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Twin Pines Grizzlies 11

Daring Alpha

How could a sweet kiss awaken such a dangerous beast?

Dylan Peterson is as tough as they come, but he's also smart and

sexy. As the nexus for his bear-shifting brothers, he has dedicated

himself to building their group even though he is destined to be

alone.

Preston Athey is the nexus for the wolf-shifters, and he couldn't

walk past an injured Dylan without bestowing a simple kiss.

Preston had no idea such a simple act would have such far-

reaching consequences.

When Preston and Dylan are brought together to twin the souls of

two of their shifting brothers, Preston is stunned. He never

thought he would see Dylan again. When Dylan dares to steal a

kiss, he seals their fate.

Breaking the rules unleashes the beast inside their souls. Once

awakened, there's nothing that will put it back to sleep, not until

the beast has sated his lust by claiming his mate.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 39,826 words

DARING ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 11

Anitra Lynn McLeod

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

DARING ALPHA
Copyright © 2012 by Anitra Lynn McLeod
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-464-9

First E-book Publication: June 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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Letter to Readers

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DARING ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 11

ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD

Chapter 1

Dylan had never seen such a beautiful man. He tried to keep his

attention on his work, but he found himself constantly looking over at
Preston. Dylan couldn’t help but be distracted by his long brown hair
and the softest brown eyes nestled in the most delicate features.
Preston was the exact opposite of Dylan. Where he was giant, Preston
was tiny. Where he was intimidating, Preston was subtle. But more
than anything, where Dylan was big, bad, and ugly, Preston was
small, sweet, and stunning.

They were in a cabin in the woods, trying to twin the souls of a

bear-shifter and a wolf-shifter. In order to do this, they needed the
nexus from each shifter group, Dylan and Preston. The two of them
lay beside their respective brother on a bed that seemed to be getting
smaller by the minute. But it wasn’t small enough for Dylan to be
next to Preston.

The leaders of the bear and wolf collectives were overseeing the

first and probably only interaction between their two warring groups
because if they didn’t twin the two men, their tormented souls would
scream until both Dylan and Preston died. Dylan certainly didn’t want
to die. He had a lot he wanted to live for. But now, after meeting
Preston, he had one more very compelling reason to fix this mess. No

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matter what, by the time the night was over, he was going to kiss
Preston.

“It’s not working.” Preston pulled back from his wolf-shifting

brother.

“No, it’s not.” Dylan pulled back from his bear-shifting brother.

He felt the two men’s souls screaming for twinning, but no matter
what he and Preston did, they simply couldn’t get their souls to
merge.

Over the two men, Dylan considered Preston, who looked back at

him with his enormous brown puppy eyes. Preston had the longest,
thickest lashes Dylan had ever seen. And then, in a curious flash,
Dylan swore he’d seen Preston before. But that was crazy. Tonight
was the first time the bear sloth and the wolf pack had ever met
outside the gridiron. Yet the feeling that he knew Preston was so
strong Dylan opened his mouth to ask if they’d seen each other during
one of the football games.

“I’m sorry. The souls are screaming, but the bond isn’t fully

connected.” Preston kept his gaze locked on Dylan almost as if he
were begging him not to ask that telling question, so he didn’t.

“I feel that, too.” Dylan reached for Preston’s hand. When the

contact came, Preston blushed and looked down. Red-washed cheeks
highlighted the soft curves of his features and multiplied his prettiness
by a factor of about a thousand. The more Dylan looked at him, the
more puppyish he seemed to be. Not that such an appearance was at
all surprising, given he was the nexus for a pack of wolf-shifters.
Preston was tiny, winsome, and almost delicate. To sum him up in
one word, Dylan would have to say Preston was beautiful.

Below Dylan there was a slight cough, and he looked down at his

brother, who raised his eyebrows for him to get on with this.
Embarrassed that he’d gotten so lost in looking at Preston, Dylan
covered by considering his brother and saying, “There is a part
missing.” He held Quinn’s gaze for as long as he could, but
eventually, Dylan’s gaze was drawn right back to Preston.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“We can’t twin them if they aren’t fully bonded.” Preston spoke

directly into Dylan’s mind.

“What’s wrong with their bond?” Dylan thought that was

probably a safer question than how the two of them could mentally
communicate. He wasn’t sure if the fact they were each a nexus made
the communication possible or something else.

“I’m not sure, but we need to talk to our leaders.”
Dylan nodded.
“You need to let go of me.”
This time it was Dylan who blushed. He hadn’t wanted to let go of

Preston’s hand, but he did, and they climbed off the bed. The two
men, Quinn and Maxwell, stayed on the mattress while Dylan and
Preston, along with their two leaders, left the cabin to discuss the
issue.

“Explain to me what is missing.” Grayson was the leader of the

Lone Pine Wolves. He was egotistical, arrogant, and so full of himself
Dylan wouldn’t be surprised to see him carrying around a mirror so
he could peer lovingly at himself. The only redeeming quality the
man had was he clearly and unequivocally cared about all his pack
members.

“It’s as if the bond is there but only one direction.” Dylan didn’t

know how to put into words what he’d felt while trying to twin them.
He’d shown his bear-shifting brothers what it was like when he
twinned them, but this was a whole new ball game given one man was
a bear and one was a wolf. It was similar to the proverbial trying to
shove a round peg in a square hole.

“Fix it,” Grayson demanded.
Dylan wanted to snarl, Don’t you think I would if I could,

shithead? But he didn’t get the chance when Preston touched the
sleeve of his leader’s shirt.

With his nose up in the air, Grayson peered down at Preston. Neat

trick that, given how awkward it looked.

“May I speak?” Preston’s voice was barely a whisper on the wind.

Daring Alpha

Grayson nodded. “You may.”
Dylan rolled his eyes at how pompous the man was.
“I believe what Dylan said is correct. The bond flows one way

from Quinn to Maxwell. There is not a corresponding energy flow
from Maxwell to Quinn.”

Unlike his counterpart, Danny, the leader of the bear sloth, didn’t

feel the need to put himself above everyone else. Danny asked, “How
might we repair this energy flow?”

“We cannot.” Preston appeared truly devastated that he couldn’t

fix this for them. “They must.” Preston pointed back toward the cabin.

“Explain how.” Grayson seemed annoyed, as if only he were put

out by being dragged around the mountains in the middle of the night.
Dylan surreptitiously checked his watch. He had a major chemistry
final in about nine hours. As much as he loved his position in his
sloth, he also had a life and goals outside of them. Fucking up on his
midterms would make his overall GPA slide, and then he wouldn’t be
able to go on to medical school.

There was a long stretch of silence that drew Dylan’s attention to

Preston’s face. He was blushing so hard it looked like it might hurt.
Worse, he’d lowered his head so that he could hide behind his long
brown hair. Somehow he managed to look even more beautiful, and
he made Dylan forget all about his midterms.

“I order you to speak—”
“He’s not your fucking dog.” Dylan deliberately stepped between

Grayson and Preston.

One edge of Grayson’s lip lifted up, but he refrained from

snarling, though it looked like he managed to just barely control
himself.

“Please.” Danny lifted his hands palms out and up, determined to

keep the peace. “Perhaps he’s simply too shy to say.”

Dylan leaned over so his face was level with Preston’s. This close,

he was able to smell his hair, his body, and his breath. Oh. God. His
scent gave Dylan an erection so fast he almost swooned. He felt

Anitra Lynn McLeod

enormous this close to Preston and fiercely protective of him at the
same time.

“Can you tell me?” Dylan asked.
“It’s shameful,” Preston whispered.
“Okay. Well, can you show me?”
Preston shook his head.
“You tell him or I’ll—”
“Perhaps we should give them some privacy,” Danny suggested,

offering Grayson refreshments from the back of the limo that had
brought the bear-shifters to the cabin. Danny looked back at Dylan
and said, “Do your best.” He glanced at Preston. “Poor thing. He’s
so shy.”

“That makes two of us.” A lot of people thought Dylan was

antisocial, but in reality, he was just shy.

“You less so than he.”
Dylan made sure they were well out of earshot and his mental

shields were up. “They’re gone. So what’s your idea?”

“I didn’t want to tell Grayson because I know he won’t like it.”

Preston moved just a bit closer. Dylan thought it was to impart the
secret, but he also hoped that Preston felt safe with him. Or maybe he
was just fooling himself about all of Preston’s reactions. His pack ran
in a completely different way than how Dylan’s sloth did. “Maxwell
has to submit to Quinn.”

“Submit like fornicate?” Dylan lifted his brows. The two guys

were totally into each other. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Maxwell is the alpha!” The horrified expression on Preston’s

face was testament to just how inappropriate the mere suggestion of
this was.

“So?” Dylan still didn’t get what the big deal was. Maxwell just

had to let Quinn fuck him. Most guys, even if they weren’t all that
into anal, wouldn’t balk at doing that once for a lifetime with their
partner and the ability to shift into animal form. Frankly, to Dylan, it
seemed like a really good deal. “He only has to let Quinn fu—” Dylan

Daring Alpha

stopped himself from using that vulgar term at the very last second.
“Er, mount him one time.”

Preston frowned at Dylan as if maybe he were kind of slow. Dylan

hated that look. Everyone always thought he was stupid, homophobic,
or both. Something about his muscular build and totally bald head. He
blamed his appearance, because he sure as shit didn’t wear a shirt that
declared I’m a dumbass and a gay basher!

“The alpha mounts.” Preston glanced over at the cabin fearfully,

as if he expected Maxwell to come flying out at any second to kick
his ass. “He isn’t mounted by others, and especially not by his beta
partner.” Preston peered up at Dylan. “That would be like me
mounting you.”

Dylan refused to let his thoughts show on his face, but the truth

was he wouldn’t mind that so very much. He imagined Preston above
him with his slimmer, lighter body. Preston probably had a sleek, tidy
prick, too. Given how much stronger Dylan was than Preston, that
meant Preston could fuck him in full fury and not hurt him at all.
Dylan grinned. There was something undeniably sexy about that
image. A cute little puppy fucking the hell out of the big scary bear.

“You see how silly that idea is.” Preston nodded as if they were

on the same wavelength.

“I can see it,” Dylan said noncommittally. “But with Quinn and

Maxwell, they’re the same size.”

“So?” Again, Preston flashed him a look like he was just not

bright enough to grasp the obvious.

“Well, they’re both big guys, and I honestly can’t point at

Maxwell and say he’s the clear alpha.” In the sloth, issues over alpha
status didn’t mean anything. From what he gathered, most of his
brethren switched off and loved it, but it was clearly different in the
pack.

“If he mounted Quinn first, Maxwell is the alpha.”
“It’s just that simple?”
“Yes.” Preston sighed. “Does it not work that way with your pack

Anitra Lynn McLeod

members?”

“No.”
Preston appeared to be as intrigued as he was repulsed. “Can you

please explain this to Grayson?”

“Sure.” Dylan considered slipping a bit of a lie in there, maybe

something like Grayson had to take it up the ass from every man at
the cabin, but that wasn’t going to happen even if it would give all his
pack members eternal life. However, the thought made him laugh.

“I’m sorry for all of this.” Preston hid behind his hair.
Compelled, Dylan lifted the curtain away from Preston’s face and

draped it over his left shoulder. “You’re shy.” When his hand stroked
down Preston’s back, petting that length of silky hair, he told himself
to stop, but couldn’t. “It’s okay. I really don’t mind telling Grayson.”
Dylan was actually looking forward to it. He might even describe the
action in gory detail with lots of sound effects.

“I’m not sorry for that,” Preston said, moving closer. “I mean, I

am, but I’m sorry for this entire situation.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dylan soothed, sliding his hand down to the

small of Preston’s back.

“I never should have kissed you.”
Dylan’s hand stopped moving lower. “What?” If this beautiful

creature had ever kissed him, he’d sure as hell remember, because the
only men Dylan had ever kissed were the men he twinned, and there
was nothing romantic in that.

“I was at the hospital visiting one of the injured football players

when I walked by your room.” Preston moved just a little bit closer.
“You were so big, so powerful, and so still. It was wrong for a man
like you to be incapacitated like that.”

During a twinning gone wrong, Dylan was shot by a crazy asshole

who had a way bigger gun than a brain. According to his brothers,
he’d been out cold for three days and then made a miraculous
recovery. “You kissed me?”

“I just wanted to look at you. At first. And then I don’t know what

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happened, but I placed my hand against your heart and kissed you.”

Into Dylan’s mind came an image of Preston leaning over his

immobile body. “You healed me.”

“I just kissed you.”
“Did you breathe into my mouth?”
“Maybe a little when I realized how good it felt to kiss you.”
“And to think I was out cold and didn’t get to feel it.” Now he

thought he had an explanation as to why they could mentally
communicate. A kiss with some of Preston’s breath could have
partially bonded them.

Dylan’s hand was able to almost completely span Preston’s lower

back. When he tightened his fingers, he pulled him closer. Rather than
balk and pull away, which was exactly what Dylan expected, Preston
sighed and lifted his head.

Oh, man. His mouth was right there, just inches below Dylan’s

mouth, all sweet and sexy. If he moved just a little bit, they could lock
lips, and this time he’d be awake. This time he would know what it
was like to kiss someone he truly wanted to kiss. This time wouldn’t
be about twinning his brothers but about satisfying his own personal
needs.

For a long time, Dylan stood in the forest, bathed in moonlight,

his lungs filled with cold, pine-scented air, enjoying the warmth of
Preston’s little body. He knew he shouldn’t kiss Preston, but he did
anyway. No one was paying them any attention, so Dylan got away
with stealing a kiss. But that one kiss would prove to be his undoing.

Preston responded with barely concealed lust. He wrapped his

arms around Dylan’s neck and parted his lips, opening himself to the
plunder of Dylan’s tongue. God, he tasted sweet. His lips were almost
obscenely soft. Hungry for more, Dylan cupped his hands to Preston’s
buttocks, plastering him against his powerful form. An urge to mate
was almost irresistible. Dylan wanted to mark Preston, to claim him,
and then—

Gasping, Preston pulled back. His big brown eyes went wide.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

For a long, heart-stopping moment, Dylan wasn’t sure if Preston

had felt what he’d felt. And then Dylan glanced down. Tight jeans
against Preston’s hips revealed the truth. Pleased, Dylan lifted his
gaze. Obviously, Preston felt exactly what Dylan felt. What they had
was special, unique, powerful...

“And utterly forbidden.” Preston shook his head as if to shake off

what had happened. He slipped out of Dylan’s embrace. Preston
didn’t run, but he walked as quickly as he could over to the limo.

As frustrated as he was, Dylan also realized Preston was right.

Forbidden was a big word, but that about summed up the notion of a
nexus hooking up with anybody, even another nexus. By their
destiny, they were supposed to be alone. Danny had promised to find
Dylan a mate, and Dylan had hung his hope on that generous offer,
but the truth of the matter was they weren’t supposed to mate. A
nexus twinned the souls of others, and apparently the only way they
could do that was if they stayed solo. Dylan knew this the way he
knew everything else about his position and his brothers. The
information seemed to be written on his DNA.

Dylan had no idea what Preston said to Danny and Grayson, but

he dutifully followed behind the two leaders as they returned to the
front porch. Dazed by how fast everything changed, Dylan joined the
group, and the four of them trudged back into the cabin.

Quinn and Maxwell were still on the bed, still dressed, and they

looked about as worried as Dylan felt.

“You see, the energy is different now because he’s willing.”

Preston pointed to Maxwell. “He’s the one who has to surrender.”

“Surrender what?” Quinn asked softly.
“His virginity.” Grayson considered Maxwell with hardened eyes.

“You are an alpha in my pack, Maxwell. Normally, that means you
mount, but in order to complete the soul bond with your mate, you
have to let him mount and breed you.”

“No,” Quinn said automatically.
Maxwell shook his head. “It’s my say,” Maxwell reminded Quinn

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gently. “Not yours.”

“I’m not doing that to you.” Quinn crossed his arms over his

naked chest. “There has to be another way. What if all four of us do
that kissing, breathing thing—”

“In order for us to do that, you have to finish the soul bond.”

Dylan flashed Maxwell an uncomfortable frown. “I don’t know what
else to tell you.”

“No. He can take me again.” Quinn made as if to roll onto his

belly for Maxwell.

“That’s not going to do any good. You already surrendered to

him.” Grayson considered them with a curious frown. “That forged
the first—leg, road, link—pick your metaphor. But that simply wasn’t
enough. You now need to deepen your bond, and that means Maxwell
must surrender to you.” Grayson grimaced. “Believe me, the very
idea of a beta mounting his alpha turns my stomach, but there it is.”

“Turns your stomach? What the fuck does that—”
Maxwell cut Quinn off. “Stop.” Maxwell pulled Quinn close.

“Can we have privacy, please?”

After a bit of mental discussion between Grayson and Maxwell,

which Dylan only knew because he felt the bubble of their thoughts
running through Preston, an agreement was reached. The four of them
left the cabin.

To avoid any issues and to placate Grayson, Danny took him back

over to the limo. Preston moved swiftly away from the cabin, almost
as if he dreaded hearing the noise of their wrong way of coupling.

“Maxwell is willing,” Dylan spoke softly.
“I know, but it goes against everything in our pack. He was

already seen as the lowest member, and this will only make matters
worse.”

“No one knows but you and Grayson. Are you going to tell

them?”

“Not I, but Grayson...” Preston trailed off and shrugged.
Dylan realized the poor guy was shivering uncontrollably. “Here,

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put this on.” After sliding his arms out of his letterman jacket, Dylan
helped Preston slip it on. The coat was so big compared to Preston he
could practically wear it as a robe.

“Thank you.” Preston lifted the collar and breathed deep. “God,

you smell good.” His wide eyes looked Dylan up and down. “Aren’t
you cold?”

“Naw. I got a heavy sweatshirt on.” It was a Grizzlies shirt in

black with the snarling bear logo in green. “Besides, I can just pull
you close.”

Preston plastered himself against Dylan without any further

prompting. Dylan closed his eyes, loving the feel of Preston’s strong,
slim body against his. Just once, just this one time, he wanted
something for himself. This wasn’t about his brothers, his sloth, or
their needs. What he wanted with Preston was strictly about him.

When Preston tilted his face up, Dylan kissed him. Again, he was

utterly lost. To his surprise, it was Preston who deepened the kiss
while making a plaintive whimper. Every alpha button Dylan
possessed, Preston managed to push. It was the way he smelled, the
way he felt, the way he looked up, the way his entire body
surrendered against Dylan’s. Preston was everything Dylan had ever
wanted.

Before he realized what he was doing, Dylan pressed Preston

against a towering pine, kissing him as deeply as he could. They were
going to get sticky sap all over the back of his jacket, but Dylan didn’t
care. He’d buy a hundred of them if he could just keep going with
this. With a sigh of surrender, Preston wrapped his arms around
Dylan’s shoulders and then embraced Dylan’s hips with his legs.

Picturing their bodies in this position naked caused Dylan to

practically lose his mind. His cock was so hard against the rough
fabric of his jeans it almost hurt. Preston’s squirming body only
spurred his lust.

“I want you,” Dylan said, only tearing his lips away long enough

to speak. Rather than answer with words, Preston rocked his hips and

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made a mewling sound that sparked hunger deep in Dylan’s soul.

Knowing what was going on in the cabin only aggravated his

senses. When his brothers bonded their souls through sex, Dylan
could often feel them. Usually, he was able to cut his awareness off,
or at least turn it down, but not this time. Maybe it was because they
were so close, or maybe it was that a bear-shifter was claiming a
wolf-shifter, and Dylan was a bear nexus with a wolf nexus. Whatever
it was, whatever pushed at him, it made Dylan almost crazed with
lust.

“Take me here, Dylan. Claim me.” Preston whispered the words

directly into Dylan’s mind.

“You should be laid down on a bed of silk, with candles all

around to show off the beauty of your face and body.”

“But we’re animals,” Preston reminded, grinding himself against

Dylan’s raging hard on. “Take me here, in our element. In the woods,
in the moonlight, on a blanket of pine needles.”

Dylan tried to resist, but it was as if Preston chanted in time with

the beat of his heart, and nothing inside him could withstand his
insistent call.

“Claim me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. I have nothing to ease my way inside

you.” As much as Dylan would love to slide his cock into his sweet
puppy, he refused to do anything that would cause him pain.

