. “What else

have you done?”

Derek’s spine tingled at James’ sexy

tone of voice. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” James lay back and spread his

legs. “Right now, I’m holding something in
my hand.”

Derek’s mind was in the bed with James

now. “Oh?” Derek swallowed hard and felt
his dick hardening.

“Mmm hmm, I’m running my thumb over

something.” James tried hard not to giggle
as his finger pushed the ‘down’ button on
the remote.

Derek actually felt the sweat running

down his back. He’d never been this turned

on before and James had never talked to
him like this. “Yeah?”

“Oh yessss.” James put his hand over his

mouth to stop from laughing. Derek’s
breathing had gotten much quicker. Derek
righted his erection and right then realized
he was on an unsecured line. “Shit, James,
I’m not on the other phone.”

“Well, I was just fingering the remote.”

James chuckled softly.

“Ass,” Derek sighed and found himself

laughing.

“Where was your filthy mind?” James

smiled and lay back in bed. His dick was
rock hard and he wrapped his hand around
it.

“I…well I was…”

“Oh, quit,” James laughed. “Are you

okay? Any close calls?”

Derek had to smile; James always asked

him the same thing every time he called
him. The fact that James had been in the
Army before he left for the FBI made it
hard for Derek to lie about the goings on.
“Nothing we couldn’t take care of.”

“Okay, I get it.” James smiled. He

needed to remind himself of OPSEC, no
discussing missions or attacks. “So, a
month left, huh?”

“Yes, I thought maybe,” Derek closed

his eyes and blurted it out. “I thought we
could go to Washington and fish.”

James almost fell off the bed in surprise.

“Really?”

“Well if you want to. We could go

somewhere else if you want.”

“No, Washington’s perfect Derek.”

James gripped the phone tighter. “Thank
you for inviting me.”

Derek looked at the phone and wondered

how much he could get away with. “It’s no
problem. I’d really like to spend some time
with you.” The line got very quiet and
Derek was afraid they’d been
disconnected. “James?”

“I’m here,” James took a deep breath.

“Okay, so when is this little vacation taking
place?”

“Well, I’m home next month. So let’s say

August? Would that be okay?”

“Sure, I’ll clear my schedule.” James

had the urge to jump up and down on his
bed; he stifled it and kept his voice even.
“So I’ll see you then?”

“Yes, you will.” Derek knew he was

smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll call you soon,
take care James.”

“You too. Bye Derek.”
“Bye.”
James hung up the phone and let out a

loud whoop. He was going to be alone with
General Derek Jacobs. A vacation six
years in the making. James looked at the
phone, he wanted to call someone and
scream it. He picked up the phone and
prayed the right person would answer. It
rang twice before it was picked up and

James let out a sigh of relief when Riley’s
voice came over the line.

“Morning, James.” Riley giggled.
“Caller ID,” James sighed. “I should

have blocked my number.”

“Now where is the fun in that?” Riley

laughed. “What’s up, James? You sound
like you just got a free subscription to an
all-male porn site.”

“Very funny.” James sat back and looked

at the ceiling. “You busy this morning? Can
we have breakfast?”

“Sure, you want to come here?” Riley

pushed Mateo over in the bed and giggled
when he got a finger up his butt. “Stop
that.” Riley whispered.

“Um, is it just going to be you?”

“Yes, Mateo’s going to the range today.”

Riley laughed when Mateo pinned him to
the bed and licked his chest in one long
swipe.

“Okay, I can be there in about an hour.

That should give you and Mateo time to
fuck the shit out of each other.” James
chuckled.

“Takes longer than that, James,” Mateo

snickered. “I can hear you.”

“Yeah, TMI Mateo.” James sighed. “I’ll

see you soon, Riley.”

“Okay James, bye.” Riley hung up and

smacked Mateo’s ass. “Listen here sex
fiend…”

“Sex fiend?” Mateo bit Riley’s lip.
Riley took Mateo’s face in his hands and

smiled at his husband. “Lord, you are drop
dead sexy.”

“Okay, see now I want to have sex with

you.” Mateo licked Riley’s lips. “But, I
don’t like to be rushed, so let’s make a date
for tonight.”

“I’ll put it in my appointment book.”

Riley laughed and squealed when Mateo bit
his ass. “Hey!”

“Love you, sexy.” Mateo got up and

sauntered into the bathroom naked.

“I love you, too.”

~~

After a long, hot shower that consisted

of him jacking off to a vision of Derek,

James got dressed and looked at his
answering machine. It was blinking and
James had an idea of who’d called. He
pushed the button and sure enough, his
mother’s voice filled the room.

“James, your father and I are worried

about you. We haven’t heard from you in
over two weeks, could you please call us
and let us know you’re alive? We hope to
see you soon.”