“I’m ready for you.”
“Do you feel that?” Dylan rocked his hips a few times, making

sure that Preston got a damn good impression of how long and thick
his cock was. “I’m not being vain when I say that I’m big. You, on the
other hand, are so tiny I can almost span your lower back with one
hand.”

“I feel how big you are. I still want you to claim me. And I swear,

I’m ready.”

Dylan pulled back and peered at Preston’s face.
“Maxwell had them, but since he already prepared himself for

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Quinn, I didn’t think he’d mind me taking the rest.”

“The rest of what?” Dylan had no idea what Preston was talking

about.

From his back pocket, Preston extracted a tube of what looked

like vitamin-E pills. “One of these will slick me up inside for you.”
Preston pushed the information about the curious items into Dylan’s
head. Grayson had invented the little suppositories so his beta pack
members would always be ready for their alpha counterparts. “I
haven’t put one in yet, but it only takes a minute, and—”

Dylan cut him off with another soul-bending kiss. Maybe this was

the perfect place to lay his claim. Before he allowed himself to think
too deeply about what he was doing, Dylan lowered Preston’s feet to
the ground. With one big hand, he yanked down Preston’s zipper and
then shoved his pants and underwear down. Even in the pale
moonlight, he saw that Preston wore tight, white underwear.
Growling, Dylan got Preston’s clothing down to his knees and then
turned him so he faced the tree.

“Ready yourself for me.”
Reaching back, Preston inserted one of the gels, then turned back

around.

Dylan was on the verge of facing him toward the tree again when

Preston dropped to his knees and worked the fasteners of Dylan’s
jeans apart. Pushing the thick fabric down gave him access to his
much thinner boxers, which Preston yanked down until the wads of
fabric bunched underneath Dylan’s junk, effectively putting him on
display.

“So big and thick.” Preston kissed the tip of his prick

worshipfully. “Proud and strong.” Licking his way around the crown,
Preston was preparing Dylan to claim him. As if he wasn’t hard
enough. Anymore of his hungry mouth and there wouldn’t be
anything left with which to claim him.

“Up.” Dylan didn’t wait for Preston to obey. He grabbed his

shoulders and turned him toward the tree. “Hang on.”

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“Yes, my mate.”
Those words pushed something inside Dylan. He’d always wanted

his first time to be magical, and this was, but he thought it would be
slow and sweet, too. Dylan hated the truth, but the fact was he was a
romantic. As much as he would like to do that for Preston and
himself, he couldn’t resist the animal instinct that told him now was
the time. This was the place. And beautiful little Preston was his
mate.

When Preston clung to the tree and lifted his bottom, Dylan

growled. Reaching out, Dylan slid his finger between Preston’s pale
cheeks, rubbing across his tight hole. With every fiber of his being, he
wanted to breach that snug opening. When Preston lowered his head
with a submissive sigh, Dylan had to restrain himself from plunging
into him. Instead, he pressed the tip of one thick finger into his ass.

Preston angled his bottom up to welcome the invading digit. He

was indeed slick inside. So slick that Dylan was able to work his
finger in and out with barely any friction. But the ring that guarded
his channel was tight. If Dylan did what all his instincts were
clamoring for him to do, he would hurt his puppy, and Dylan refused
to injure him.

“Ride back on my finger.”
Preston squirmed while Dylan held his arm steady. Watching

Preston fuck himself on his hand just about made Dylan cream. It was
as if Preston performed a mating dance to further attract Dylan when
he didn’t need any more inducements. When Preston seemed
comfortable, Dylan eased another finger inside.

With a cry, Preston lifted up, softening the angle. After a moment,

he adjusted and lowered himself again, riding on two of Dylan’s thick
fingers.

“Do you like that?” Dylan asked.
“I love the feel of you inside me.”
“I love watching you.”
“Wait until you see me ride your cock.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Dylan took a deep breath to steady himself. Somehow, when they

spoke inside their minds, they were able to say things they would be
too embarrassed to speak out loud.

By the time Preston had grown accustomed to three fingers, Dylan

thought he was ready. Moreover, Dylan couldn’t wait anymore. He
felt pressure from the fact their time was short. Once their brothers
finished in the cabin, they had to return to their work of twinning
them. But Dylan also felt the pressure in his balls. He had to get
inside Preston and mark him. If he didn’t, he swore his junk would
explode from the anguish of denial.

Preston made a whimper of regret when Dylan withdrew his

probing fingers. His disappointment turned into bliss when Dylan
placed the thick knob of his cock against Preston’s hole.

“Yes. Ah, my mate, I’ve longed for you since that day in the

hospital.”

“You are everything I’ve dreamed of.” Dylan eased forward.
“Faster, my love.”
“I couldn’t bear to hurt you.”
“I’m not as fragile as you think I am.” With that, Preston pushed

back, taking Dylan’s entire cock into his body. His blissful cry filled
the darkness and caused a chorus of growls, yips, and other sounds
from the night creatures to echo his pleasure. “Now ride me, my mate.
Fuck me and mark me.”

Dylan grasped Preston’s slim hips in his massive hands, holding

him steady for the pounding he gave.

Preston clung to the tree, using it to help him stay bent over with

his bottom up. When he looked back over his shoulder, all his hair
draped over to the left, exposing the vulnerable skin along his neck.

When lust rode up, egging him on, Dylan lowered his mouth and

bit that pale skin.

Preston uttered a breathless gasp and held perfectly still as Dylan

became an animal. While holding him with his teeth at the base of his
neck, Dylan poured his prick into his hot, tight channel. Pounding,

Daring Alpha

snarling, and grunting like a wild creature, Dylan took every last
shred of Preston’s innocence.

“Mine. All of this is mine for now and forever.”
Surrendering, Preston came, which caused him to clench around

Dylan’s prick. Lifting him up by wrapping his arms around his waist,
Dylan bounced Preston the last few millimeters onto his cock and
climaxed. His growl coincided with an earsplitting crack of thunder
that was followed by several trees around the cabin exploding.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 2

The world could have just ended for all Preston cared. After what

felt like a lifetime of longing, he had been claimed by his mate. His
scent was marked all over his body, even deep inside. At the end, it
was almost as if Dylan couldn’t mark him deeply enough. Bouncing
him on his cock was such a wickedly rough thing to do. The
desperation that drove Dylan to do that caused Preston to shiver. He
had such power to arouse his mate, and that pleased him greatly.

“Should we return to the cabin and finish?” Preston was still

facing the tree with Dylan to his back.

“I’m finished right here.”
Preston laughed. “I meant twinning our brothers.”
“Ah, yeah, right.” Now that the violent need had passed, Dylan

was once again tender. He kissed the edge of Preston’s ear and asked,
“Did I hurt you?”

“You satisfied me greatly. I feel complete for the first time in my

life.”

“So do I.” Dylan nuzzled his nose down along Preston’s neck. “I

don’t ever want to let you go.”

With a sigh, Preston wrapped his arms over Dylan’s. “But how

will you ever be able to sit though class and pay attention if I’m
squirming on your dick?” He gave a little shimmy and loved Dylan’s
growl. “I would think showering, driving, and other daily activities
would be incredibly difficult, too.”

“You have a point.” As gently as he could, Dylan eased out of

Preston’s bottom.

Losing the full press of his lover’s prick caused Preston to wince,

Daring Alpha

but that tenderness would pass. Soon, he would be able to provide his
mate with all the rough couplings he needed, even several a day
should he so desire them. Preston couldn’t wait for Dylan to come
upon him, ripe with his need, and then satisfy himself in daring alpha
ways.

“I can see Danny and Grayson looking for us.” Dylan peered

through the heavy branches toward the cabin.

“What should we do?”
“We’d best go.”
Preston nodded even though he would rather spend time cuddling

in the afterglow. Most of his packmates didn’t do that after sex, but
they often took their mates while in the middle of chores. Once they
were replete, they returned to their work. Preston thought if they had
more time they would snuggle, but like his brothers, Preston had to
get back to work.

“And we’d best be quiet about this.” Dylan fastened his trousers

and then helped Preston dress himself.

Preston’s heart cracked. Be silent about their soul bonding? But

this was to be celebrated! Why, Dylan should be so proud to have
captured Preston he should scream it all through the forest. The fact
that he didn’t want to acknowledge him at all was devastating. Only a
disappointed alpha didn’t beat his chest after claiming his mate.

While he tucked in his shirt, Preston pondered what he’d done

wrong. Hadn’t he been submissive enough? Had he been too pushy in
some way? He had spoken first after sex, but he had asked a question,
not made a declaration or demanded anything.

Confused, Preston decided that he had a job to do. He would deal

with his bewildered feelings later. Maybe Dylan simply didn’t realize
what they had done. Preston frowned. How could Dylan have
misinterpreted his plaintive calls to claim him? Perhaps the initiation
of a beta took a different tack in the bear sloth than it did with the
wolves.

Sighing, Preston realized that’s all this was. Dylan simply didn’t

Anitra Lynn McLeod

understand what ceremonies Preston expected, and that was fine. As
Preston learned his bear ways, he hoped Dylan learned the ways of
his kind. Even though Dylan was the alpha and what he said was law,
Preston believed that Dylan wouldn’t balk at some of his kind’s
traditions. He envisioned a blending of their cultures. Still, if push
came to shove, Preston would do whatever Dylan told him to do,
because that was the way of a true beta partner.

“Wait.” Dylan stopped them in midstride. He turned and lowered

his face until he was level with Preston’s face. Doing so
acknowledged Preston as his beta, which was reassuring. “I want you
to know that I’ve never done that.”

Preston’s eyes went wide.
“I mean, I’ve never even kissed someone but for when I was

twinning their souls.”

“You were untouched?” Preston had never heard of an alpha

making such a generous gift to his beta. All his doubts about Dylan’s
sincerity evaporated. It was an astounding present that Preston would
cherish for all their long life together.

“Well, yeah. If you want to put it like that.” Dylan grinned and

traced his fingers through Preston’s hair.

“You honor me greatly.” Preston bowed until his face was below

his mate’s genitals. He did this to show his unending submission to
Dylan’s masculine power.

When he rose, Dylan gave him a bemused grin. “You honor me in

return.”

A pointed cough from Grayson drew their attention to where he

waited with the leader of the bear sloth. Grayson was tall with gray
hair and eyes. His skin was the color of moonlight. Every time
Grayson looked at him, Preston felt inadequate. But the leader of the
bears was the opposite. Danny was an inch or two shorter than
Grayson. Danny had sun-kissed skin and brown, shaggy hair that
stopped at his collar. His brown eyes were wonderfully kind and
glittered with genuine warmth. When Danny looked at him, Preston

Daring Alpha

felt as if Danny wanted to wrap his arm around him and invite him to
share a movie with his sloth. When Grayson looked at him, Preston
was convinced Grayson would throw him to the ground and then use
him as a doormat to wipe his feet on.

“I guess after the thunder, lightning, and exploding trees, those

two have finished their...business.” Grayson couldn’t even bring
himself to speak of what Quinn had done to Maxwell. Preston didn’t
blame him. It was so shameful that he’d barely been able to speak of a
beta mounting his alpha. But the deed was done, and now they could
move forward.

Danny knocked upon the door, gave them a moment, and then the

four of them entered.

Quinn and Maxwell were under the quilt. Preston expected

Maxwell to look ashamed or to show some mark of damage, yet he
didn’t. If anything, he looked content. A glance over at Quinn showed
he had the same expression of satisfaction. Preston tilted his head,
curious. Maybe Dylan was right in that it wasn’t such a big deal when
the men were so similar in size and build. If Maxwell were to shave
off his beard and mustache, he would be almost identical to Quinn.
For their pairing, the term twin was almost wholly accurate.

Drawing a calming breath, Preston almost staggered back. The

entire room was filled with pheromones. Even though he’d just mated
and climaxed by the force of his mate’s drilling prick, Preston felt the
urge to mate yet again. As he climbed up on the bed next to Maxwell,
he hungrily watched his mate climb up next to Quinn. Every move
Dylan made was pure seduction. Preston could not be prouder of the
man who had claimed him.

Wordlessly, Dylan leaned over and pulled Quinn’s breath.
Preston did the same to Maxwell.
Crossing over their bodies, they breathed out into the alternate

man, and then returned to their original positions. This time the
energy flow was smoother, but it also seemed to be amplified.

“It’s so much,” Preston breathed into Quinn.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“It’s too much,” Dylan breathed into Maxwell.
Preston stopped and looked at Dylan, who looked back at him.

Without thinking about what he was doing or the possible
consequences, Preston leaned toward Dylan, who leaned toward him,
until they pressed their mouths together.

A spark of raw energy surged between their lips, fusing their souls

together. In a timeless moment, Preston swore he opened his eyes and
delved deeply into the cloudy gray depths of Dylan’s gaze. There he
saw innumerable futures. Some were blindingly bright, some were
mediocre, and some were blackened by tragedy. But now, there was
no escaping that Preston would be by Dylan’s side. Bonded and
twinned, they were firmly entwined without a way out. As beautiful
as it was terrifying, the truth caused Preston to swallow hard,
breaking the spell.

Below them, Quinn and Maxwell kissed, too.
When they started up their kissing and breathing again, there was

a new kind of energy that flowed between the four of them. Rather
than cross breathing, they went around in a full circle with each man
kissing and breathing into each man until all four of them were
breathless. Together they reached a summit where the complexity of
their twinning was shattered, realigned, then settled into a new and
strangely unique bond.

Here, Preston broke away again into a corner of timeless

introspection. What he had done violated the laws of nature. It wasn’t
Maxwell claiming Quinn that had opened the door to bring a wolf and
bear together. It was Preston kissing and pulling Dylan back from the
brink of death in the hospital. Preston’s actions opened the doorway.
Just a crack. But it was enough to let chaos into their lives.

Dylan should have died in that hospital bed. Not from his wound,

which wasn’t that bad, but a pernicious infection would have led to
Dylan’s long, lingering, and tragic demise. With a kiss and tiny puff
of his breath, Preston had planted the seed for pandemonium. He had
laid his claim to Dylan and opened the doorway for Maxwell to claim

Daring Alpha

Quinn. It was by his headstrong usurpation of the rightful order of
things that all these crazy and cross-purpose events had happened.

All of this, everything, was on Preston’s head.
Now it was clear why a beta had to claim an alpha. Quinn had to

settle the proper energy flow that Preston had put out of alignment by
claiming Dylan.

If Grayson ever found out, he wouldn’t kill him, not when that

would destroy his pack in turn. No, Grayson would punish Preston in
creatively vile ways. Preston would beg for death, but Grayson would
hold it tauntingly out of reach. Only when Preston had twinned the
last pair and there were no more packmates to twin would Grayson
execute Preston as a traitor.

Without Dylan, the bear sloth would have stagnated and died.

Preston had saved him with a kiss. And now Preston’s actions had
demanded the sacrifice of an innocent alpha’s virginity to his beta
partner. But why not Dylan? Why had the cosmos been satisfied with
Maxwell surrendering to Quinn when by all that was logical it should
have been Dylan surrendering to Preston? Perhaps it was the
perversity of the universe. Rarely had Preston seen a payment be one
to one. His wrongs brought pain to another, one completely innocent
of any wrongdoing, but the universe was certain to show Preston what
he’d caused. That was the darkest punishment. Knowing that he
couldn’t atone for his mistakes and realizing that others had to
compensate for him would harm Preston far more.

As Preston returned to real time, he felt the power between the

four of them rise until something had to give or he’d explode.
Simultaneously, all four of them climaxed.

In that moment, Preston felt the joy and relief that Quinn and

Maxwell were now fully twinned. He looked to Dylan and smiled.

Dylan echoed his joy.
Together, they gave their brothers an unbreakable bond and

gained one of their own. When Quinn burst into tears, no one mocked
him, because the rest of them fell to crying and laughing and holding

Anitra Lynn McLeod

one another. After a very long night with a tremendous amount of
worry, they had succeeded.

Preston hoped that by Maxwell surrendering to Quinn, and him

being allowed to twin to Dylan, the debt for his mistake had been paid
in full.

Preston was on the verge of congratulating all of them when

Grayson snarled, “You’re not finished just yet.” His cold, gray eyes
examined all of them equally, so Preston had no idea who he was
talking to. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought Grayson had
somehow ferreted out the truth that the blame for all this could be laid
at Preston’s feet.

“They are bonded now,” Danny pointed out.
“Yes, but what are they, exactly?” Grayson frowned. “I need to

know.”

Danny nodded. “I guess that might help us decide where they will

go.”

“Let’s get the hell out of here. We need to talk,” Dylan spoke

quietly into Preston’s mind.

Preston nodded. For now and for always he would do whatever

his alpha told him to do.

Since the focus was on Quinn and Maxwell, Preston and Dylan

slipped silently away from the bed and then out of the cabin.

“Wow. That was intense.” Dylan reached out and captured

Preston’s hand.

“Yes.” Maybe the less he said the better.
“What happened, exactly?”
“I don’t know.”
“Please be honest with me.”
Preston’s heart was beating so fast it hurt. “I think we’re in

trouble.”

“I think so, too.” Dylan pulled until Preston was close, and then

he let go of his hand to sweep him up into his arms and press him
against his chest. Automatically, Preston wrapped his legs around

Daring Alpha

Dylan’s hips. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Preston frowned as he pulled back. “Sorry for

what?”

“I shouldn’t have claimed you and gotten you mixed up in this

four-way soul bond.”

Typical alpha, Preston thought. Dylan took all the blame onto

himself when he actually had little if anything to do with it.

“Are you upset with me?” Dylan lowered his face, peering at

Preston with a hound dog’s wary gaze.

“No.” Preston leaned forward and kissed him. “Are you angry at

me?”

“Of course not.”
Somehow, Preston didn’t feel any better. He felt he’d tricked

Dylan into claiming him and then inadvertently twinned their souls.
As much as Dylan thought they were bonded with Quinn and
Maxwell, Preston knew they weren’t. It just felt like that due to the
sheer intensity of the power it took to merge a bear- and a wolf-shifter
in the midst of two nexuses twinning. Frankly, he was surprised they
didn’t explode every tree in the forest.

Destined to be alone, a nexus should live only to serve his shifter

brothers. That two had joined was more profoundly shocking than
what had happened with Quinn and Maxwell. However, letting those
two become the focus would give Dylan a chance to sort things out.
And then Preston saw the trap he’d laid for himself. If he didn’t tell
Dylan the full truth, Dylan wouldn’t be able to make the best decision
for them. But if he did tell Dylan everything, he was going to be very
angry at Preston for taking control when he shouldn’t have. A beta
followed where an alpha led, not the other way around.

Eventually, when the residual energy flowed away, Dylan would

see the truth. With their souls twinned, Dylan would also see exactly
what Preston had done. As inadvertent as his actions may have been,
Preston didn’t think it was all happenstance. Seeing Dylan so massive
and so immobile in that hospital bed had broken Preston’s heart.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Preston could no more have walked away from him than he could
have stopped breathing and continued to live.

Dylan was his destiny.
There was not one question in Preston’s mind of that fact. The

only problem was he hadn’t really thought about all the ramifications.
How could one simple kiss cause so much fallout?

“What are we going to tell Grayson and Danny?”
Blinking fast, Preston blurted, “That’s up to you.”
“Oh, for the love of Pete’s dog. Don’t go dumping all this on my

fool head because I’m supposedly the alpha. I don’t buy into that crap
anymore than you do.” Dylan looked at him. “Do you?”

Sputtering, Preston said, “You have to decide. Whatever you say I

will do. You are my mate, and I am your beta.”

When Dylan frowned, his sweet face turned terrifying. “Are you

serious?”

Throwing his arms around him, Preston clung hard to his

shoulders, refusing to look at him. All along Preston believed when
he found his alpha partner, he would no longer have to worry about
anything. Dylan’s job was to decide everything, and Preston’s job was
to support him in his decisions.

“Preston, please, we have to talk about this and decide what to do

together.”

Preston clung more firmly to Dylan’s powerful body and started

to cry.

“Aw, hell.” Dylan hugged him hard and lowered his voice to a

soothing tone. “Please don’t cry. I’m not mad at you. I get this is how
you were brought up, but I wasn’t. I don’t want to boss you around.”

“But if you don’t, I won’t know what to do!” Preston felt

miserable. He thought if he could only have a mate, everything would
magically get easier, but instead, he’d only created more problems.
Worse, the mess he made extended far past himself, his mate, and
went right into the heart of both their shifter groups. Everything was
his fault, and he was expecting Dylan to clean it all up without even

Daring Alpha

telling him the full truth!

“Hey, hey, wait a minute.” Dylan walked a ways behind the cabin.

Under a broken tree, he found a battered picnic table. He slid his butt
along the bench and settled Preston’s fanny on the top. “Please, pup,
look at me.”

Reluctantly, Preston released his death grip then panicked because

the way they were sitting put Preston higher than his mate.

“What’s wrong?”
“I should never sit above you.”
“Seriously?” Dylan looked around. “No one else is here. I don’t

care, and I don’t think you should, either.”

“Yes, my mate.”
“Aw, damn. Look, let’s get away from that stuff for now.”
“Have I displeased you?”
“No.” Dylan cupped his cheek and pulled him down for a

lingering kiss. “I’m not mad at you. I swear I’m not. But this whole
‘I’m the boss of you’ thing isn’t going to work for me. I’m not going
to yell or order you around. That’s not my style, and I can’t believe
you really want me to treat you the way Grayson does.”

Preston hated the way Grayson treated him, but at least it was

predictable and familiar. “But that is the way of things.”

“In your pack, sure, but did you ever wonder about the rest of the

world?”

“No.” Preston had always tried to live up to the expectations of

his leader. “When I was a child, I did everything my father told me to
do. When he died, Grayson took me in, and then he started building
the pack.”

“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
Dylan’s eyebrows went up, causing furrows to deepen over his

brow. “You really are a pup.”

“I am too young?”
“No. You’re perfect. Absolutely perfect in every way.” Dylan

Anitra Lynn McLeod

stroked his hair softly, draping the strands over Preston’s left
shoulder. “I just didn’t know.”

“How old are you?”
“Twenty-one now. I’m an old-timer.” Dylan grinned, flashing his

strong, white teeth. In some males, the bearing of teeth was the mark
of an ensuing fight, but with Dylan, he was only smiling. So Preston
smiled back. “How long have you been with Grayson?”

“Three years now.”
“You live with him?” One of Dylan’s eyes narrowed down

suspiciously.

“Oh, my mate, I came to you untouched! I swear that I have only

kissed my packmates to twin—”

Dylan cut him off with a finger to his lips. “Enough. I believe you.

But Grayson, is he your brother or an uncle?”

“No. He worked with my father at the paper mill.”
“And your mother?”
“Died shortly after I was born.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” All Preston had of his mother was a box of

photographs. People said she was pretty, and Preston thought she was.
He saw her face in himself every time he looked in the mirror.

“I feel like we’re doing all this in reverse.” Dylan leaned up and

pulled Preston until his crotch was pressed against his chest.

“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, normally, we’d date, get to know each other, decide we

had a lot in common, and then become eternally, mystically bonded.”

Preston heard what Dylan said, but he also felt the vibrations of

his low voice right against his cock and balls since they were pressed
into Dylan’s chest. Preston didn’t know what to do until Dylan
grinned. It was his refusal to get angry that impressed Preston the
most and eased the panic out of his shoulders.

“So, yeah, this is all happing backward. And kind of sideways.

But the fact of the matter is here we are. I’m not walking away from

Daring Alpha

you or this, but I’m also not dictating everything, either. We have to
decide what to do. That’s ‘we’ as in you and me, not just me.”

A high-pitched voice called Preston’s name.
“Who is that?” Dylan asked.
“It’s Elias, Grayson’s mate.” Preston didn’t want any of his pack

intruding on him right now. “They are looking for me. And you.”

“They can wait.” Together they erected a mental shield, blocking

their thoughts from their brothers.

“I know a trick.” Preston smiled and showed Dylan how they

could stay exactly where they were and no one could see them. “It’s
like a mental shield around our bodies.”

“See? If I was being Mr. Bossy Boots like Grayson, I never would

have learned that, now would I?”

“I guess not.” Preston still couldn’t decide if he liked the idea of

working together rather than following along. Following had always
been so easy because none of the responsibility fell on his shoulders.

“We’re partners, Preston. We have to be if we’re going to get

through this.”

“I’ll try.”
“You’ll be epic.”
Preston grinned. He didn’t recall anyone ever telling him he was

epic.

“Do you know if we can still twin our brethren?” When Dylan

frowned at his own question, Preston realized this was his greatest
fear. Failing his brothers would devastate Dylan.

“We twinned Quinn and Maxwell, so I think we should be okay.”

Preston shrugged. “I guess we will know when the next couple comes
to us.”

“And then we have the delicate issue of where we will live.”
“I’ll live with you!” Preston practically launched himself at

Dylan, who managed to absorb his weight easily. When Dylan tried to
ease him back to put some distance between them, Preston clung to
him like a burr tangled up in hair.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“I live in the dorm with a roommate.” Dylan stroked his massive

hands tenderly over Preston’s back. “As tiny as you are, I think Josh
might notice the addition to our room.”

Preston leaned back. “Don’t all of your bear brothers live

together?”

“No. Do the wolves?”
“Grayson bought the old hippie collective ranch near Lone Pine.”
“How did he manage that?”
“A trust fund.” Before Dylan could ask about that, Preston pushed

on and said, “We all live there together.”

“And the townsfolk don’t think that’s a little strange?”
“They don’t care. We run a ranch, or the semblance of one. It’s

difficult to run cattle when they’re terrified of us. So Grayson has
regular people do that. We live under the radar.”

“Huh.” Dylan pulled Preston a little closer then cupped his hands

under Preston’s buttocks and moved him back. “Damn, you smell so
good.” To Preston’s shock, Dylan buried his face in his lap and took a
deep breath. Embarrassed, Preston tried to push him away, but Dylan
wouldn’t be moved. “You creamed your jeans, my mate. I like the
way it smells.”

My mate?
Only a beta called his alpha by that title. Dylan should call him

little one. And the last thing he should ever do was ease down his
jeans and pull his cock into his mouth, but that was exactly what
Dylan did. Preston was so stunned he sat there and let his mate
perform this perversion upon him. Dylan’s mouth was so hot
compared to the cold air. His tongue was firm and sought out the slit
at the tip of his prick. While he flicked over that spot, Dylan looked
up and caught Preston’s gaze. Even with a mouthful of cock, Dylan
grinned. And then he sucked until his nose was down against
Preston’s carefully waxed groin.

Realizing they were effectively shielded from both their groups,

Preston allowed himself to enjoy this shameful act. That it was as

Daring Alpha

forbidden as their relationship was even more arousing. If his mate
wished to suck his cock, then Preston had no choice but to let him.
The fact that it felt impossibly good was just a bonus. Every slurp of
his tongue, every pull of his sucking lips, every hungry growl pushed
Preston’s enjoyment higher.

“My love. Oh, my sweet, impossible love.” Preston cupped

Dylan’s head, shocked by how cool his skin felt below his hand.
Moreover, he felt the scandalous rush of being in the power position.
Never had he imagined himself above his mate. It was so outrageous
the novelty alone was arousing. “You flatter me with your mouth.
You praise me with your tongue. You take all of me into you with the
pull of your lipssssssss.” Preston’s voice trailed off into a breathless
hiss as he climaxed. Rather than pull away, revolted or shocked,
Dylan drank his climax down as if he were receiving the most blessed
elixir in the known universe. Dylan didn’t stop until he’d drained him
dry. Once he had, he released Preston’s cock and smiled up at him.

“You have the heart of a poet.”
“And you have the mouth of a god.”
Dylan grinned.
“In one night I have climaxed more times than I think I have in

my entire life.” Preston eased his hands to Dylan’s shoulders and held
onto him.

“What, didn’t you masturbate?”
“No. I waited for you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 3

Dylan’s mouth fell open and stayed there. “You didn’t

masturbate?”

“The only time I came was during my sleep.”
“You mean during a wet dream?” Dylan was so stunned after

asking the question his mouth dropped open again.

“Yes. Are you upset?” Preston looked as panicked now as he had

when Dylan went down on him. “I swear, that only happened to me a
few times. I’ve never climaxed by my own hand.”

Dylan pulled Preston’s clothing back up and got him situated as

he tried to wrap his head around this new and very bizarre wrinkle.
Just what kind of warped demands did the alpha wolves put on their
beta partners? No sex, not even with themselves, went beyond
anything Dylan had ever heard of. It was puritanical. Hell, it was
practically cultist. Did all wolf groups do this or only Grayson’s? It
hit Dylan then that if there were bears and there were wolves, then
surely there were more. Other animals, other groups of the same
animals, all of them just now rediscovering their origins.

“Have I displeased you?”
“For the love of Pete’s dog, please stop asking me that.” His

rebuke shut Preston’s mouth and caused him to hang his head, almost
like he was waiting for Dylan to smack him around. Just the thought
of putting his hand on Preston in anger made him sick. “Preston?
Please, love, look at me.”

Reluctantly, Preston peered at him through the tangle of his hair.
“I am not displeased. I’m just shocked by how different your

upbringing and your station in your pack is than how I was raised. In

Daring Alpha

my sloth, we’re all treated as equals.”

Preston made a face.
“What? That sounds like a bad idea to you?”
“How do you decide things?”
“We talk. We share our ideas, and then we pick the best one.”
“But what if there is need for an immediate decision?”
“I guess that would fall on Danny. He’s our leader.”
“But he’s not—” Preston stopped himself from speaking when

they heard the others calling for them again.

In a hushed voice, Dylan whispered, “What? Danny isn’t full of

himself and obviously doesn’t have a ginormous stick up his butt like
Grayson does?”

Preston laughed and then cautioned, “You should not speak of

him in such disparaging terms.”

“He can’t hear me.” Dylan stood and pulled Preston close to share

their warmth. “Besides, there is little he can do to me.” Although, for
all Dylan knew, that wasn’t necessarily true. Grayson had been able
to pull Maxwell to him. If Dylan was bonded with his nexus, perhaps
Grayson now had that power over Dylan. “Can Grayson pull you to
him, like what he did with Maxwell?”

“No. I am the center of them, but I am separate from them.”

Preston paused. “Is it the same for you?”

“I guess. I mean, I know that when I was in the hospital my

brethren couldn’t mentally communicate with each other.” Dylan
thought about it for a moment. “Well, I guess they could, if they were
close, but only with their twin. When you healed me, everyone was
back to chatting it up with everyone else.”

Again, Preston’s eyes went wide.
“Keep doing that and your face will freeze that way,” Dylan

teased. “Let me guess, your packmates don’t mentally communicate
with one another?”

“They do, but an alpha must initiate the conversation unless it’s

an emergency.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“And Grayson can blast into everyone’s thoughts whenever he

wants, right?”

Preston nodded. And then, he looked rather impish as he grinned.
“What?” Dylan leaned closer.
“Grayson can intrude on everyone except for me. Like now. I’m

the only one who can block him.”

“Not just mentally but visually.”
Preston nodded, and his grin widened.
“See? You’ve got some alpha in you after all.”
Preston’s smile fell off his face so fast Dylan was surprised he

didn’t hear it shatter on the ground.

“Why is that such a bad thing?”
“Because I’ve spent my entire life learning the ways of the beta.

I’ve made myself the perfect mate for you.” Preston seemed on the
verge of tears again, which made Dylan feel like the worst kind of
bully. God, the poor kid had been totally brainwashed into being a
doormat. If he did nothing else, Dylan was going to give Preston a
solid dose of self-esteem.

“You are the perfect mate for me.”
His simple declaration lifted Preston’s face and eased the worry

from his eyes.

“I like you just as you are, but I would like to know you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I want to know how you feel about things,” Dylan said. “Not

what someone told you to feel about them.”

Preston looked confused.
“When I sucked your cock, that felt good, didn’t it?”
Preston lowered his head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Exerting gentle pressure, Dylan lifted Preston’s chin until he was

looking Preston in the eye. “That’s not what I asked you. When I
sucked your cock, it felt good, right?”

“Yes.” Preston’s voice was so faint it was like a single snowflake

falling at the beach.

Daring Alpha

“Would you like me to do that to you again?”
“I—no—you—” Preston took a deep breath and just held it.
“Answer honestly. Wouldn’t you like me to do that to you again?

Not now, but sometime?”

“Yes.” This time his voice took a stronger tone, like he was quite

pleased with himself for being bad.

“You know what else I’d like to do to you?”
Preston held his gaze as Dylan’s hand slid down his chest. “I’d

like to suck your cock until it was good and hard, and then I’d like to
guide your prick into my ass.”

Preston’s eyes went wide, and he gasped, breaking their shield.
“There you are, Preston.” Elias came running up to them. His gray

hair streamed back from his head he moved so fast. His high-pitched
voice grated against Dylan’s ears. “Grayson wishes to return to the
compound at once.”

“Tell him we’ll be there in a moment.” Dylan kept Preston right

where he was on the picnic table.

Elias lifted his gaze to Dylan. In his glittering, black eyes, Dylan

saw both hatred and confusion. Elias didn’t want to listen to Dylan
because he disliked all the members of the bear sloth on principal, but
he was compelled to obey him because he was now Preston’s mate,
which made him an alpha in the eyes of the wolf pack. At that very
moment, Dylan realized the secret that he was planning on keeping
for a while was most definitely out of the bag. Elias knew that Dylan
and Preston had bonded, and he was going to spill the beans.

“I will tell Grayson of this abomination!” Elias spun on his heel,

but Dylan was off the bench seat and on his feet in a flash. Reaching
out with one long arm, he caught the back of Elias’s coat.

“You might want to frame that in a better light, bub.”
Furious, Elias smacked at his hand. “I have already called for

Grayson! He will kill you for daring to lay a hand on me!”

“I touched your coat, not you, so chill the fuck out.” But Dylan let

him go when he saw Grayson rounding the corner of the cabin. His

Anitra Lynn McLeod

sudden release caused Elias to stumble and almost fall, which Dylan
wanted to laugh at, but didn’t. This really wasn’t a funny situation no
matter how he looked at it.

“What is the meaning of this?” Grayson strode toward Dylan as if

he had every intention of getting right in his face and shaking answers
out of him. Dylan would love that. He knew three martial arts and had
no problem demonstrating them for Grayson. In fact, he’d be thrilled
to tie the pompous shithead up like a pretzel and make him kiss his
own ass.

“Please, my mate, I beg you not to antagonize him.”
Preston’s soothing voice reminded him that he had a hell of a lot

more to consider here than just his own feelings. Besides,
intellectually, Dylan realized a lot of his hatred for Grayson stemmed
from his dislike of his own father. “God save the world from men
with daddy issues.”

“I do not understand, my mate.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that to you. I was just talking to

myself.” Dylan turned and grinned at Preston. “You should probably
get used to the enormous amount of chatter in my head.”

“Your beautiful head.”
The way Preston looked at him made Dylan feel beautiful for

possibly the first time ever in his life. When he looked back, Dylan
saw Danny coming right behind Grayson. As much as he thought
keeping a lid on this would be a good idea, he also realized he had to
come clean or he was going to make a messy situation even worse.

“I’m bonded to Preston.” Dylan didn’t hem or haw. He just spit it

out as simply as he could.

Grayson and Danny stopped so suddenly they almost made

screech noises.

“You what?” Grayson darted his gaze between the two of them as

if he could uncover which of them to blame with his eyes alone.

“How did that happen?” Danny placed his hand to his heart as if

to slow it down.

Daring Alpha

“I don’t know.” And honestly, Dylan didn’t. He’d felt connected

to his brothers during twinnings but nothing like this.

“Well, what does this mean to me?” Grayson sputtered. His mate

took refuge behind him, peeping out around the sides of Grayson’s
bigger body like a frightened child.

“What does this mean to you? Fuck.” Dylan looked at Danny.

“Leave it to Grayson to make the entire situation all about himself.”
Dylan turned his attention to the dink in question. “Have you ever
heard yourself talk, you self-important prick?”

“Dylan, please, now isn’t the time to—”
“Prick?” Grayson cut Danny off. “You dare to call me names

when you are not fit to lick my boots?”

“Gee, for a man who houses and clothes himself with another

man’s money, you’re pretty high and mighty.” Dylan took a fighter’s
stance. He placed his feet shoulder-width apart, kept his hands up and
ready, and he never took his eyes off his target. A trust fund was
money that came from someone else, so Dylan’s jab was a good one
that cut deep.

Grayson’s gaze darted to Preston, who he glared at with the

venom of twenty snakes. Clearly, Grayson thought Preston had told
Dylan all Grayson’s dirty little secrets. No way was Dylan letting his
mate take the heat for his big, angry mouth.

“Once we were bonded, I knew everything.” Actually, that wasn’t

true, as Preston had told him that Grayson had a trust fund, but Dylan
didn’t want Preston in any more hot water than he already was.
Mentally nudging him now, Dylan was dismayed to find a fine mesh
shield around Preston’s thoughts. “You won’t let me in?”

“Not if you are only going to use the information to make

Grayson angrier with me.”

Preston had a point. And Dylan was glad he was standing up for

himself. This was not the way to handle this situation at all. It was
just that Grayson pushed his buttons because he was in some ways
very similar to Dylan’s father. Always such a blowhard when it was

Anitra Lynn McLeod

his wife, Dylan’s mother, who actually took care of everything. It
irritated Dylan to see someone take credit for something he hadn’t
done.

“You are doing the same thing.” Preston kept his tone respectful.
“I am?”
“You think you bonded us when in fact it was me.”
Dylan didn’t have time to wrap his head around that right now,

not when Grayson was stomping his way across the pine needles and
up into Dylan’s face.

“Please.” Danny inserted himself between them. “There is no

point fighting about something that we cannot change.”

“You’re right.” Dylan stepped back and dropped his attitude along

with his stance. “I’m sorry for what I said.” To Preston, he said, “And
you’re going to explain how you did all of this later.”

“What’s to explain? It all started with the kiss I gave you in the

hospital.”

Grayson’s lip curled up with a curious blend of shock and disgust.

A true fighter never backed down, but Dylan wasn’t a true fighter.
Given a choice between talking and punching, he’d pick talking every
time. Only a man who had no brains picked dukes over deals.

Still, it was obviously difficult for Grayson to pull himself back.

He was pumped up for a fight, and that’s exactly what he wanted to
do. All that residual adrenaline had to go somewhere.

And then Dylan glanced at Grayson’s mate. “Take it out on him.”
Grayson grinned. “He would be quite happy to have the brunt of

my energy.”

“I will be more respectful in the future,” Dylan promised. Dylan

didn’t like it, but one of them had to be the bigger man, especially
when he started the whole thing in the first place.

“As will I.”
Dylan nodded and so did Grayson.
“Well, we finally decided the issue of Maxwell and Quinn, but it

seems we have one more.” Grayson’s gaze assessed Preston with a

Daring Alpha

cool, cutting edge that Dylan didn’t like, but he kept his mouth shut.

“I must go with my mate.” Preston slid off the table and stepped

forward, taking Dylan’s hand. Dylan was on the verge of applauding
him for taking a stand when Grayson shit all over what was probably
Preston’s first honest statement.

“You dare to tell me what you will do?”
All of Dylan’s annoyance came burbling right back up. He truly

despised the way Grayson spoke to Preston. To Preston, Dylan said,
“I already told you I have nowhere to take you to.” For that, Dylan
was deeply sorry. “I would go with you, but I have midterms
tomorrow that I can’t miss.”

Preston’s grip on his hand tightened almost unbearably. He was

small, but he was also really strong.

Dylan turned and cupped Preston’s face. “Please understand that I

will work this out. I will find us a place during the holiday break.”

“You swear it?”
“Cross my heart.” Dylan dutifully crossed his finger over his

heart.

“May I please keep your coat?”
“Sure.” Dylan adjusted the way-too-big garment over Preston’s

narrow shoulders. “In the pocket is my cell phone.”

Preston moved as if he would extract the device.
“No, I want you to keep that. I’m going to get another one and

then we can talk each night.”

“And day, too.”
“Okay, I’ll find a plan with a lot of minutes.”
Preston still looked stricken.
“It’s not forever. It’s just for now until we can get situated. I need

you to be brave for me.” Dylan did not like playing that particular
card, but he also had little choice. Until he was convinced this was
temporary, Preston was not going to be willingly parted from him. “If
anything happens, you call me.” Dylan raised his voice so that the
men behind him could hear. “And if I don’t hear from you, I will

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come running.”

Preston nodded.
“Come with me. I’m going to get you the phone charger out of my

book bag.”