James pushed the ‘delete’ button and ran

a hand through his hair. He’d have to deal
with them sooner or later. He knew what
the conversation would be about. He was
going to be thirty-eight, he had no boyfriend
and grandkids were not popping out of a
surrogate. James grabbed his keys and

wallet and left the house. The heat hit and
James cursed under his breath; it was over
a hundred degrees and his car was black.
James sighed and climbed into his Chevy
Camaro. At least it was a convertible.

James pulled onto I-10 and headed for

Riley and Mateo’s. The two of them were a
perfect match. Mateo was an asshole and
Riley was a sweetheart. It was comical
watching Mateo give in to Riley’s pout. He
envied them sometimes. Riley had come out
of the closet for Mateo and now they were
married and planning for kids.

James sighed and thought about Derek.

Six years and they hadn’t even kissed. He’d
been holding onto a fantasy that someday
Derek would make a move. And it seemed

as if the day was finally here. Derek had
invited him out to Washington to go fishing.

The night they’d met he’d stupidly tried

to kiss Derek and Derek had said he wasn’t
gay. But looking back on that night, Derek
hadn’t really come out and said it at all.
James had said it for him, and in the six
years they’d been friends that night had
never come back up.

James sighed and changed lanes, taking

the exit for Riley’s. The streets were pretty
empty; it was fucking hot. People were
probably in their pools with a nice tall
drink. James turned into Riley’s driveway
and shut the car off. He looked at the house
and had to smile. Riley was not the kind of
billionaire who showed off his wealth. In

fact, Riley was like no one he’d ever met.
His smile was infectious and he had a way
of making you do whatever he wanted.
Only Mark Montgomery seemed immune.
Mark had his own damn special powers.
Jesus, the man married Josh. That came out
of left field. James chuckled as he made his
way up the walk. He rang the bell and
could hear Riley shouting to come in.

James opened the door and was hit with

a blast of arctic air; he stepped in and shut
the door quickly.

“Jesus, you missing Alaska?” James

laughed.

“I am, actually.” Riley came down the

hall in cargo shorts with flip-flops.
“What’s up with you? You’re smiling.”

Riley shivered. “It’s freaking me out.”

“Shut up.” James smacked Riley

playfully. “What’s for breakfast?”

“What makes you think I cooked?” Riley

smiled making his way into the kitchen.

“I can smell it.” James looked around

the kitchen. He had to laugh; Riley had
three different coffee machines. “Mateo?”
James gestured to the coffee makers.

“Yup, he likes his espresso.” Riley

pulled rolls out of the oven. “You know
how he gets without his caffeine. I sent
Mark and Josh a coffeemaker for
Christmas.” Riley giggled. “In fact, I sent
all the guys coffeemakers. Dakota and
Sawyer were very thankful.”

“Yes I got mine, too.” James laughed.

“Thank you so much.”

“Welcome.” Riley put the rolls on the

table and took out eggs and bacon from the
oven. “So,” Riley grabbed two plates and
silverware. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Derek called me this morning.” James

took a bite of eggs and moaned. “What do
you put in these?”

“Can’t tell you.” Riley sipped his coffee.

“Now go on.” Riley gestured with his hand.
“Derek called.”

“He invited me to Washington to fish.”
Riley’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously?

And he didn’t take it back?”

“Nope,” James shook his head. “It

wasn’t like when you were in the hospital. I

didn’t hear anything in his voice either, he
meant it.”

“This is huge!” Riley stood up. “Oh my

God, Derek asked you to go on vacation
with him!”

“Riley, calm down. I think your whole

neighborhood just heard you.” James
laughed, buttering his roll.

“Why are you so calm? You’ve waited

six years for this.” Riley narrowed his
eyes. “You think he’ll back out?”

“No, I’m sure he meant to ask me.”

James shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not
going to freak out until he’s standing in
front of me on a boat.”

“Or lying underneath you on a bed.”

Riley snickered.

James laughed and pulled up that mental

image. “Damn, could you imagine Derek
naked? Splayed out on a bed for me to play
with?” James sighed and sat back in the
chair. “Gives me goose bumps just thinking
about it.

Riley smiled and thought about Mateo.

“My God, the first time I laid eyes on
Mateo I thought, ‘Fuck, could this guy be
any hotter?’” Riley sighed and smiled at the
memory of Mateo making love to him for
the first time.

James raised a brow. “Get out of bed

with Mateo.”

Riley giggled. “I want a full report!”
“You know I’ll call when I come up for

air.” James chuckled softly.