“We really don’t have time for this,” Grayson groused.
“It will take two minutes.” In direct opposite of Grayson, Danny

kept his voice even.

Dylan looked up at Danny and realized as a leader, he really had a

knack for defusing tense situations and a lot of that was due to him
never raising his voice.

“I could really learn a lot from you,” Dylan said directly to

Danny.

“I have my moments.” Danny grinned.
Grayson rolled his eyes at another delay, but he let Dylan retrieve

the charger. He showed Preston how to use it and how to use the
phone since he’d never used one before. Somehow, Dylan wasn’t
really that surprised. Grayson had a phone. His fucking beta had a
phone. But Preston, the runt of the litter, was kept in the dark
technologically. Fuck. For all Dylan knew, he hadn’t even finished
high school.

“I did. Barely. I didn’t like school.”
Dylan saw his memories of being singled out for being different.

“We’ll talk about that some other time, too.” Dylan wanted Preston to
have a full life, and that included some kind of meaningful work that
he enjoyed. School might not be the answer, but they’d figure that
out, too. Dylan sighed. There was a lot to figure out.

“I’m sorry I’m such a burden to you.” Preston couldn’t have

looked more woebegone. Dylan’s coat hung to his midthigh, his face
was lowered with his hair hiding his eyes, but it was the way his
entire body slumped that really said how miserable he was.

Dylan wrapped him up in powerful arms and settled him on the

hood of the limo so they were eye to eye. “You are not a burden to
me. I want the best for you. Hell, I want the best for me. Together, we

Daring Alpha

are going to have a good life. Right?”

“Right.”
“We just have a few more stumbling blocks than most, but we can

deal with that, right?”

“Right.”
“Now kiss me like you mean it.”
Preston plastered himself against Dylan with so much enthusiasm

he hated to peel him away, but Grayson was sighing pointedly in the
background. To keep the tentative peace, Dylan was willing to forgo
anything more than a last lingering kiss.

“If he dares to talk rude to you or lifts a finger—”
“Grayson would never hit me.”
“Well, okay, then. But I don’t want him yelling at you, either.”
“I don’t think he will. I think he’s more scared than anything

else.”

“Scared about what?”
“The new powers I have now that I’m bonded and twinned.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 4

Preston could tell that Dylan wanted to ask about his powers, but

now was not the time, not with Grayson making annoying noises.

“I will call you to check in tonight.” Dylan kissed him. When

Preston peered over Dylan’s broad shoulder, he saw Grayson with his
arms crossed and his face snarled. But there was little Grayson could
actually do to Preston. Before, he could have done a lot to hurt him,
but not now. Now that Preston had a fiercely protective and highly
powerful alpha mate, not to mention a plethora of new tricks, Grayson
would be on his best behavior.

With Dylan’s kiss lingering on his lips, Preston entered the truck

with Grayson and Elias, as Maxwell, in wolf form, rode in the back.
He sighed as he watched Dylan slip into the back of the limo with
Danny and Quinn. They drove away first with Grayson following
behind.

“Of course, they had to go first so we would have to eat their

dust.”

Preston thought all Grayson had to do was back off a bit, but he

kept his mouth shut. Things were already tense enough without him
adding to mix.

“Did he rape you?” Grayson kept his voice civil, but his fingers

gripped into the steering wheel with barely leashed power. “That
would be just like their kind to do something so vile.”

“I surrendered to him.” Preston turned his face toward the window

as the memory of that moment returned. Dylan with his massive
hands holding him firmly as his cock slid deep. Preston couldn’t help
it. He shivered. Dylan was so strong and yet so sweet. He’d taken

Daring Alpha

Preston with both power and passion. And soon he would do so again.
And again. Closing his eyes, Preston lost himself in that blissful
image.

“This is unacceptable. Bad enough to have one member paired off

to a disgusting bear, but to have them lay claim to our nexus is simply
beyond the pale!”

Into his mind came the memory of Dylan sucking his cock. Such a

wrong thing for an alpha to do, but Preston had to confess that he’d
loved every blissful moment of his mate’s mouth upon him. Maybe
Dylan was right that his ideas were outdated. If Dylan enjoyed doing
that to him, as clearly he had, and Preston enjoyed having that done to
him, as clearly he had, then who was to say it was wrong? Nothing
that gave each of them such intense pleasure could be anything but
right.

Preston tried to remember who had taught him all he knew as a

beta and how he was to treat the alpha members of his pack. It wasn’t
his father. Before he passed on, Preston’s father had not known about
Preston’s unique placement as the nexus, or his orientation. Had he,
he would have been disappointed. It was Grayson who had told
Preston what he should and shouldn’t do as the nexus. Grayson had
told him he wouldn’t have a mate, just as Dylan had been told.
Preston had kept his longing for a mate hidden from all in the pack.
Preston had learned to be the way he was from both Grayson, and
then his beta, Elias, reinforced Grayson’s lessons with further
instructions on how Preston should behave. When Preston considered
the way Grayson treated his mate and the way Elias treated Grayson,
it was clear the ideas in his head about relationships came from them.

“We had discussed that you, as a nexus, wouldn’t have a mate.”
It was as close as Grayson could get to edging around the issue.

His fear was clear since Preston smelled that oddly dirty scent that
clung to him, but along with that there was genuine anger. Grayson
wondered what effect this development would have on his pack as a
whole. He worried about Preston’s ability to twin new pairs so that

Anitra Lynn McLeod

the pack would grow.

“I know this is a shock, but it happened quite by accident.” That

wasn’t actually true, but there was simply no way that Preston was
going to tell Grayson all this was his fault for kissing Dylan in the
hospital. Not that Grayson could really do anything about it, just that
for tonight, Preston wished to end all discussions so he could be alone
with his thoughts.

“I will get to the bottom of this.” Grayson’s vow was delivered in

his most powerful voice, but Preston hardly shivered at his tone. He
felt disconnected from him for the first time. Since his father died,
Grayson had been Preston’s world. And learning all he could about
being a nexus had gone hand in hand with learning about being a
good beta. What had always dismayed Preston was that he was
learning to be a beta to the entire pack, not just to his own special
mate. Even the other betas looked upon Preston as a lesser member. It
took a long while, but eventually, Preston realized he was the omega.
He was the absolute lowest member of the pack. Ironically, in
Dylan’s sloth, the alphas chose omega partners but treated them as
equals.

Now that he had bonded and twinned, though, Preston could

decide with his mate what they wished to do. But the idea that Preston
would mount Dylan was so strange his mind just went into meltdown.
That was so inherently wrong he didn’t know where to start. He
discovered he had no desire to ever do that to Dylan.

“Are you listening to me?”
“I am sorry, my liege. I find I am exhausted and perhaps not at my

most alert.” Preston wanted the comfort of his bed. It would be better
if Dylan were there with him, but that was not to be. Besides, Dylan
would hardly fit in his little twin bed. Tonight would be the first time
he laid his head down to sleep as a man and not a boy. He’d been
claimed, and that made him a full adult in the eyes of his pack. No
more could the other beta members, especially Elias, expect him to
help them with their work.

Daring Alpha

“I do not like what this might mean for me—for us,” Grayson

corrected hastily. “You being bound to that—that—” Grayson cut
himself off when he couldn’t seem to find a vile enough put-down.

“Please, I would ask you not to speak ill of my mate.”
There was a long stretch of silence in the cab of the truck. In front

of them, the limo turned left to go to Twin Pines while they turned
right to go to Lone Pine. As his mate rolled away from him, Preston
felt a pinch in his heart, but he did not cry. He would be brave for
Dylan. He would be strong. Eventually, they would be together and
not just for a night but for a lifetime. Nothing Grayson said or did
could change that.

“You dare to make a demand of me?” Grayson’s voice was very

low.

Between their two bodies, Elias shivered and clung more fiercely

to Grayson. If his hand went flying, Elias wanted to be out of the way.
But Preston wasn’t worried. As he had told Dylan, Grayson had never
hit him, and he doubted he would start now. He had grabbed him, and
that one time he had shaken him, but he’d never struck him.

“I made no demand of you, my liege. I simply asked you not to

speak ill of my mate.”

“I will speak however I’d like,” Grayson declared.
“I am no longer a boy to be ordered about.” Preston looked over at

Grayson. “I will have your respect, or I will leave.” Preston had no
idea where this sudden strength came from, but he suspected Dylan.
In many ways he’d already reshaped him. Standing up for himself felt
incredibly good, but then Preston realized that it just about floored
Grayson because Preston had been more submissive to him than
Elias.

Grayson’s mouth tumbled open. He shut it abruptly and tried to

belittle Preston with mental communication, but Preston cut him off
with a quickly erected mental block. Preston wished to be alone with
his thoughts. All Grayson would do is harangue him and pester him
with his nonsense until Preston was weary enough to simply give in.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

The few times when Preston had dared to stand up to his leader that
was how their other arguments had gone. That was back when Preston
first came to live at the compound with Grayson. He seemed to be so
willful back then, and then suddenly that all slipped away until he was
more malleable than tinfoil.

“He will not be welcomed by the other packmates.” Grayson

offered this to lure Preston into talking.

As much as he didn’t wish to speak, he found himself saying, “I

do not care.”

“I will find a way to dissolve this joining. There must be a way to

free you from—”

“There is not. Even if there was a way, I would refuse to undergo

anything that would take me from Dylan. He is my destiny.”

Through the reflection off the windshield, Preston saw Grayson

roll his eyes. Grayson didn’t believe in destiny. He believed in love to
a degree, but he didn’t have the heart of a poet. He claimed he had the
soul of realist, but Preston wondered if he had a blank spot where his
heart, the mythical heart, not the actual blood-pumping organ, might
be.

They didn’t talk anymore, probably because Grayson feared his

mate seeing Preston defy him even in these most minor ways. When
they arrived at the compound, the others were asleep, snuggled up to
their mates. Grayson and Elias would go do that now. Preston stood
watching them as Maxwell, in wolf form, stood beside him, watching
them go, too.

“Do you miss him?” Preston asked Maxwell once they were

alone.

Maxwell shifted to human and nodded. “It hasn’t been that long at

all, and I miss Quinn like a piece of my heart is gone.”

“When I watched the limo turn toward Twin Pines, I felt a pinch

in my heart. That must be the same as what you felt.”

Maxwell nodded. As they entered the bedding area of the

compound, where there were apartment-style rooms for the men,

Daring Alpha

Preston asked, “Why does Grayson hate the bears so much?”

“Because they beat us on the gridiron.”
Only half the men in the pack still played on the Lone Pine

Wolves football team. Most of them had abandoned schooling for the
ranch. Here, they didn’t have to work much, if at all. It was regular
people who actually did the work with the cattle since the wolves
spooked the poor things horribly. Mostly, they did minor chores and
fornicated.

“I know they’ve won against us in that game, but his hatred seems

deeper than that.”

“I think he cannot see beyond his instincts. Wolves and bears in

the wild compete for resources. He can’t seem to let go of his primal
self.”

Preston nodded. “I think you are right.”
“Are you and I bonded together along with Quinn and Dylan?”

Maxwell asked.

“No. When the energy drains away, you’ll feel the tugging of me

and Dylan less.”

“I was actually honored to be bound to two nexuses.”
Preston smiled. Maxwell was unique in their pack, and his

exceptional ability to see beyond his instincts was what would make
him a formidable foe and a dedicated friend.

After bidding him good night, Preston went to his room. There, he

bathed and then readied himself for bed. He placed Dylan’s jacket
next to his pillow. As he crawled in, he pulled the bundle close,
breathing in the scent of his mate.

When the cell phone rang, he extracted and answered it as Dylan

had showed him.

“Hello?”
“I miss you.” Somehow, despite the distance between them,

Preston felt as if Dylan were in the bed with him. They possessed the
power to communicate mentally, but hearing his voice was so much
more reassuring. Preston realized that he and Dylan could mentally

Anitra Lynn McLeod

communicate over vast distances, but he’d taken the phone so that his
packmates wouldn’t know that truth.

“I miss you, too.”
“Was Grayson mean to you?”
“No. He’s upset, and I understand that, but he cannot treat me like

a boy when I am now a man.” As deeply ingrained as the rules of
alphas and betas were, there were even more rules about when a boy
becomes a man. “Do you wish to mark me?”

“Mark you?” From the noise in the background, Preston imagined

Dylan was lying in his bed just as Preston was. He should have given
him his shirt to smell.

“Yes. You can put your mark anywhere on my body.”
“Like a hickey?”
Preston laughed. “That’s not very permanent. You can brand me,

or a tattoo—”

“Brand you?” Clearly alarmed, Dylan sat up because Preston

heard the swish of his sliding sheets. “As in hot metal against your
beautiful, pale skin?”

“Some mates do that.” Preston recalled that was what Grayson

had chosen to do to Elias. It was low on his buttock so only they
could see it, but Preston had seen it once, when he’d accidentally
walked in on Elias after a bath. It was a symbol of some kind, but
Preston wasn’t privy to the meaning.

“I would never. God. Preston. Don’t let anyone put anything on

you in my name.”

“Oh.” Preston was a little disappointed that he would not wear his

mate’s mark.

“Preston?”
“Yes?”
“Do you want me to mark you?”
“It is traditional. Without a mark to show, should I be so

challenged, I wouldn’t have proof of a mate.”

“Christ in a sidecar! You people really have some fucked-up

Daring Alpha

traditions. Branding human beings? Shit. I can’t stomach doing
something like that to you.” There was a pause. “Wait. Are you
saying without a mark from me on you, someone else might try to
claim you?”

It was unlikely, but Preston wanted his lover’s mark. Still, he

found he couldn’t lie. “I doubt they would, given what I am, but I
would be proud to wear your mark.”

“Let me think about this. But not a brand. God. That’s too much

like you’re my cow or something. Yuck.”

Preston could not believe how such a common thing could upset

his mate so deeply. His sloth was wholly different from the pack. And
it seemed, from what little Preston knew so far, the sloth was more
kind in their traditions. “Then a tattoo. Perhaps your initials or—”

“Let me think on this.”
“As you wish, my mate.” Preston settled himself under the covers

and turned off the light. “I wish you well on your tests tomorrow.”

“You’re sweet. Considering all the night’s events, I actually got in

some decent study time.”

“I will dream of you.”
“I think I will dream of you, too.” Dylan sighed. “I will call you in

the morning after my first test, okay? But if something happens, you
call me at this number. It’s a borrowed phone, but I’m keeping it on
me.”

Dylan reminded Preston how to return a call, and then he said

good night and they disconnected. Dutifully, Preston turned the light
back on, plugged the charger in, and then settled the phone in the
cradle. He wanted to make sure he followed Dylan’s instructions to
the letter. More than anything, Preston wanted to be a good mate.
Dylan should never look back at their joining and have regrets.

After turning off the light, he snuggled in for sleep. He breathed in

the smell of the jacket, and thought of what he would like to wear for
his mate. Grayson would not be happy, but tomorrow Preston would
go shopping to buy clothing to entice Dylan. Before, Grayson always

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told him he didn’t need to dress in anything but the most basic of
clothing as he was destined to be alone. Now that he had a mate,
Preston wished to dress for him.

“And Grayson cannot claim a boy need not dress up for simple

chores.” Preston fell asleep thinking of what he would wear for Dylan
and how his love would react to certain colors, fabrics, and styles. But
when he thought of Dylan, Preston remembered the way he’d been
horrified at the thought of marking his pale skin. Perhaps the best
thing he could wear for his mate was nothing at all.

Daring Alpha

Chapter 5

Dylan clicked off the phone, but sleep wouldn’t come. How fast

his entire life changed in one night. Hours, actually. He’d transformed
everything, and he was happy, but he was also worried. Preston’s
culture was almost completely different from everything Dylan
believed in. His father had been such a maniacal dictator that Dylan
firmly believed in equality for all. No matter that Preston was smaller
than him, he was still his equal and should be afforded all due
consideration.

“Brand him.”
Just thinking of doing that sickened Dylan. No doubt Grayson had

branded his mate. Elias was a beautiful young man in his own way,
but Dylan couldn’t help but notice he looked almost exactly like
Grayson. Same hair color and eye color. Dylan didn’t think it was
natural but something Grayson made him do.

“Sick fuck.”
“Would you put a pillow over your face if you’re going to

randomly spew words?” Josh Ratcliff, Dylan’s roommate, groaned
and then buried his head deeper. “I have a test at seven in the
morning, and I don’t have time to deal with your issues tonight.”

“Fuck off.”
“There we go again. It’s always two words with you. It’s weird.”
“Bite me.”
“Funny.”
“Get bent.”
“Okay, what’s his name?”
“Whose name?”

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“Oh, nothing makes a man mumble around in the dark like a love

that’s out of his reach.” Josh sat up. “You finally got bit by the love
bug. There’s a lot of that going around.”

“His name is Preston.”
“Don’t know him.”
“He doesn’t go to school here.” Dylan left out mentioning he was

just barely eighteen. God, that seemed so young somehow. “He lives
up in Lone Pine.”

Josh threw a pillow at him.
“What the hell was that for?”
“You moron. You couldn’t pick a local guy? Shit. With how many

hunky guys there are on this campus, you had to go to another town
over two hundred miles away?” Josh tsked. “And I thought you were
smart.”

“I am.” Dylan threw the pillow back.
“Two words again.”
“Good night.”
“Night.”
They settled in after that, and Dylan kept his mouth closed. Still,

he couldn’t get the thought of branding Preston out of his mind.
Maybe they could get matching tattoos or something like that. Or for
fuck’s sake, they could get rings like a normal married couple. But
they weren’t normal, and they weren’t married. Not that performing
that ceremony meant anything to Dylan. But Preston clearly needed
some show of bonding. That brought a smile to Dylan’s face. A very
deeply buried macho part of him wanted to claim ownership of his
mate. He knew it was wrong and utterly pigheaded, but still, the urge
was there. Not a brand, though, but a mark that said, “This man is
mine.” Like what he’d done tonight by claiming him. Marking him
with his scent as deeply as he could into his body was a function of
that primitive part of his brain.

To his shock, he got hard. After how many times he’d climaxed,

he couldn’t believe he had another one in him. Rolling over to his

Daring Alpha

side, Dylan masturbated quietly in the dark. Keeping his breathing
even and preventing his bed from squeaking made it a challenging
and rather arduous process. What made him blast against his own fist
was the look on Preston’s face right before Dylan had claimed him.
Preston had looked back over his shoulder, and that smile, that
pleased and welcoming expression, would be with Dylan until the day
he died. It also made him climax. Thoroughly exhausted, he wiped his
hand off on the inside of his shirt and fell asleep.

* * * *

Something had happened to his brain during the night. Or maybe

it was that frantic masturbation session. Whatever it was, Dylan was
kicking ass on his midterms. Answers came effortlessly to mind. The
relationship of electrons and chemical compounds—all of it made
perfect sense. He’d never felt so on fire in his life. When he left
chemistry, he called Preston. The phone rang and rang. He heard his
own voice asking him to leave a message, but he didn’t.

“He’s probably just in the shower or doing something on the

ranch.” Dylan consoled himself because he refused to panic over one
missed call. He went on to his next class and again, his clarity of
vision, his effortless recall of information allowed him to sail through
the midterm. “I’m going to clean up around here!”

“Great! Get a mop. This place is filthy.”
Dylan looked around and spotted funny boy Derek Simmons. He

flashed him the finger as he dropped his test papers into the basket
and left. Derek probably flashed him one back, but Dylan didn’t
bother to turn and look. Right now he wanted to fill up on chow, hit
another test, and then meet the team for a workout. The urge to call
Preston hit him again, but Dylan backed off. Instead, he reached out
mentally. They’d only done the phone bit so that their brothers
wouldn’t know how profoundly powerful their connection was. Well,
that, and Dylan wanted to hear Preston’s voice directly in his ear.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“You can’t see me right now!” Preston called out playfully.
“What? Why? Are you touching yourself?”
“I don’t do that, remember?”
“Right. So, my mate, what are you doing?” Dylan swore if he said

getting branded he was going to steal a car and drive hell-bent for
leather all the way to Lone Pine.

“I’m buying clothes.”
“Good for you!” Dylan hadn’t said anything, but he thought it

was pretty unfair that Grayson wore designer clothes when Preston
was wearing department store jeans. “But for the record, I do like
those tight, white underwear.”

“Do you? I was going to go bare.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s way better.” Dylan looked down. “And I guess

I’m going to lunch with a boner.”

Preston’s laughter filled his head, lifted his heart, and put a

bounce in his step. Dylan felt fan-fucking-tastic for about the first
time in his life. As he walked across the quad toward the cafeteria,
several students smiled and nodded at him. Surprised and pleased,
Dylan returned their warm greetings. They weren’t members of his
sloth, just everyday students.

At that moment he wondered if the negative reaction to him was

entirely his own fault. He’d always been perceived as a big, bald,
badass motherfucker because maybe that’s how he walked around.
Now that he had Preston making him all giddy inside, he was clearly
sending out different vibes.

“You’re good for me, Preston.”
“You’re good for me, too. Will you do me one small favor?”
“Sure.” Dylan would be happy to do him a dozen little ones and

maybe a slew of big ones. Right now he felt like a super hero.

“Call me little one.”
“Little one?”
“That’s what the alpha partner calls his beta mate. Little one.”
It was kind of cute but also sort of demeaning. Dylan translated it

Daring Alpha

into different languages. He’d discovered that the most vulgar things
translated into Latin actually sounded pretty highbrow. “How about
mon petit? That’s French for my little one.”

“Oh, that is so romantic.” Preston practically melted. “Can I call

you my mate?”

“I like that just fine.”
“When will I see you again?”
“How about Saturday night?” Dylan had a last game before the

holiday break. And then he would have three weeks off from school.
Normally, he’d go home to see his mother, but not this year since she
was going to Europe with a friend. Dylan was proud of her for living
her own life her own way. Once she’d divorced his father, she quite
literally transformed. “I’ll come calling, and we’ll go out on a real
date. I’m going to take you to the movies, dinner, and I’m not sure
what all. But I’m going to pamper the hell out of you.”

There was a long stretch of silence.
“Preston?”
“I’m here.” Preston’s voice was choked with tears. “It’s just nice

to have someone want to do wonderful things for me.”

“Well, I should be honest and confess that I have ulterior

motives.”

“You do?”
“I’m totally angling to get back in your pants.”
Preston’s happy laugher filled his head and shimmied pleasure

right down to his toes.

“I think I like that motive.”
“Ah, good. Then we’re all set. I’ll call you.” As much as he

wanted to keep Preston in his head with him all day, he knew that was
a bad idea. Their mental communication cost them in energy. Not
excessively, but if they did it enough, they would drain themselves
like cell phone batteries. Besides, having Preston in his head would be
distracting. Dylan glanced down at the massive bulge just thinking of
Preston caused in his pants.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Nice tent, pal.” Cory Wright, school gossipmonger and general

busybody, slapped his back as he passed by. “It looks good on you.
Just like that smile.”

Dylan couldn’t even formulate a comeback. He had never been

this happy. The rest of the day sailed by, even the brutal training
session with Coach Miller. Funny. No one had ever cheered “it’s
Miller time!” around him. Coach’s gruff demeanor and total focus on
winning didn’t lend to any jokes at his expense or even within his
hearing distance. Mr. Miller was a no-nonsense kind of man. Dylan
could respect that.

When he was done getting pummeled, Dylan joined his

teammates in the locker room where they washed away the grime. For
the first time, Dylan was able to be around them and not feel self-
conscious. He also didn’t feel any souls tugging for twinning, and that
scared him.

Danny was keeping the lot of them from making a bigger mess of

the locker room than they usually did by corralling towels and tossing
equipment into huge, rolling bins. He caught Dylan’s gaze and
smiled. Dylan came over to Danny on the pretext of handing him a
towel.

“Being in love suits you,” Danny said, dropping the towel in a

bin.

“Thanks. It feels good.” Dylan wasn’t sure where to start. They’d

talked a bit in the limo last night, but they’d both been so exhausted
and Quinn had been in such a state that they hadn’t really hashed
everything out. “I don’t feel any souls tugging.”

Danny paused halfway through tossing a towel in the bin. “Do

you always feel them tugging?”

“Well, no. Not exactly. But I feel this low-level itch, like the next

pair is gearing up to throw down together.” It was difficult for Dylan
to describe what he felt as the nexus. “My concern is that by bonding,
I’ve—well—maybe I messed everything up.”

“Oh, no.” Danny patted his arm. “I don’t think so. There’s no way

Daring Alpha

this would have happened if it wasn’t meant to be. I think with the
doorway opened by Maxwell and Quinn, you two just managed to slip
on in behind them.”

Dylan thought of Preston leaning over him in the hospital and

kissing him. “What if they didn’t open the door?”

“What does that mean?”
Dylan took Danny from the noise and notice of the locker room

and into the coach’s office. Why the man had an office in here was
just plain weird because he never used it. Mostly, Danny used the
area for extra storage space.

“Well, you remember when I was in the hospital?” Dylan closed

the door, dropping the ambient noise by ninety percent.

Danny’s gaze instantly dropped to Dylan’s right shoulder. “How

could I forget?” He reached out and touched the area above the scar.
“You scared the hell out of us.”

“I think I was supposed to die.”
“Dylan,” Danny began, but then cut himself off. “Why in the

world would you think that?”

“Because Preston saved me.”
Danny’s brows went up as he settled on the edge of the desk. He

didn’t say anything for a long time. When Dylan mentally nudged
him, he realized Danny was pushing into their collective
consciousnesses as deeply as he could around that one event. Tied up
in that moment was Kyle Water, Skye Martin, and a crazy, gun-toting
bag of shit named Kellen. Dylan had twinned Water and Skye right
before Kellen shot him. He didn’t remember anything after that until
he woke up in the hospital and was so hungry he wanted to eat an
entire cow. He’d settled for half a dozen cheeseburgers.

“That day is so red in everyone’s memory. The anger toward

Kellen, the smear of your blood, the fear of losing you and what you
give to us as the nexus.” Danny reached out and took Dylan’s hand.
“You’ve twinned other couples since you woke up.”

“But I wasn’t twinned myself.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Danny’s hand tightened against his. “Before, you say you always

felt the next couple?”

Dylan nodded. Holding Danny’s hand felt surprisingly reassuring.

“It was like this kind of itch. No, that’s not quite right, as an itch is an
annoyance. This was like a tickling kind of warmth. I mean, it felt
good. And I knew the closer they got to bonding because I could feel
their soul bond coming.” Most of his brethren didn’t know how
intimately Dylan was tied to their mating. He knew when they soul
bonded because he felt the moment like a wash of perfectly warm
water over his whole body. He almost always got an erection, one that
didn’t go down until he’d twinned them. “Right now I feel nothing.”

After due consideration, Danny peered up. “Perhaps our sloth is at

an end.”

Dylan panicked and squeezed Danny’s hand so hard Danny

disengaged. Playfully, Danny said, “I need that hand for Matthew.”

“Sorry.” Dylan usually was aware of his strength and careful to

contain it, but what Danny said scared him.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” Danny tilted his head to the

side. “Just that perhaps we have all the members we’re supposed to
have.”

“What about Dustin Brooks and Mitch Gay?”
“We only supposed they were members. Maybe they aren’t.”
Something about that bothered Dylan deeply. He liked both of

those men. Right now, Mitch was in a coma, struggling for his very
life—“Wait. Maybe that’s it. He’s in a coma so I can’t feel the
tugging.”

“Wouldn’t you feel Dustin?”
“I don’t know. We’ve never had this situation. That thing with

Ryan was different in that his soul had left his body.”

“Maybe that happened with Mitch, too.”
They were quiet for a long time. If that were the case, then

Dustin’s vigil at Mitch’s bedside was now doubly tragic.

“I think the only thing we can do is wait and see.” Danny offered

Daring Alpha

Dylan a worried smile. “As difficult as that is to do sometimes, I think
it’s the only thing we can do in this situation.”

Reluctantly, Dylan agreed. For some reason, he had expected

Danny to give him the answer when that was crazy. Danny was their
leader, and he was a damn good one, but he wasn’t privy to the inner
workings of the universe.

“Go and have a good time before the football game on Saturday.

Play some video games. Have some fun. I would say go and see
Preston, but you don’t have enough time.” Danny grinned. “Maybe
you two can have a mental date.”

“I’m seeing him after the game on Saturday.”
“Good. So, until then, give it a rest. We can’t know the shape of

things until they happen.”

Dressed and done with everything related to school until the game

on Saturday, Dylan found himself without a pressing urgency for the
first time in months. He didn’t have to study or run drills or do
anything. Free time was such a novel concept he’d forgotten what he
liked to do. He grinned. Well, besides polishing the pole. That was
one activity he’d always enjoyed. But right now he wanted to save
everything up for Preston. As crude as the thought was, Dylan wanted
to impress his mate by pumping a big load into his sweet, tiny ass.
Just thinking of that got him hard.

“That’s twice in one day. You’re a machine.” Cory slapped his

back as he went by.

Dylan stopped him with a touch to his arm.
“What up, my man?” Cory asked, turning and facing him.
“I feel you.”
Cory looked down at where Dylan was still touching his arm.

Lifting his brows, he in turn lifted his gaze to Dylan’s face. “Um,
you’re touching me.” Jokingly, Cory quipped, “Or did you mean like
you’re feeling me in the common vernacular meaning you are
understanding where my head is at?”

“I’m saying that I feel you tugging at me.” Dylan couldn’t have

Anitra Lynn McLeod

been happier. This was the curiously warm, itchy feeling he’d just
been telling Danny about. As quickly as his joy rose, it vanished.
Maybe all this was just in his mind. Dylan hadn’t heard about Cory
dating anyone. Then again, Cory was the one spreading rumors about
everyone else. Maybe he did that to hide his own love life. His
mother, Mrs. Wright, was the English teacher on campus. Cory had
certainly taken enough shit about finding Mr. Wright for himself that
his wanting to stay mum wasn’t really a shock.

“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay. Just—midterms.” Dylan blamed his weirdness

on stress. Everyone did. It was such a common excuse Cory’s
suspicious brows instantly relaxed.

“I feel that, my brother. I’m on my way to my very last one.”
“Good luck.” Dylan released his hold on Cory’s arm and watched

him walk away. Unable to shake the curious feeling, he turned and
looked back at Cory. With the easy walk of a confident man, Cory
strode across the quad. He waved and smiled at the guys he passed.
But then, Dylan’s picture of him changed. All the grins and good
cheer and the gossip mongering hid a terrible truth.

Cory was being routinely raped.
The information struck Dylan so hard and so violently he fell to

his knees. His erection shriveled. Snow melted into the fabric of his
pants as he continued to stare at the back of Cory’s head. His dread of
having to go home for the holiday season came off Cory like a stink
cloud of black mist. Cory was terrified. Cory didn’t live on campus to
experience the full college experience. He stayed on campus to keep
away from his stepfather. With the campus shutting down, including
the dorms, Cory had no choice but to return home and face his
abusive stepfather.

The tugging Dylan felt wasn’t a tugging for a soul bond or two

souls yearning to twin. What Dylan heard from Cory was the
screaming of a soul in torment. And Dylan had no idea what to do to
help him.

Daring Alpha

Chapter 6

Preston had never felt more special than he did when he spoke to

Dylan. His thoughts were so warm and embracing. Even with the
great distance between them, Preston could almost feel his mate’s
arms around his body.

“Did you want this shirt in both colors?” The clerk offered out

two button-down shirts. One was brown and matched Preston’s eyes.
The other was green and contrasted them.

“Both.”
Happily, the clerk whisked the items into the ever-growing pile

that Preston had amassed behind the checkout kiosk. Grayson stood
back, glaring, but he refrained from making any disparaging
comments about Dylan or Preston dressing up for him. Too many
times, Grayson had said that he needed money for Elias so that he
could dress appropriately as the mate of the ultimate alpha. Grayson
couldn’t now turn around and claim that Preston didn’t need to dress
appropriately for his mate.

“I’d like both pairs of jeans, too.”
The clerk nodded and added them to the pile while Preston tried

on jackets. As much as he wanted to continue wearing Dylan’s coat,
he also wanted something that fit him a bit better. While he tried on
one crafted from the softest suede that totally matched the color of his
eyes and hair, Grayson practically had puffs of smoke coming out his
ears. The jacket alone cost as much as all the clothing combined. But
Grayson said nothing. Preston was allowed to spend his own money.
Grayson did not like that Preston had pressed for his rights. Never had
Preston gone against what Grayson said. To do so was against his

Anitra Lynn McLeod

nature as a beta, but Preston also had a mate now. He wasn’t a boy
but a man, and he had a right to spend his own money.

Once they were done at that store, Preston bought shoes, and then

he bought a dozen pairs of white underwear. Deliberately, he found
some that were rather cheap because he wanted Dylan to rip them off.
Just thinking of his powerful arms flexing as he growled while
ripping his way to his willing mate—Preston practically had an
orgasm on the spot. What held him back was Grayson’s sour face.

As a token of good faith, Preston bought them a warming gel that

he knew Elias liked. Grayson could not help but flash a lusty grin. It
seemed to please them both and hopefully lessened the pain of
watching Preston pull away because that was really what bothered
Grayson. Preston buying clothes was the first of many steps toward
greater independence. Now that he was eighteen, Preston could even
demand to see all the information on his trust fund. That frightened
Grayson. Not that he had done anything wrong with Preston’s money,
just that he felt guilty that it was Preston who had paid for everything.
Only he and Grayson knew that, though. Elias thought his mate was
simply indulging Preston as a gift for his mating. When Grayson told
others that his funding came from a trust, it was the truth, but Grayson
conveniently left out who actually owned the trust. Grayson didn’t
want anyone to know the lowest member of his pack provided all the
money for the pack.

“Thank you for protecting me while I shopped.” Frankly, Preston

thought Grayson had only come to see how much he spent, but he’d
also been genuinely concerned about him being in the big mall alone.
Preston had never gone out alone.

Grayson looked on the verge of saying something nasty, but

instead, he nodded. “You’re welcome. Are you ready to go?”

Preston was. He had never felt so full of energy and yet so sleepy.

“Thank you for helping me to carry everything.”

“I’m glad you are happy, Preston.”
“You honor me.”

Daring Alpha

Behind them, Elias trailed, carrying a few of the packages as well.

He didn’t smile or frown. Elias seemed indifferent, which was how a
true beta mate should always be. Preston wondered what was really
going on inside Elias’s head. Not that he would push inside to find
out. That would be rude. But he was curious if Elias resented having
to follow along as Preston bought things for himself. Well, and for
Dylan. There had been a shirt that would look beautiful on his lover,
and Preston had gotten it hoping he had the sizing right.

On the way back to the ranch, they got fast food, which Preston

loved, and they ate in the truck while Grayson drove. After he
finished his burger, Preston noticed Grayson’s hand kept slipping
down to Elias’s thigh after he shifted the gear stick. Grayson would
slide his hand right up to the juncture of Elias’s thigh and hip, and
then he would shift again, starting the process over.

It was a curious kind of foreplay, and Preston watched without

being obvious. Now that he’d surrendered to his mate, he wanted to
learn all he could about what mates did when they were together. He
had seen his packmates stop in the middle of a chore and fornicate in
a fury, but that always took the same pattern. The beta stripped off his
shoes, pants, and underwear, the alpha lowered his trousers just
enough to expose his cock, they fucked, and then it was over. Frankly,
at times, it had been no more appealing than a violent, drawn-out
sneeze.

Watching Grayson play this teasing game with his mate was

different. Perhaps he had done this many times before and Preston
simply didn’t understand what he was seeing.

“My mate,” Elias cooed at a certain pitch that Preston knew well.

All the betas could hit that exact note when they wished for their
mates to claim them. Preston had used it last night on Dylan, and even
though he wasn’t a wolf, Dylan had responded. Something about that
exact tone pressed an alpha male’s button. Dylan and Grayson were
no different than any other alpha male.

Grayson’s hand tightened on the wheel, and the next time he

Anitra Lynn McLeod

shifted gears, his hand slid right up between Elias’s legs. Grayson
didn’t palm his cock, but slipped his hand under to press his fingers
against Elias’s hole. When he did, Grayson growled. Again, Elias
cooed. In short order, Grayson pulled the truck over, jerked the
vehicle to a stop, and ordered Preston out of the cab with hurried
indifference.

Unsurprised at the urgency of their mating needs, Preston exited

the vehicle, wrapping himself up in Dylan’s coat. He walked a ways
away from the truck, but he could see what they were doing by the
glowing green lights of the dashboard.

From his angle, Preston saw everything reflected in the sloping

windshield. Knowing he shouldn’t watch, he made himself appear to
be looking away when he was clandestinely observing them. Preston
watched not to titillate himself, which he was, but his goal was to
understand the deeper nuances between a bonded and twinned couple.
The more he knew, the better mate he could be to Dylan. More than
anything, Preston wanted to please his mate.

Grayson slid to the center of the bench seat while Elias got his

trousers down and off. Somehow, he managed to do this quickly, and
Preston wished he could see him better. Last night, Preston had
fumbled with his clothing. He would like to be sleeker for his mate.
Still, Dylan didn’t seem to mind. While reading the light fringes of his
mate’s senses, Preston had discovered that Dylan loved the frantic
nature of their mating. Dylan was most definitely aroused by the fact
that Preston only pulled his underwear and pants down rather than
taking them off entirely.

Grayson wrapped his big hands around Elias, pulling him close

for a deep kiss. One of Preston’s brows rose at how violently Grayson
plundered Elias’s mouth. And then, without warning, he pushed him
away, grasped Elias’s hips, and pulled him onto his lap so Elias faced
him.

Again, Grayson kissed Elias deeply, almost as if he fucked his

mouth with his tongue. To Preston’s shock, Grayson lifted Elias up

Daring Alpha

and then practically slammed him down on his cock.

Elias’s head went back and even with the doors and windows

closed, Preston heard his cry. It blended pleasure and pain in a
curious combination that caused Grayson to growl with menace.

For a moment, Preston was afraid for Elias. He was small, smaller

than even Preston was, and so painfully delicate. To see him tossed
around and used so roughly was shocking. His whimpering cries only
seemed to egg Grayson on. Lifting and lowering his much smaller
mate, Grayson’s growls grew louder and faster until he uttered a
deafening roar.

Preston knew Grayson had climaxed. He’d heard that sound

before around the compound and although he knew the meaning, he
didn’t understand how profound that moment was for an alpha. As he
considered what he’d seen in light of what he’d done last night,
Preston realized someone watching him and Dylan might have
thought Dylan was too rough with him. The truth was that Preston
had wanted him to be even more passionate in the way he held him
and the way he fucked him. When Dylan bodily lifted Preston up and
bounced him on his cock, that had been the moment when Preston
offered up his climax to his mate’s prowess.

Over Grayson’s shoulder, Elias looked right at Preston and

smiled. It was a grin of triumph, of ownership, of pride. Preston
understood that look so deeply he couldn’t help but smile back.
Finally, he understood how easy it was to be swept away by passion.

Slowly and clearly, Elias mouthed the words while

simultaneously shoving them into Preston’s head, “I will kill you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 7

Dylan decided to put his free time to good use. He followed Cory

around campus without drawing too much attention to himself.
Watching him clandestinely revealed a lot of little telling clues that
the casual observer would never see. Like the fact that Cory avoided
the hallway and classroom where his mother taught. Cory avoided
that area like the plague. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be caught
talking to his mother. It was more like Cory hated her fucking guts
and couldn’t stand to be anywhere near her.

Dylan’s heart sank. God, his mother must know of the abuse. She

either didn’t care or maybe she convinced herself it wasn’t that bad.
On a whim, Dylan walked past her classroom. When he stared hard at
Mrs. Wright, he felt nothing unusual. He saw nothing strange. Mrs.
Wright seemed to be a normal forty-something woman. Dylan
frowned. Maybe she didn’t know, and yet Cory resented her for not
knowing. Shaking off the distraction, as it frankly didn’t matter,
Dylan caught back up with Cory in the dorm.

Cory roomed with Derek. It was a good fit in that Derek was

never really around since he used to be out partying all the time. Well,
he was until he hooked up with Brandon. Now Derek was always
over at Brandon’s dorm room or hooking up with Brandon all around
the campus. Dylan had heard more than one report about their lusty
escapades. Which reminded him, hooking up with Preston was going
to be a major bitch when they lived over two hundred miles apart.

Focus, buddy, Dylan told himself. As determined as he was to sort

everything out with his mate, Dylan was also bound and determined
to sort everything out with his sloth and this new, weird wrinkle with

Daring Alpha

Cory.