Riley sighed and rested his chin in his

hands. “This is so cool. I always wondered
how long it would take for Derek to come
to his senses. Josh gave him a beat down in
Alaska, you know.” Riley smiled when
James’ mouth fell open. “Oh, you didn’t
know?” Riley laughed. “Oh yeah, Josh
yelled at him. Called him a coward and
shit.”

James sat back. “And Josh survived? If

there’s one thing I know, Derek Jacobs is
no coward.”

“He is when it comes to you and Josh

told him in no uncertain terms that if he
waited too long, he’d lose you to someone
else.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, and Derek did not like that thought

at all.”

James shrugged. “Whatever works, I

mean if that’s why he invited me I’m not
going to complain.”

“So when is this little ‘trip’ taking

place?”

“August, he comes home in July, which

is good for me because I’m due vacation
time. I’m headed to D.C. for a few days to
talk to Keegan about Markov.”

“You still plan on sending him in to

bring Markov in? Isn’t Keegan a bit…”
Riley scrunched his brow. “Delicate?”

James smiled and leaned back in the

chair. “Keegan is perfect. First, he’s been

working this case since he started at the
bureau, and believe me we’ve been training
him for months just for this assignment.
Second, he’s so fucking adorable you can’t
help but like him.”

“This is true. If he were my type I’d be

all over him.” Riley sat back in thought.
“Why not just talk to Vince yourself?”

James shook his head. “Nope. Even

Devin agrees - I have a look of seniority
and Vince hates government officials.”

“The Russian thing, huh?” Riley said. “I

kinda feel bad for the guy, even though he’s
notoriously vicious. Could you imagine?
Having to watch your mother and sister
slaughtered right in front of you?” Riley
shivered. “No wonder he’s damaged.”

The front door opened and Riley smiled

at James. “Uh oh.”

“I heard that!” Mateo shouted from the

front room.

“Do you not want him to know?” Riley

whispered.

“I don’t want him calling Derek and

freaking him out.” James sighed and
watched as Mateo came into the kitchen.
He stopped and looked from Riley to
James.

“Okay, what did I miss?” Mateo sat

down at the table.

Riley took Mateo’s face in his hands.

“You are sworn to secrecy, and if you open
your mouth I cut you off for a month.”

“Jesus!” Mateo put his hands up in

defense. “I won’t say a word.”

“Promise!” Riley growled.
“I promise.” Mateo kissed Riley. “Now

what’s up?”

“Derek asked me to go to Washington

with him when he comes back from
Afghanistan.” James said.

Mateo sat back in the chair and looked

from Riley to James. “So Josh’s talk
worked.”

Riley nodded. “Yep, I think so. I think

the thought of James with anyone other than
himself freaked him out enough.”

“It’s about time.” Mateo smiled grabbing

a roll. “You two belong together, always
have.”

“Thanks Mateo.” James looked at his

watch. “Ah crap, I have to get back home
and pack. I will call you when I know
what’s going on though.” James stood up
and got a hug from Riley and a handshake
from Mateo. “You two have fun.”

“Always.” Riley smiled. “You take care

of yourself, James. I look forward to
hearing from you.”

“Oh, you will.” James winked.

~~

Derek was sweating like a drunken

celebrity at a sobriety test. The MRAP was
packed, and being in close quarters with so
many men in the fucking heat was stifling.
He grabbed another bottle of water and

poured it over his head. They were driving
down a dirt road, weaving back and forth
to avoid IEDs on their way to a small
village. He was going to have dinner with
one of the village leaders. He’d wanted to
go with just a few of his men but was given
a no-go on that shit. As a general, he was a
target.

“Sir?”

Derek wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Yes?”

“We’re here.”
An explosion rocked the MRAP and

Derek stood up. “Back the fuck up!” Derek
looked at his men; most of them were
frozen in place. “Jesus!”

Derek pushed his way to the front of the

vehicle and hauled the driver out of the
seat. More IEDs were going off under them
as he pulled back and turned the monster
vehicle around. He got on the radio and
informed the base of what was happening.
One of his soldiers was finally blinking.

“Jessup!” Derek shouted. “Pull your

head out of your ass!”

“Yes sir!”
“Get behind the fucking wheel!” Derek

grabbed Jessup by his sleeve and hauled
him up.

“Sir?”
“Drive!” Scrambling into the turret,

Derek positioned himself and waited for
the gunfire to erupt. He didn’t have to wait

long. Rounds hit the side of the MRAP and
Derek fired back with the .50 caliber
machine gun. Insurgents were running
around the meeting house and Derek tore up
the ground all the way to the front door.

“Get us the fuck out of here!” Derek

shouted down below.

The MRAP ran over another IED and the

vehicle almost flipped. Derek kept firing
until they were far enough away; he slipped
down from the turret and looked at the men.
They were all ready and waiting for orders.
Derek ran a hand through his hair.