Oddly, Dylan didn’t feel Cory was destined to be one of his

brothers. What he felt was a certainty that if he didn’t step in, Cory
would never return to campus after the new year. It was that simple
and that complicated. If Dylan didn’t do something, Cory would die
either at the hands of his stepfather, or by his own hand. Either way,
Dylan wasn’t going to let that happen. His goal over the last few
months had focused on building his sloth and hoping for the day when
he found his own mate. Now that he had, Dylan discovered this new
and utterly different legacy. But he could no more say no to this
calling than he could the other. Dylan could walk away, and no one
around him would be any the wiser. But Dylan would know. The fact
that he knew and did nothing to help Cory would eat away at his
conscience like a cancer. He had to act.

“Cory, my man!” Dylan strode up to Cory like they were longtime

pals with a vast history. Cory greeted everyone in that fashion, so
Dylan figured he’d respond positively to that type of greeting.

“Dylan! What’s the hap?”
Dylan had no idea what that meant, but he smiled anyway. “I got

this thing going on. Long distance, ya know?”

Cory nodded. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Dylan felt a dark undercurrent to that phrase in connection to

Cory, but he asked, “Don’t it just? But I need some...help.”

Cory’s eyebrows went up. “Help?”
“Yeah.” Dylan did a good job of looking around kind of

embarrassed-like. “I need some advice.”

“Okay. Shoot.”
“I also need to keep this on the down low.”
Cory rolled his eyes. “Dude, everyone thinks you’re a

homophobe.”

Anger flushed over his face. “Fuck! Really?” Dylan acted like it

was news to him when it was anything but. Today, he’d had a
revelation about why people had that perception of him, and

Anitra Lynn McLeod

hopefully, in the months ahead, he could rectify that, but right now,
that rumor was going to serve him well. “Like I said, I like someone
and—”

“You like someone?” If Cory’s brow arched any higher it would

have split his light brown hair on the side rather than down the center.

“I like a guy.”
“Ah.” Cory now waggled his brows suggestively. “Who?”
“I really like him.” Dylan put his entire heart and soul into his

expression.

Cory dropped the act. “Love, huh?”
Dylan nodded. “Yeah. Love.” And he realized that was no lie.

Dylan didn’t know Preston well, but damn, he loved him anyway.
Maybe that’s how it happened to his kind. All fast, furious, and final.
“I don’t want to hurt him.”

Cory’s eyes went wide.
“He’s little. I mean, like, a lot smaller than me. And he gets

grinding up on me and—”

“I don’t know about that.” Cory turned and practically started

running.

“Whoa, my man, I don’t think you get my issue.” Dylan realized

he’d inadvertently hit on something that freaked Cory right the hell
out. Clearly, there was a lot of confusion between Cory and his
relationship with his stepfather. Pushing into his soul, Dylan realized
Cory didn’t like what was happening, but he’d climaxed, and his
stepfather convinced him that meant he liked it, and there wasn’t
anything wrong with what they did. Shit. What a mess. “I don’t mean
to be grabby, really.” But still, Dylan didn’t let go. “I swear I just
want you to come and maybe give me some pointers during the
holiday bash.”

“Holiday bash?”
“At the founder’s home.” God help him convince Phillip Remson

to actually put on such an event. If he could get Cory up there, maybe
he could convince him to stay there during the break. Wilkins would

Daring Alpha

be thrilled to have someone to fuss over, and Phillip would certainly
want to help.

“There’s a party at the Remson estate?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you hear?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s a pretty big shindig with a lot of the Grizzlies team

members, sponsors, and you know, like a big testosterone fest. I’m
going, and I thought if you went with me you could give me some
pointers on how to score.” Every word out of his mouth was digging
the grave deeper, but Dylan didn’t know what else to do. Even if he
had to tackle him and tie him up, Dylan wasn’t letting Cory go home
for the Christmas break.

“I’d love to help, but—”
Dylan didn’t let him get any further. “Great!” He wrapped his arm

around Cory and dragged him toward the dorms. “Now, let’s go take
a look at my wardrobe and see what we can do about that problem.”

Cory allowed himself to be dragged along. While he was leading

him up to his room, Dylan was frantically putting out a mental call to
Danny.

When Danny acknowledged him, Dylan explained as calmly and

completely as he could about what he’d inadvertently discovered.
“Please help me help him. I don’t know what to do with this newfound
power of mine.”

“I’m here, and I’ll help.” Danny sounded exhausted, and Dylan

felt badly for dumping things on him. “Please don’t worry, Dylan.
I’m exhausted from finals and getting the gear ready for the last game
before the holiday break. But I’m with you. We have to help Cory. I
don’t care that he’s not one of our brothers. Cory is still a human
being, and he clearly needs our help.”

“Thank you.” Dylan kept his arm around Cory and dutifully kept

him occupied while Danny set something up with Phillip.

Like a miracle worker, Danny scored, and Phillip, the man with

the magic checkbook, made enchantment happen. In three days’ time

Anitra Lynn McLeod

there was a major fundraiser for the Twin Pines Grizzlies football
team at Phillip’s home. And Dylan had scored a room at his estate,
and he dragged Cory right along with him.

“I was supposed to go home for the break.” Cory trailed his finger

over the rich leather of the limo seat.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure your mom’s cool with you being a team

booster, right?”

“Sure!” Cory plastered an enthusiastic grin on his face. “Anything

for the team.”

“Hey, why didn’t you try out?” As soon as the question left his

mouth, Dylan knew the answer. Cory lived in fear of anyone seeing
the marks his stepfather left on his body. Deftly, Dylan changed the
subject. “I guess a smart guy like you knows to keep his eye on the
big prize, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m looking to get into grad school on the east

coast.”

“Damn. Aim high.” Dylan also thought that would get him well

away from his stepfather’s reach. “I’ll bet you’ve got a high enough
GPA that you could probably switch now.” It was a shot in the dark,
but Dylan took it.

“Yeah, well, there’s some home stuff.”
“Fuck, yeah. I know what that’s like.”
“Do you?” Cory seemed honestly curious.
“Yeah. My dad is—well, let’s just say he’s a shithead who never

does anything for anyone unless he gains the most by the exchange.”
Damn. Dylan should learn a different cover if he was going to do stuff
like this. He didn’t want to be telling the truth when—

“My dad was a great guy, but my stepfather is like that. He’s

always got an angle, you know?”

Dylan nodded, trying not to jump on the opening too eagerly.

“He’s older than your mom?”

“Younger. By a lot. She makes a big to-do about it. I mean,

having a younger man. She says being with him helps keep her

Daring Alpha

young.” Cory looked out the window as they climbed the hill toward
Phillip’s estate. “He’s not a nice guy.”

“No?”
“Fuck no.” Cory shook his head. “So tell me about your guy.”
Caught off guard, Dylan said, “He’s so beautiful.”
“Whoa.”
“What?”
“I dunno. I guess I just never thought about you having a softer

side. I guess I misjudged you.”

“I think a lot of people do.” Dylan reached out and took Cory’s

hand. “I think I’m going to work a lot harder to turn that opinion
around.”

Cory gripped his hand. “This guy you like. Does he know that you

like him?”

“Gosh, I hope so.” Considering he practically banged him simple

up against a tree and couldn’t wait to do it again, Preston should
know how Dylan felt. But then again, Dylan realized he never said the
words. Not in a straightforward way. “Well, actually, maybe he
doesn’t.”

“No?”
“No. I mean, we had this interlude, and a lot of things happened,

and words were said, but I don’t know that I was totally clear with
him.” Dylan felt like he knew Preston knew, but he’d feel better if he
just told him straight out. “I think I should say things.”

“I think that’s always best.” Cory held his hand and moved to the

seat next to him. “I mean, when you like someone, you shouldn’t be
shy about saying something to them.”

“Right. Because otherwise, things could get confusing.” Dylan

nodded. Just because he and Preston were eternally bonded didn’t
mean he didn’t have to romance his partner. “I mean, I think I was
clear.”

“But you don’t really know unless you say things very, very

clearly.” Cory peered up at Dylan expectantly.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Right. Being clear is a good thing.”
“Yeah. Unless you’re maybe afraid your interest won’t be

returned.” Cory looked down at their joined hands, and Dylan did,
too.

“Sure. I mean, I wouldn’t want to spill my heart to find out he was

only just starting to fall in love with me.”

“So you think he’s maybe in love with you?”
“Fuck. Well.” Dylan frowned. “I hope he is, but I don’t know.”

He didn’t want to push Preston into that declaration until he was
ready. “How would I know?”

“You could ask.” Cory squeezed Dylan’s hand and moved closer

along the bench seat. “Just take the plunge.”

“But, damn, he’s so tiny. I’m afraid my sheer size might

intimidate him into saying yes when maybe he’s not ready.”

“Damn.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just, you’re really way sweeter than I ever thought you

were.” Cory peered up at him with the same big and deep brown eyes
like Preston had. “You’re so nice.”

“You sound surprised.” Dylan realized they’d been holding hands

for a long time now, and he extracted his hand as simply as he could.
Dylan did this by letting go of Cory’s hand and immediately
wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “I really am a nice guy.”

“I’m beginning to see that.” Cory leaned against him and sighed.

“Maybe it’s okay not to say everything. Sometimes actions speak
louder than words ever could.”

“That’s true.” Dylan thought his actions had been really damn

clear about his feelings.

“No guts, no glory.”
“What?”
The next thing Dylan knew, Cory plastered his lips against his and

tried to kiss his damn socks off!

Daring Alpha

Chapter 8

Preston ran.
He didn’t care about all of his new clothes because they wouldn’t

matter if he was dead. So he ran as fast as he could away from the
truck with just what he had. It was cold, but it wasn’t snowing. There
were thick rolls of snow on either side of the county road, but the road
itself was clear and dry. However, if Preston stayed on the pavement,
they weren’t going to have any trouble finding him.

There wasn’t a doubt in his head that they were going to look for

him. Grayson needed him to sign checks and authorize transfers now
that he was eighteen. Preston wouldn’t come into his full majority
until he was twenty-one, but until that time, he and Grayson
controlled the trust fund together. But right now, Grayson didn’t
worry him. Elias did.

When Elias had pushed those words, “I will kill you,” into

Preston’s mind, Preston had seen what was waiting for him back at
the compound. Since Elias knew Preston’s skills, Elias was able to
build a cage that would keep Preston contained. Drugging him would
render him unable to call out to his mate for help.

Preston didn’t think Grayson knew about Elias’s plan, but the

other betas did. They didn’t like the fact that he was now one of them.
Preston was supposed to be eternally single and therefore forever a
boy. In that role, they could boss him around, and often did. Preston
hadn’t minded because that was the way of the pack. Foolishly, he
thought they’d be happy for him in gaining this new role. They were
not. If anything, they were fiercely resentful, especially when word
spread that Grayson had taken Preston on a shopping spree.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Once most betas mated, they were lavished with gifts by their

alpha. That they perceived Grayson as doing the lavishing rankled
because in their eyes it should be Dylan. But they simply didn’t
realize the money was Preston’s, not Grayson’s. By keeping the true
state of the trust secret, Grayson had put Preston into a deadly mess.
Alphas may control their pairing, and they were fierce warriors, but a
beta who felt threatened could be just as deadly.

Telling them the truth of the matter would unruffle the feathers,

but it wouldn’t resolve the deep-seated resentment. Preston had been
the whipping boy since the pack began. To have him transformed into
a major member, especially the one with the cash, would chafe prides
and egos alike.

So Preston ran.
He wanted to scream out for Dylan, but he was too focused on

eluding Grayson and Elias first. Get away, get safe, and then get help.
That was the logical order of things. But he was so frightened. Never
in his life had Preston envisioned running from his own packmates.

“Preston?”
Grayson’s voice split the night. He sounded worried, not angry.

Perhaps he didn’t realize what his beta planned to do. Or maybe he
did and only played his part in the charade. Since Preston didn’t know
which way the wind blew, he didn’t respond.

“Preston? We’re done now. You can come back.”
Did he think Preston had wandered away while they were

fucking? That was good, as it would give him more time to get away
before Grayson panicked and searched for him in earnest. But he had
to get off the road.

What held him back were the rounded dunes of snow. If he

stepped into one, it would go up to his waist and leave a clear mark
for them to follow. Worse, it would get his shoes and pants wet, and
that wouldn’t be good. What the hell was he going to do?

“You’re going to walk right down the side of the road.”
“Dylan?”

Daring Alpha

“Yep.”
“They’ll find me if I do that.”
“Remember that little trick you showed me last night? You shield

yourself, and they will go right past you.”

Preston had been so terrified he hadn’t remembered. But he’d

never tried that while he was moving. So instead, he moved to the
other side of the road, the side closest to the upside of the mountain,
found a good-sized boulder, and hid behind it.

“Good. You stay right there. I’m coming.”
“Hurry.”
Preston shielded himself and listened as Grayson’s calling voice

went from confused, to angry, to concerned. Elias didn’t call out
once. That said it all. He would probably be happy to leave Preston
out here in the cold and let him die.

“Here he is, my mate.”
Preston peered up at Elias with openmouthed shock.
“What? I told you to stay right where you were and I’d come for

you.” Elias’s voice sounded just like Dylan’s inside Preston’s head.

“How do you think you had the power to pull such tricks? All the

betas together can help one of our own to do such things.” Elias
grinned. “By the same measure, we can turn those tricks against a
traitor.”

Preston had no idea that it was through them his skills came. “But

Dylan’s voice.”

“Matching the mental signature of an alpha isn’t all that difficult,

as they all sound pretty much alike.” Elias turned when he heard the
truck backing up. “You better stand up and get in that truck without
saying a word or I’ll make this so much worse than it has to be.”

Dazed, Preston watched as Elias jumped in and settled himself

beside Grayson. Preston swallowed hard and then climbed in. There
wasn’t a lot of room on the bench seat with three of them, but Preston
did his best to put as much space between himself and Elias as he
could.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“What the hell happened to you?” Grayson snarled, shoving the

truck into forward gear.

“I was distracted by some deer.” It sounded like a good excuse.
Elias kept his mouth closed, but he flashed Preston the creepiest

grin. His expression seemed to say later, when they were alone, he
would have plenty to tell Preston. And none of it would be pleasant.

Preston tried to speak directly into Grayson’s mind, but Elias and

the other betas prevented him from doing so.

Desperate, Preston realized they couldn’t stop his mouth from

working. He turned toward Grayson, and Elias flashed him an evil
eye that probably could have turned him to stone just yesterday, but
not today. Preston was afraid, but now he had something, or rather
someone, he desperately wanted to live for. If he didn’t do something
now, he would die at the ranch.

“When we return, Grayson, I must speak with you.”
“Speak to me here.” Grayson patted Elias’s leg. “When I get

home, I think I’m going right to bed.”

“It’s important.”
“Tell me now.”
“I cannot.”
“Preston.” Grayson sighed hard. “I have indulged you completely

today. New clothes, new shoes, new everything, and you even got to
pick the restaurant on the way home.” He shifted the truck into a
lower gear as they struggled to climb a hill. “I’m honestly at a loss as
to what else you want from me.”

“I want to move away.”
Dead silence.
Grayson’s head lowered, but his gaze stayed on the road. The

greenish glow from the dashboard lights hollowed the space below his
eyes, making him appear as if he were a living corpse.

“You’re not going to live with that pelt.” Grayson snarled his

edict then added, “I forbid it.”

Grayson called all the bears “pelts” because in his mind, that was

Daring Alpha

the best use for them. They should be pelts hanging on his wall or
laying on his floor. The idea of that sickened Preston.

“I am leaving the pack because I am no longer safe on the ranch.”

In marked contrast, Preston kept his voice even. This was not going to
be a shouting match. Preston’s father had put Grayson in charge of his
trust until he was eighteen, but Grayson could no longer dictate what
Preston chose to do and certainly not where he chose to live.

“What the fuck does that mean? No one would dare to harm you.

You’re the only way we can have new members join our pack.”

Preston’s gaze darted to Elias, who was clearly mouthing for him

to shut up, but Preston wouldn’t. He decided to play his most
dangerous card. “Not if my powers to twin are gone.” He didn’t
actually know if they were, but he feared they might be.

Grayson looked over at him for a split second and then jerked his

attention back to the road. Deer were everywhere, especially at night.
If they hit one, it would make a hell of mess and possibly kill them.
Grayson kept his high beams on and his speed low. He also kept his
gaze on the road, which was a damn good thing because if he looked
at Preston he’d see how terrified he was. Elias was glaring at him with
such hatred Preston felt the acid of his anger practically burning his
skin.

Without the ability to twin, Preston was worthless to his pack. As

good as that sounded in possibly prompting Grayson to let him go, it
also held the potential for deeper danger in that he was now saying he
was essentially of no value to the pack. If he couldn’t twin, they
couldn’t bring in new members. The only worth Preston had other
than his value as the nexus was his trust fund. But Preston had a plan
for that, too.

“Are you telling me you can’t twin souls anymore?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t feel any new men tugging for my

attention.”

“Fuck!” Grayson slapped the steering wheel. “I knew this was

going to screw things up. God damn those fucking bears.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Perhaps, my mate, there is something to be done about them.”

Elias offered this up very quietly.

“Something like what, little one? Will you go into Twin Pines and

kill them all?” Grayson snarled the question at him. Preston witnessed
Elias wincing back from Grayson’s venom. How could he so deeply
love someone who continuously treated him badly? Preston couldn’t
imagine Dylan ever being so cruelly dismissive of him.

“I think Preston should prove his devotion to his liege and his

pack.”

“Preston?” Grayson laughed. “The only thing he could do is go

into their den and spread his legs for them.”

Normally, Preston would have let a comment like that slide

because to say something back was to disrespect the ultimate alpha.
But Preston was sick and tired of funding everything in the shadows.
He had told Dylan he was going to be strong for him, and by God, he
was going to hold to that promise.

“It is quite easy to stomp around and play the big man with

someone else’s money.” Preston kept his head high and his gaze right
on Grayson.

Elias’s eyes bugged out, and he turned his questioning gaze onto

Grayson. The truth was right there for him to see. Grayson gripped
the steering wheel so tightly Preston was surprised the plastic didn’t
crack. His nostrils flared, and his upper lip twitched as if to pull his
mouth into a snarl.

Fight pheromones filled the small cab, choking both betas and

pushing them into flight mode. Intellectually, Preston knew all this,
yet still his primitive buttons were pushed. He rolled down the
window, breathing deeply of fresh air and deliberately avoiding the
full-blown panic Grayson tried to instill in him.

Preston knew this was possibly the more deadly of the cards he

could play, but if he didn’t do something drastic, he was going to die
anyway. As they always said, no guts, no glory.

“My mate?” Elias placed his hand on Grayson’s thigh.

Daring Alpha

Rather than answer, Grayson continued to drive and kept his gaze

riveted to the road.

“If anything should happen to me, you know what will become of

my trust fund.” Preston turned his attention to the road but watched
Grayson and Elias with his peripheral vision. “Should I die under any
suspicious circumstance, the inquest would dig deep into all the
transactions since you became my guardian.”

Preston’s father, God rest his soul, had been a very shrewd man.

He’d worked at the paper mill because he wanted to, not because he
had to. Preston’s father owned the mill. To this day, it was still owned
by the Athey family, of which there were only two left.

“I would hate to think what outsiders would make of the ranch,

the compound, and all the things that my trust has bought for your
followers.” Preston sighed. “It would look very bad that on the day I
finally spent some money on myself I was killed.”

“I never said I would kill you.” Grayson’s fury softened. “You

know I’ve never hurt you, and I’m not going to start now. Fuck,
Preston. You’re like my kid brother.”

At this, Preston turned his gaze onto Elias, who looked on the

verge of throwing up. “No. Not you. But you should speak with your
mate and the other betas. I think when you return to the compound
you should perhaps see what they have been doing since we’ve been
gone.”

Grayson’s massive hand dropped onto Elias’s thigh.
Elias jumped and squeaked.
“What have you done, Elias?”
“Not—nothing, my mate. Preston is simply being paranoid.”
“Infiltrate his thoughts, and you’ll see he’s desperately trying to

contact the others to have them cover their tracks.”

Grayson pulled the truck over. He cupped his massive hand to

Elias’s chin and forced his head up so he could drill his gaze into
Elias’s.

“You would dare to go behind my back?”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“He was ruining everything!” Elias tried desperately to escape his

mate’s hold, but Grayson was far stronger. In his barely leashed fury,
he became the god that Elias always said Grayson was.

“Do you realize what you have done?” Grayson squeezed Elias’s

chin. His fingertips dug into his pale flesh until both his face and
Grayson’s digits were white. “You may have destroyed our pack with
your foolishness.”

Preston waited until Elias urinated submissively. He wanted Elias

to remember this moment. And he believed he would. Even though it
was Grayson who had terrified him, Elias would remember that it was
Preston who had pushed Grayson to turn on his mate. Most outsiders
would view betas as powerless followers, but they would be wrong.
Just as they could band together to accomplish something, one of
them could manipulate an alpha into doing exactly what he needed
done. Preston had now done that, and Elias would certainly take note.

“There is a way out.” Preston offered this very quietly.
The smell of urine was powerful, causing Preston to roll his

window down all the way. It was cold outside, but he’d rather be a bit
chilled than suffer the stench of Elias’s fear. Preston remembered
Grayson forcing Maxwell to wet himself in fear. It was something
Grayson, as the ultimate alpha, was very good at.

“What way out?” Grayson did not release his mate from his grip

or lift his eyes from his face.

“I will say nothing of this to the others. I’m certain that Elias can

be persuaded to keep mum as well.”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he considered his mate.
Elias managed to nod slightly within Grayson’s grip. They all

knew Elias would not tell, because to do so would harm his mate and
Elias’s position in the pack, something Elias would never do.

“No one but us three will know about the trust,” Preston

promised.

“And in return?” Grayson asked softly.
“I want to live with my mate.”

Daring Alpha

Preston appreciated the difficult situation he put Grayson in. If he

said no, everyone would learn of his money issues, and he would be
devalued in the eyes of the pack. There could be a fight among the
alphas to replace Grayson. Such a battle would be bloody and cost
them in both strength of numbers but also resentments that would dig
deep and potentially fester. Right now, the pack had fallen into their
current pattern effortlessly and all the packmates were happy with
their lot. Well, except for Maxwell and Preston. But Maxwell had the
advantage of money on his side, too. Once he’d paid his dues, he
could buy his way into a better position. Grayson wasn’t a fool. He
knew that as surely as did Preston and Maxwell.

On the flip side, if Grayson said yes and allowed his nexus to

leave, then he would also be devalued in the eyes of his pack. But if
he presented them with the fact Preston could no longer twin
incoming pairs, then there would be no problem. The betas did not
like Preston’s change in position, hence their plot against him, and the
alphas wouldn’t care about his disappearance one way or the other as
long as their basic situation remained the same. Which it would.

“It would look bad to have you go and live with them.” Grayson

relaxed his hold on Elias but didn’t release him entirely. Preston felt
for Elias. Not much, but a bit. Sitting in the puddle of his piddle had
to be getting chilly indeed. Perhaps he would develop a stinging rash.
That would be fitting as it would remind him, at least for a week, that
fucking with Preston was a very bad idea.

As heartless as it was, Preston enjoyed Elias’s fear and worry. He

had not only organized the others but had plotted out the death of a
pack member without regard for anything other than securing his own
place as the upper beta. For position, he would have killed. Even
though it was the nature of their beasts, it was shocking nonetheless,
and Preston would not be true to his beast if he didn’t retaliate in
kind.

“I will not go and live with them.”
“No?” Grayson lifted his gaze to Preston.

Daring Alpha

Chapter 9

Using his superior strength, Dylan got Cory off him. “Whoa,” he

said, lifting his hands and shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Cory, but,
what the hell? I’m telling you I’m in love with a guy—”

“And I’m saying I love you back.” Cory leaned in as if to start the

kiss up again, but Dylan slid across the bench seat. Cory frowned at
the distance between them. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t mean you.” As soon as the words left his mouth Dylan

realized how harsh they sounded. “Cory, I’m sorry.” He reached for
him, but Cory yanked out of his grasp and plastered himself against
the door. “Please. This is just a terrible mix-up.”

“Right. Because no one my age would ever be interested in me.”
“That’s not true.”
“My stepfather is right.”
Dylan’s testosterone amped up a notch. “He’s right about what?”
“No one is ever going to love me the way he does.”
Fuck. Dylan’s stomach felt like someone had just dumped a ton of

bricks in it. “What the hell does that mean?” Dylan knew exactly
what that meant, but he needed to get Cory talking. Wasn’t that one of
the first things he was supposed to do? Get the person to admit they
had a problem? Shit. That was alcoholics. Why didn’t life come with
a goddamned playbook for situations like this?

“What it means is I’ve been fucking my stepfather for four years.”

Cory looked him right in the eye. “And I like it.”

Dylan didn’t know what to say. It was shocking and horrible, and

this wasn’t going at all the way he’d hoped. He was making an
atrocious situation worse.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Did you know he’s a big supporter of the team?” Cory grinned

maliciously. “If there is a party to raise money for the Grizzlies, he’ll
be there. Good old Barry Grade will be in the thick of things, glad-
handing people and drumming up support while he looks for a
convenient place to fuck his stepson.”

Rather than protecting him, Dylan had inadvertently placed Cory

in an even worse situation.

“I thought if I had you on my arm, he’d be too scared because,

yeah, you’re a big badass, Dylan. You are really sweet and you’re
fucking smart, too, but the most important thing in Barry’s eyes
would be the fact that you could pound the living shit out of him if he
so much as looked at me funny.”

“I can. I would.” Dylan slid closer. “What in the world makes you

think I wouldn’t protect you?”

“You’re going to be hooking up with the guy you’re really into.

That leaves good old Cory wide open to take his stepfather’s cock up
his—”

“Stop!” Dylan cut him off. He couldn’t hear anymore. If he did,

he was afraid he was going to vomit. “He’s not touching you again. I
swear it.”

“Yeah? How are you going to pull that off?”
“By not leaving your side through this.” This, the party that Dylan

had gotten put on at the last minute. “Wait, if Phillip Remson knew,
he’d never invite your stepfather.”

Cory’s big brown eyes went so wide he could double as a deer

caught in the headlights. “You want to tell everyone about this?”

“No, not everyone, but we need help.”
“Fuck you!” Cory rapped on the divider, trying to get the driver’s

attention. “I’m not going to tell everyone what I’ve done.”

“What you’ve done?” This was spinning out of control faster than

Dylan could think.

“Who do you think started this?” Cory wiped his tears away with

the back of his hand. “It’s all my fault.”

Daring Alpha

When the driver lowered the partition, Dylan shook his head and

told him to continue on to Phillip’s. He slid across the seat, wrapped
his arm around Cory’s thin shoulders, and then pulled him close.

“Tell me.” Dylan swallowed hard. “As painful as it might be, I

need you to start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

Cory was silent for so long Dylan thought he wasn’t going to

speak, but eventually, with his voice held to a whisper, he told Dylan
how he’d come to be involved with his stepfather.

“Everything started after high school graduation. I snagged some

beer from a party, and I was drinking them in my room. Barry came
in, and we were just talking. Barry didn’t go off about the beer. He
said every kid back to the Stone Age did that.”

“He drank with you?”
“He split a beer with me. I felt really funny after that.”
“Funny how?”
“Like I was energetic but peaceful. I wanted to touch him. It was

so strange, but he was wearing these pants that had the softest texture.
When he moved my hand up to his lap, I just rolled with it.” Cory
shook his head. “He kissed me, and he tasted really good, like candy,
so I kept kissing him. And then—fuck, I can’t remember how it
happened, but he was sucking my dick. It was like I woke up and he
was doing that. I tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He’s bigger
than me and I...I guess—I don’t know. I was confused.”

“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not, because what he was doing—it felt good. I came,

and he said that proved I liked it.”

“That doesn’t mean that at all. Sometimes our bodies don’t know

the difference between touches. Not the way our minds do.” Dylan
considered for a moment. “I think he drugged you.”

“With what?” Cory asked. “I didn’t feel sick the next day. I felt

really good, but I was also ashamed. It was all really confusing. And
nothing happened again for a long time, so I thought maybe I made
the whole thing up in my head.” Cory sighed. “I got into Twin Pines

Anitra Lynn McLeod

College and started school, but I wanted to stay at the dorms. Just to
be on the safe side. My mom thought that was weird, and Barry said it
was a waste of money, but I paid for it myself. I remember him being
mad about it, but he dropped it when my mom got suspicious. And
then nothing happened.”

“Until?”
“My mom went out of town for some teacher thing. I forget what

it was, but the dorms were closed because it was a break. I was home
alone with Barry and...” Cory trailed off. “He made us drinks.”

“And you felt that same funny feeling.”
Cory nodded.
Dylan reached for his phone but found the replacement one he’d

borrowed from Danny. It didn’t have all the features of his regular
cell. Thinking of the phone made him think of Preston. He wanted to
call him and check in, but he didn’t want to leave Cory hanging.

“What?” Cory asked.
“I want to do a search.”
“Here.” Cory handed over his phone.
“Nice.”
“Yeah. It’s the latest and greatest. Smartphones are my

weakness.”

“It’s an expensive one.”
“Yeah, but, well, I don’t date.”
“You will.”
Cory sighed and then pointed. “Do the search.”
Dylan plugged in the effects Cory had mentioned. A few different

drugs had some of the effects, but only one drug had them all.
“Ecstasy.”

“Shit.” Cory started laughing.
“You okay?”
“He kept saying that I started it, not him. That it was always my

idea. And I believed him because it seemed like it was.” Cory
punched his own thigh. “Stupid fucking moron.”

Daring Alpha

“Whoa, no. That’s enough of that.” Dylan held his hands to stop

him from hitting himself again. “Cory, listen to me. Abusers are very
good at what they do. You probably weren’t the first.” And if Dylan
had anything to do with it, Cory was definitely going to be the last.

“Barry said he couldn’t wait for Christmas break. He said we’d

have time together to ‘love’ each other.” Cory made mocking quote
marks in the air. “I didn’t know what to do. I was going to—” Cory
glanced down at his backpack.

“May I?” Dylan pulled it onto his lap but didn’t open it.
“Yeah. Save me from myself.”
Inside, Dylan found a bottle of phenobarbital. There was enough

there to kill him three times over.

“I’m taking this.” Dylan slipped the bottle into his pocket. “And

I’m making you a promise that he’s not getting his hands on you
again.”

Cory fell against him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Kissing you like that. I just thought you could fix everything.”
“I can. And I will. But you don’t owe me anything for that.”
“I know. You’re a good guy, Dylan. Tell me about the guy you

love.”

“Preston.” Dylan got a giddy thrill just saying his name.
“Is he coming to this bash?”
“I hope so. I want him to. But it’s complicated.” In some ways,

Dylan realized the relationship Preston had with Grayson was similar
to Cory and his stepfather. Not that Preston was abused sexually, but
emotional abuse could be just as devastating. “He’s in a not too good
situation.”

“If you need my help getting him out, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you.”
“How did you know I needed help?”
“I don’t know. On the quad, when you went past me, I felt you.”
“Yeah, you said that at the time. It was weird.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“What I felt was weird. I swear, it’s like you asked for my help

without using your voice.”

“Maybe I did.”
When the car stopped, Cory wiped his face, zipped up his

backpack, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and said, “Okay.
What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to go in there and tell Phillip.”
Cory tensed.
“Please, trust me that you can trust him. He’s like a brother to

me.”

Fear twisted Cory’s face. “What if he doesn’t believe me?”
“He will. Because I do. I know you’re not lying.”
“But Barry said no one would ever believe me. He said—”
“I don’t care what that useless wad of shit said. Trust me, no one

is going to believe him.”

“God, my mom. She’s going to be so mad at me.”
“Why the fuck would she be mad at you?”
“She can’t parade around her younger man anymore.”
“Does your mother know what Barry is doing to you?”
“God, no. She’d fucking kill him.”
“Then what makes you think she’s going to be mad at you?”
Cory frowned. “Good point.”
“Come on.” Dylan opened the door and climbed out. “Let’s talk to

Phillip. You’ll see. He’s a great guy.”

Wilkins, Phillip’s butler, greeted them at the door. For the first

time ever, Wilkins looked utterly putout.

“What’s wrong?”
“I am afraid there has been a development.”
Dylan pressed, but Wilkins refused to explain. He ushered them

into the small parlor off the foyer.

“You see, your son is safe and sound.” Phillip Remson rose when

they entered. Two other men rose, too. One Dylan recognized as a
police officer, but Dylan didn’t recognize the other one. When Cory

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 10

“You’re going to make Dylan come and live with us on the

ranch?” Grayson still hadn’t released his hold on Elias’s chin.

“No.” Preston would never put Dylan through that.
“I thought you said he was going to come and live with you?”

Grayson reiterated.

“He will. In the house that I buy. I will no longer be living with

the pack.”

“You expect me to buy you a house?”
Preston tilted his head. “I expect to use the money in my trust to

buy me a house.”

“No.” Grayson let go of Elias. Without another word, he turned to

the dash, restarted the truck, and took off.

“You can’t just say ‘no’ and make this go away, Grayson. I want

out.” Preston had longed for the day when he could be free, and with
Dylan as his mate, that day had come.

“No.” Grayson increased his speed until they were practically

flying downhill.

The smell of Grayson’s fear overpowered the stench of Elias’s

urine. Anxiety crept tension into Preston’s shoulders. They tightened
up, which lifted them toward his ears. Preston hated this feeling. He
always experienced this stress around the ranch, and he was sick of it.

“No one wants me there,” Preston pointed out. “This is the best

solution for everyone.”

“No.”
“Grayson, I’m not a boy any more. You can’t simply keep saying

‘no’ and expect me—”

Daring Alpha

“You’re going to shut the hell up and do exactly what I tell you to

do.”

Preston had had the upper hand, but suddenly he’d lost his grip.

What was he missing?

“Elias is going to contact the betas, and they are going to continue

with their plan, only this time I’m sanctioning it.”

Ice slid down Preston’s spine. “I’ll tell them about the money.”
“They won’t believe you.”
“They will when I have proof.”
“What proof do you have, Preston?” Grayson shot him a glance

then returned his attention to the road. “You have nothing but your
word. Your word isn’t worth shit now that you’re spreading your legs
for a fucking bear.”

Preston realized Grayson was right. He had no proof of his

accusation. If he demanded Grayson show them the accounts, it was
unlikely anyone would back him up and insist Grayson show them.
Grayson wouldn’t have to display them, and Preston would look like
he was grasping at straws.

“If you speak out against me, it will look like you’ve taken the

side of your mate over your pack.”

To his horror, Preston realized Grayson was right.
“Elias here will not speak of what happened, will you, little one?”
“No, my mate. I would never defy you in anything.”
“Of course not. That’s why you are my perfect mate.” Grayson

patted his leg affectionately. It was as if the tension between them, the
absolute fear that Grayson had instilled in him, was suddenly
forgotten. Preston didn’t understand their relationship at all. “Reach
into the back and find yourself something to wear.”

There was a space behind the seats where all of Preston’s

purchases were.

“But first, find something to tie Preston up with.”
Preston considered the door next to him. If he opened it he could

jump out, but at the speed Grayson was going, he wouldn’t survive

Anitra Lynn McLeod

the landing.

Elias fished around under the shopping bags and found a length of

nylon rope. “Will this work, my mate?”

Grayson nodded.
Preston considered using the phone Dylan had given him, but he

thought it was wiser to keep it hidden. If they were going to lock him
up somewhere, it might be his only link to the outside world.
Foolishly, he realized that by telling Grayson he could no longer twin
souls he’d made himself fairly useless to the pack except for them to
continue to pump his trust fund for money. But they didn’t need him
cognizant to do that. The right combination of drugs would make him
easy to direct and utterly harmless.

There was only one last card he had to play. Preston screamed out

to Dylan as loud as he could. He had called out to him earlier on the
road, but apparently, Elias had blocked that. Preston hoped his fear
amplified his range, but he had no time to wonder if Dylan caught his
message because in the next instant he was out.

When Preston woke up he was bound, blindfolded, and oblivious

as to where exactly he was. When he breathed deep, he smelled old
sour earth. The ground beneath him was moist. He was freezing cold,
and his head hurt. He wasn’t certain, but he was pretty sure Elias had
bashed him in the back of the head with something. Moreover, he felt
woozy and realized they’d drugged him with something.

Had Dylan heard either of his frantic calls, or had Elias and the

other betas blocked them?

Preston reached out to Dylan, but he heard nothing but static in

his head. He guessed if all the betas could amplify one another, they
could all gang up to block another packmate, too.

With his hands bound behind his back, Preston wasn’t able to feel

around and discover what kind of a space he was in. By rubbing his
shoulder up against his head, he was eventually able to remove the
blindfold.

Utter blackness greeted him. Why blindfold him if they were

Daring Alpha

going to toss him into the dark anyway? Looking up, Preston thought
he saw light far above him. It was glittering or twinkling like— “A
star.”

Preston was outside in one of the old wells. He panicked. The

nighttime temperatures had been dipping into the single digits.
Without some kind of protection, he’d be dead of exposure by
morning.

Dead, he’d create a terrible mess for Grayson and the pack. As

he’d said earlier, there would be an inquest, and ugly questions would
be raised.

“Not so much.”
Preston looked up at the opening of the well. It was Elias, bundled

up in a down coat that looked plenty toasty.

“You’re making a terrible mistake.” Preston kept his voice even.

Yelling would only make Elias leave.

“No, you did, with your big, ugly mouth.” Elias tossed something

down into the well, but Preston couldn’t tell what it was.

“There will be an inquest. The truth about my trust will come to

light.”

“No, it won’t because Grayson already went to the police.”
“What?” Preston was flabbergasted.
“It was sad how you bought all those new things and then

disappeared at the mall. We were certain you’d run off to go to your
new boyfriend.”

Even from this distance, Preston could see Elias’s huge grin.
“They’ve already contacted the police department over in Twin

Pines. It doesn’t look good for Dylan.”

“What do you mean?”
“Well, a big guy like that with a reputation for being a

homophobe...” Elias trailed off and gave a long pause so the
implications could sink in. “When your battered body is found with
his DNA all over it...” Elias shrugged. “It’s hard to believe the
authorities will look at us rather than at Dylan.”

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“Grayson can’t seriously be—”
“Grayson doesn’t know about that part.” The wind whipped away

Elias’s voice, but Preston still heard him. “The you-ending-up-dead
part. Grayson thinks we’re just going to keep you contained and
docile so that you won’t be any problem for him.”

Preston tried mentally calling out for Grayson, but again, all he

heard was static.

“That’s not going to work, I’m afraid.” Elias peered down. “You

know about being afraid, don’t you, Preston? Have you ever been so
terrified that you wet yourself?”

Preston said nothing, but the truth was there had been only one

time when he’d been that afraid. He’d been cornered by bullies in
high school. They were bigger boys and they were going to penetrate
his bottom, so Preston wet himself. They stopped. And they never
bothered him again. Preston had to walk home with wet clothing, but
he didn’t regret what he’d done. He’d saved himself for Dylan by
doing something so foul and shocking the older boys had let him go.
And Preston’s father never knew because Preston had cleaned up and
he had done the laundry before his father came home. Just like the
times when Preston’s dreams became too much and he climaxed
against his sheets. Dad never knew because Preston took care to hide
his shame. Preston had always been careful enough to hide the truth.
Frankly, a lot of his life had been spent cleaning up so he could hide.

“I have been so terrified I wet myself.” Elias kept his voice even,

and it carried right down into the well. “Twice, actually. Both times it
was Grayson who instilled that response in me. You were there the
second time, in the truck. The first time was when he claimed me.”
Elias shivered and drew the collar of his coat around his face.
“Grayson was so strong and so abrupt that I was terrified of him. I
know now that what I perceived as force was merely passion. But at
that moment, Grayson alarmed me, and I wet all over our soul-
bonding bed. Do you know what Grayson did?”

Preston kept his mouth closed. Elias, much like Grayson, simply

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101

adored the sound of his own voice. As to why Elias was telling
Preston all of this, Preston suspected that Elias had always wanted to
tell someone, but couldn’t. And that’s what convinced Preston he
really was going to die. Elias spilled out his heart and soul because he
knew the information would be safe with a man who would soon be
dead.