“Look, I know for some of you guys this

is your first tour, but you cannot freeze up
like that! All it takes is one damn second
and you’re gone. It’s you or them, do you

get that?” Derek shouted.

“Sir?”
Derek looked at the private who’d

spoken, he looked about eighteen.
“Connelly?”

“We…” Connelly looked at the rest of

the guys. “A lot of us have never been
deployed, sir. This is our first tour. I
wasn’t prepared for this, sir.”

“You’re never prepared for this shit,

Connelly.” Derek put his hand on
Connelly’s shoulder. “Learn a lesson from
this because if you don’t, you just left your
wife a widow and your kids without a
father. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” the chorus of men erupted.
By the time they pulled back into the

base the sun was down. Derek jumped from
the MRAP and was greeted by the General
of the Army, Prescott.

“Jesus, Jacobs, you really like living life

on the edge.” Prescott smiled. “Looks like
our MRAP are just that, mine resistant and
ambush protected.” Prescott laughed at the
look on Derek’s face.

“What the hell happened, sir? This was

supposed to be a friendly meeting.” Derek
followed the general back to operations.

“I am trying to get intel on that now. As

far as we knew, that’s exactly what this
was.”

“Well, their welcome was a little less

than desirable.” Derek sat down and put his
feet up. “My guys were shitting

themselves.”

“We should have sent you with more

seasoned soldiers.”

“No, this was good for them. They need

to know what to do when shit like this
happens. None of them were prepared.
Jessup was the only one who snapped out
of it.”

Prescott leaned over the desk. “You

loved every second of it.”

Derek smiled and leaned back in the

chair. “Come on, you know what it’s like.
Once you put rank on, they feel like you
can’t take a piss anymore. Today just
proved I can be in the fight just like my
men.”

“Well, you get to leave all this soon.”

Prescott motioned to the miles and miles of
sand.

Derek sighed and looked out the

window. “I wasn’t sure if I was ready to
retire.” Derek looked up. “It’s time. I’ve
been deployed for most of my career in one
way or another. Sure, it’s great for rising in
the ranks but my personal life is shit.”

“Hell, I’ve been divorced three times.”

Prescott leaned against the desk. “Being
gone half the marriage didn’t help.”

“That’s why I never got married.” Derek

looked at his bare ring hand.

“Oh?” Prescott leaned over. “I thought it

was because you are in love with Agent
Pruitt.”

Derek almost fell off the chair. As it

was, he stumbled getting up and stammered.
“What?”

Prescott laughed loud. “Oh my God, if

you could see your face right now. Calm
down Derek, I figured it out a long time ago
at one of the meetings. The way you look at
him says it all. And no, I haven’t said a
fucking word. It’s your business who you
fuck or don’t fuck and you are one hell of a
soldier.”

Derek sighed and sat back down. “Jesus,

and here I thought I was being all covert
and shit.”

“I pay attention.” Prescott winked.

“Now, call your man and tell him you are
just fine and you’ll be home soon.”

Derek stood and shook Prescott’s hand

and watched as the man left his office. He
looked at the time and wondered if James
was even up. Looking out the window, he
watched the men he’d just returned with
getting an ass chewing. He knew what that
was like. He’d only frozen up one time and
that was in Somalia. Derek put his head on
the desk and banged it.

“Sir?”
Derek looked up to see Jessup looking at

him. “Yes?”

“I just wanted to tell you…” Jessup

sighed loudly. “Permission to speak freely,
sir?”

“Granted.”
“I fucked up, sir. It won’t happen again.”

Derek stood up and came around the

desk. “Yes it will and let me tell you why.
Every situation is different out here and you
have to know what to do. You won’t
always have the luxury of knowing that.
Sometimes you have to improvise.” Derek
sat against the desk and crossed his arms.
“You came through today after a little
screaming.”

“You are one hell of a badass.” Jessup

smiled. “I hope one day I am as confident
as you are.”

“Years and years of practice.” Derek

took Jessup by the shoulders. “Don’t get
dead.”

“Yes, sir.” Jessup walked to the door

and turned. “So, a game of spades later

with the guys?”

Derek chuckled. “Prepare to lose.”
“No, sir.” Jessup laughed and left.
Derek smiled and sat down looking at

his desk. It’d been close today. Derek
looked at the time, he had just enough time
to get a shower and eat before heading out
to play cards. As a general he wasn’t
supposed to consort with lower ranking
soldiers. Derek laughed and stood up, as if
he ever followed the rules. Camaraderie
was important, and he made it his business
to know the men that took orders from him.
Derek flipped the light off in his office and
headed for the showers, he’d call James
later.

~~The General’s Lover~~
Coming this summer.