“When Grayson saw what I had done, Grayson lifted me up from

the bed, and tenderly, I mean so tenderly you would have thought I
was crafted from spun sugar, he carried me into the bathroom. There,
he removed my clothing and kissed me as he washed me. He
apologized. Can you picture that? Big, huge Grayson saying he was
sorry to a man half his size. The fact that he had frightened me
shamed him.” Elias paused for a moment, remembering. “Grayson
explained about the animal lust that he felt, and how at times he
would wish to use me roughly, but he said he would be tender, too.
Mostly, he was tender to ready me for the way he really is.” Elias
tossed another something into the well. “Now that I’m conditioned to
his needs, he’s only tender when he wants something from me. But
the truth is that I like his roughness. His brutality excites me. Like
what he did in the truck tonight. Just needing me so suddenly and so
desperately. Once I realized I had that power over my mate, I was no
longer afraid. But today, because of you, I was afraid of him again.
Because I have never had him look at me like that.”

Preston remembered well that look in Grayson’s eyes as he held

Elias’s chin.

“I thought he would kill me.” Elias tossed another item into the

well. “And for that I blame you. For you prompting my mate to turn
on me, I will make sure your last few hours are as painful and
terrifying as possible.”

Preston didn’t know what to say so he found himself grasping at

straws. “What about the future souls? If you have no nexus, you have
no new members.”

“You said you couldn’t twin anymore,” Elias pointed out.

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“I said that only so Grayson would let me go.”
“I don’t believe you.” Elias sighed, and his breath made a plume

in the cold air. “Besides, it will matter very little if the bears lose their
nexus as well.”

If Dylan was behind bars, he couldn’t twin souls. Just like the

wolf pack, the bear sloth would wither and die. What a mess Preston
had made of everything. All he’d wanted was a mate. He’d thought
that gaining a powerful man like Dylan meant that Dylan would solve
all his dilemmas. Instead, Preston had utterly destroyed Dylan’s
world. All his dreams of becoming a trauma surgeon would end. Even
if Dylan survived the inquest, his life would never be the same with
the suspicion of Preston’s death hanging over his head. Worse, he
would mourn deeply. When a twinned soul lost his twin, the effects
could be devastating. They hadn’t been together long, but their bond
was a powerful one that defied the very laws of nature.

“What will make it so much worse is that he knows nothing. His

panic and fear will be genuine. Your mate will suffer horribly because
you couldn’t keep your place.”

There was one last thing, one last card that Preston could play. He

looked up at Elias. His face seemed so pale in the dark, and so small
surrounded by the puffy collar of the coat.

“Grayson knows what will happen to my trust should I die or

disappear.” Preston made his statement then kept his mouth shut,
letting Elias consider the consequences.

“He will get your money.”
“No.”
Elias peered down. “Then who will?”
“Ask Grayson.” Preston settled on his knees and continued to

work the rope around his wrists. He wouldn’t be able to escape the
well, but he would be able to wrap himself up in Dylan’s enormous
coat. It might buy him an hour or so of time. Right now, he had to live
his life minute by minute.

“I will not fall into another of your silly maneuverings. Grayson

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103

wouldn’t have agreed to my plan if he wasn’t assured of—”

“He agreed to keep me incapacitated with drugs. Grayson never

agreed to have me found beaten and mutilated. You might want to
consider why that is.” Preston thought that first and foremost,
Grayson had some shred of affection for him. Despite it all, Grayson
had not seemed to want to have Preston hurt. He just wanted to keep
the status quo. Being the ultimate alpha of the pack was the greatest
achievement Grayson had yet attained and probably the only thing he
would ever have. If he lost his place, his world would crumble.

What Elias didn’t know, and what would prompt Grayson to

remove him from this well at once, was the simple fact that once
Preston was dead, by whatever means—natural or murder most
foul—the money in his trust fund went to his father’s other son, his
secret son. Grayson knew the truth, but it would be Elias who would
be quite stunned to find out that man was the leader of the bear sloth,
none other than Danny Jones.

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Chapter 11

A scream ripped into Dylan’s mind with such violence he dropped

face-first into the floor. Thank God Phillip had thick carpets or he
would have done major damage to his face. The scream cut off as
abruptly as it started. Something struck him strange about the cry. It
sounded almost as if it had been delayed somehow. Like Preston had
screamed out for him earlier and someone had buried it for a long
time but the cry had eventually slipped through.

“Dylan?” His hearing seemed muffled, but Dylan recognized

Phillip’s voice. “What happened?”

With the cop standing there, and two other outsiders, Dylan didn’t

want to say that he’d just heard his mate bellow out a primal scream
from over two hundred miles away. So instead, he shook his head and
got to his feet. “Rough practice today. I think that hit I took was
stronger than we thought.”

When Barry reached out for Cory, Dylan was on his feet and

wedged between them so fast he was a blur. Hopefully, no one
noticed he moved with preternatural speed. Frankly, Dylan surprised
himself. He’d hustled his ass on the field but nothing like that. More
of his new powers were becoming clear.

“Let go of my son.”
“He’s not your son.” Dylan stepped into Barry, making sure he

realized that Dylan outweighed him by a good seventy-five pounds.
“Technically, he’s your stepson, right?”

“Please, can everyone calm down so we can sort this out?” Phillip

extended his hands to the various seats in the small parlor. Cory
waited until Barry picked a seat and then chose a place well away

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105

from him. Dylan inserted himself between them. Phillip settled next
to the officer. Fuck. Why had Cory’s stepfather brought a cop?
Maybe he’d tried to float some story about Cory running away. If
they tried to let Cory go into his custody, Dylan was going to have to
act first and think later. No way in hell was that fucked-up piece of
shit getting his hands on Cory again.

“I fear there had been some mix-up. Dylan and Cory were staying

here tonight to help me and my butler organize the fundraiser on
Sunday.”

“I don’t think Cory needs to stay here for that,” Barry said

jovially. “We wouldn’t want to intrude on you, Mr. Remson.”

“But I insisted. There are some other players from the team and

some dedicated boosters coming as well. We wish to make this a
smashing success.” In that moment, Dylan fell a little in love with
Phillip. Damn, the man was smooth. He was so convincing that even
Dylan believed him. He guessed having over one hundred sixty years
under his belt gave Phillip more suave and charisma than Prince
Charming.

Barry really couldn’t say anything else or he was going to look

oddly possessive of Cory. Dylan just wanted the man to go the fuck
away so he could call Preston. He tried reaching out to him mentally,
but all he got was static, which just scared the hell out of him. The
only time his brothers had had a difficult time communicating
mentally with one another was when Dylan was out of commission.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Grade. Cory was just going to call his mother.”

Phillip plucked up his cordless phone from the cradle and offered it
out to Cory. “Perhaps you can speak with her about—”

“No, that’s all right.” Barry stood abruptly. “I’ll just see you back

here on Sunday night.” Before he left, he gave Cory a dubious eye.

Dylan deliberately reached over and clasped Cory’s hand. “We’ll

be here.”

Barry’s face froze in what was supposed to be a happy expression

but missed by a million miles. He looked worried, and it showed.

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Dylan was waiting for the officer to follow him out, but when he
didn’t, Dylan realized the man was here for something else.

“I’m Officer Martinez.” The man nodded at Dylan. “You are

Dylan Peterson?”

“Yeah. What’s going on?” Dylan let go of Cory’s hand. There

was no reason to keep up the charade now that his stepfather was
gone.

“I’m confused. I thought you were dating a young man from Lone

Pine?”

Dylan frowned. “What does my dating life have to do with

anything?” But something in his gut turned to water. The primal
scream he heard signaled something devastating. “Preston. Where is
he?”

“We were hoping you could tell us.”
“I haven’t seen him since last night.” And they’d mentally

communicated today, but Dylan thought it wise to leave that out.

“We had a call from Preston’s guardian.” Officer Martinez

checked his notes. “Grayson Reems called to inform us that after
buying a rather wide assortment of clothing, Preston disappeared. Mr.
Reems was worried because Preston snuck away after saying he was
coming to see you.”

Dylan’s entire body heaved from the pounding of his heart. His

gut instinct was that Grayson had done something to Preston and had
come up with this clever ruse to blame Dylan.

“He hasn’t contacted you?” The officer’s pen hovered above his

spiral-bound notebook.

“No, sir, he hasn’t contacted me since earlier today. We talked

briefly and arranged to meet Saturday night after the game.” It was
going to be their first official date. They were bonded and mated for
life, and he’d never even gotten the chance to take him out on a real
date. Somehow, that shamed Dylan deeply. Preston’s whole life had
been difficult, and Dylan couldn’t even give him one night of joy.

The officer made a note. “Since Preston is eighteen, he’s free to

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107

do as he chooses, but Mr. Reems said he’s never done something like
this before.”

“He’s lived a pretty sheltered life.”
The officer made a note. “Are you certain that he didn’t talk to

you about coming here?”

Dylan hadn’t heard anything from Preston, not since the primal

scream just a while ago, if that was in fact Preston. But if Preston had
been able to blast that, maybe he was still alive. Preston had his
tricks. He said Dylan had them, too, now that they’d bonded and
twinned. Perhaps what had happened with Cory was part of it, but his
hunch was there was something more, something much more
powerful, maybe even deadly dangerous.

“Officer, it’s clear that Dylan has no idea of Preston’s

whereabouts. He was in school all day and then in my car with Cory
when Preston was said to have taken off.”

Officer Martinez sighed. “Did you perhaps tell him you were

seeing another young man?” His eyes darted to Cory, who seemed on
the verge of blurting out the truth, but Dylan cut him off by clasping
his hand again. “Could Preston have taken off over a broken heart?”

Dylan’s world crumbled. What if Preston had been able to “see”

into the car when Dylan had been riding up here with Cory? Without
knowing the context of what Dylan was doing with Cory, it would
look mighty suspicious. But again, Dylan’s gut was telling him this
wasn’t something Preston had done. Everything could be laid at the
feet of Grayson Reems. Manipulative son of a bitch. When Dylan got
his hands on him, and one way or another he would, he was going
beat him to within an inch of his life.

“He’s not dating me,” Cory said, squeezing Dylan’s hand. “He’s

my friend.” Cory took a deep breath. “He came with me to protect me
from my stepfather.”

Martinez’s eyebrows rose. “The man who just left? Barry Grade?”
Cory nodded. And before Dylan or Phillip could do anything, all

of it, all the horrible details came tumbling out. Dylan was frantic

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with worry over Preston, but he couldn’t leave Cory, not when he’d
found the strength to stand up and accuse his stepfather.

“Did you know of this?” the officer asked Phillip, who had settled

on the other side of Cory.

“Yes. Dylan told me they needed my help. They didn’t know

where else to turn.” Phillip took Cory’s hand. “It’s okay now. No one
is going to hurt you.”

Obviously overwhelmed, Officer Martinez didn’t seem to know

what to do. Dylan wished Nicolas Dillinger was there. He was an
officer and a member of the Twin Pines Grizzlies bear-shifters. If
anyone could be helpful to a victim like Cory, Dylan bet that
Dillinger could. But he didn’t know how to suggest that without
somehow impugning Martinez. Again, it was Phillip who made the
suggestion without undo feather ruffling.

“There is an officer that I believe Cory knows. An Officer

Dillinger. He’s been on the campus many times.”

“Yeah, he’s taking a class there,” Cory piped up.
“I believe he could be beneficial in this circumstance.”
Rather than being pissed, Martinez looked relieved to be calling in

someone else. “If you hear from Preston, I want you to call me. He’s
eighteen and therefore an adult, but I see no reason to worry his
guardian.”

Dylan took the card the officer offered and nodded. “I’m going to

go look for him.”

“Please check in so we don’t lose you, too.”
It was a not-so-subtle way for Martinez to make sure they weren’t

running off together.

“I promise.”
While Martinez stepped away to make the call, Phillip mentally

asked Dylan, “Have you heard anything from Preston?”

“I fell to my knees because I heard him scream. It was a primal

scream of fear, Phillip. I hope to God I never hear anything like that
again.”

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“Nothing since?”
“No. It’s just static. I’m terrified that Grayson did something to

him. I’ve got to get out of here and find him.”

“Go now. Martinez was simply making a courtesy call here as

Preston is of age.”

“Why did he come here?”
“Someone saw you and Cory get into my car and assumed you

were coming here.” Phillip shrugged. “Welcome to life in a small
town.”

“What about Cory?”
“I will ensure young Master Wright is taken care of.” There was a

mental shiver from Phillip. “That monster will not lay another finger
on him if I have to hire every attorney within a five-hundred-mile
radius. And you are more than welcome to use the car.” Phillip gave
his butler some kind of signal that apparently told him this.

“Cory, I’ve got to go.” Dylan gave Cory’s hand a final supportive

squeeze then let go.

Cory looked stricken. “Why?”
“Preston is missing.”
Cory nodded. “I get it. Go. I’m going to be okay.”
“You most certainly are,” Phillip said as he took up and squeezed

Cory’s hand.

Knowing he was leaving Cory with one of his most protective

brothers allowed Dylan to slip away from the house and back into the
car. “Get me to Lone Pine as fast as you can.” Once they were off,
Dylan tried calling Preston on his phone, but he got his own voice
prompting him to leave a message.

Rather than hang up, he waited for the beep, and said, “I don’t

know if you can hear this, but I’m coming for you. I heard your cry,
and I’m on my way to you as fast as I am able to go.” His voice
hitched, and he let out a long, slow breath. “I never said the words
because I thought it was too soon, and now I hope to God that I’m not
too late. I love you, Preston. I love you so much my heart feels bigger

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when I think of you. Because of you, I have a new skill that’s allowed
me to recognize and help a soul in torment. I’m honored that some
power in the universe thinks this is something I’d be good at. But
most of all, I’m honored you picked me. Please help me find you
when I get to Lone Pine because I’m not going to stop—”

The service cut him off, and he gritted his teeth not to bellow out

his frustration. How ironic that so many people thought he was a
heartless bully who despised homosexuals when he was the biggest
marshmallow on the planet. One way or another, he’d fix that
perception. He wanted people to know him, not think they knew him
because he was always stomping around on the defensive. Dylan
wanted to open himself up to life, to other people, but more than that,
he wanted to experience everything he could with his mate, his
partner, and his one true love.

“I’m coming for you, Preston. And I’m not going to stop until I

find you.”

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Chapter 12

“I’m not going to fall for your lies again.” Elias had gone away

for awhile, but he was back now, tossing bits of things down the well.
After peering intently at the items, Preston realized what Elias was
tossing down were ripped-up pieces from the clothing he had bought
earlier at the mall. Preston only realized this when he recognized a
piece of the fringe off the luscious suede jacket. Some silly part of his
heart broke that Elias had destroyed something so lovely for no other
reason than his own cold vindictiveness, but he realized the loss of his
clothing meant little if he in turn lost his life.

“I’m not lying, Elias.” Preston kept his voice calm as he continued

to rub the rope around his wrists. Slowly but surely, he was stretching
the fibers. An added bonus was that the sheer act of working at the
rope was keeping him warm. Moreover, it gave his mind something to
think on rather than the impossible situation he found himself in now.

“You lie like a rug, Preston. You make up tales to make yourself

important. Did you honestly think I would believe that Grayson’s
money came from you?”

Stunned, Preston frowned. At the time, sitting in his own puddle

of urine, Elias had believed the money was Preston’s. He’d only
changed his mind now to protect his personal vision of Grayson.
Preston found it truly amazing what the mind could do to protect
itself.

“I don’t care what you believe, Elias. The money is mine. It has

always been mine. And when I die, however I die, Grayson will have
no choice but to give all that remains to Danny Jones.” Preston
paused, giving Elias a chance to think on that. “You remember

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Danny, right? He’s the leader of the bear-shifting sloth.”

“Why would your money go to him?” Elias dropped in more of

the shredded clothing.

“Because he’s my brother.”
Elias sat there silently for a long time. His breath made plumes in

the air. Preston realized one other benefit to being down at the bottom
of the well. He was fairly insulated. His body heat was retained by the
stones around him. Without the wind to rip his heat away, he would
last longer down here than he would out in the open. It wasn’t much
of a benefit, but he would take what he could get right now.

“You are such a liar, Preston. How could your brother be Danny

Jones?”

“Because my father was having an affair with his mother right

before she moved away and married another man. It’s no accident that
Danny came to Twin Pines. He was drawn there. It’s said that all the
men who are a part of the animal-shifting groups are drawn to the
town where they will find their brothers.” Preston laughed. “I believe
that is meant in both literal and figurative terms.”

“I don’t believe you.”
“Go ask Grayson. He knows. He hates that truth, but he knows

there is no denying it. Trust me, it’s probably the only reason Grayson
has for wanting to keep me alive.” Preston felt the rope around his left
wrist give slightly. “If you continue on down this road, you’re going
to destroy Grayson. His little trick of misdirecting the police over to
Dylan isn’t going to work for long. All that will do is alert Dylan to
the fact there’s a problem.”

“So?”
“He’s my mate. He’s so alpha he eats men like Grayson for

breakfast. You saw him. Dylan is one big, badass motherfucker. He
will happily destroy all of you to get me back.”

“He’s nothing. He can’t even shift.”
“Says who?”
“Grayson.”

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“Huh. Didn’t Grayson also say a nexus can’t bond or twin? Well,

I guess he doesn’t know everything, now, does he?” Taunting Elias
served no purpose other than making Preston feel better. It was petty
and mean, but damn it felt really good to get in some swings back at
him.

Enraged, Elias tossed down the rest of the jacket, hitting Preston

in the head.

Preston pitched a screaming fit hoping Elias would toss down

more clothing. He was going to need every scrap of body-hugging
warmth to survive.

“I’m leaving now.” Elias stood.
“Bye-bye. Enjoy your last night with your mate.”
Preston looked up, but all he saw were stars. He wondered if the

police had contacted Dylan. He wondered if Dylan had heard his
desperate cry for help. Since he didn’t know, he took a deep breath
and continued to rub his wrists together and stretch the rope. Blocked
from the collective conscience of his packmates, Preston pushed
beyond them. He remembered feeling that this was the mountain
where their beast souls came from, so that was why they were drawn
to towns all along the Rocky Mountain range. It wasn’t just bears and
wolves. There were others. They had their own groups with their own
social structure and their own unique dramas. But behind all of that
was the source within the mountain, a primordial birth place that
fused their beast souls to their human souls. Since he was down
within the ground, Preston imagined himself pushing down deeper
into the mountain itself.

If there was a heart to the mountain, a place where their kind came

from, then he would find it. The other betas of his pack could
encapsulate his mental thoughts, letting nothing come in or go out,
but they couldn’t control the tap Preston had as the nexus. That was
wholly different. By bonding and twinning, Preston had violated the
laws of nature and of his kind, but he doubted that he and Dylan were
the first to cross that line.

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Most of the first collectives failed because their nexus failed. The

man either died, deliberately stopped twinning souls, or perhaps was
brave enough to claim a mate for himself. Knowing he wasn’t the
only heroic soul gave Preston some edge when he pushed into the
collective conscience of all the nexuses, past and present.

Unlike what he shared with his brothers, this was something

dangerous for Preston to access. The one time when he’d made
contact, he’d been astounded by the information and woke up four
days later. That had scared the shit out of Grayson, and Preston had
promised to never reach into that mental sludge again. But now he
needed help. Perhaps the occult knowledge was sacred and not meant
for a mortal mind, because his recall of what he’d learned during that
brief contact was spotty. Things came to him when he needed them,
and that was fine with Preston. Better that than to get everything
mentally slammed into him all at once and be rendered incapacitated.

Working at the rope kept him physically occupied as he continued

to press forward mentally, looking to connect to the collective of his
kind. Preston felt nothing. But he didn’t stop pushing. One way or
another he would get out of this. When he did, he was going to get as
far from the pack as he could.

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Chapter 13

Never had that drive felt so long. Dylan had been between Twin

Pines and Lone Pine about a dozen times. Even at an astonishing
speed, it still felt like forever. Dylan had the driver pull right up to the
compound.

At the gate, which was locked and patrolled by two alphas, Dylan

stepped out and said, “I want to talk to Grayson Reems.”

One of them spat on the ground near Dylan’s feet. “He’s not

taking callers this late.”

“He’ll see me. Or he’ll deal with having the police all over this

place.”

The spitter’s eyes narrowed. “Cops?”
“Grayson called them indicating Preston was missing. I’ll say I

saw him and followed him right to this very place.” Dylan’s gut was
telling him Preston had never left the land Grayson owned. No way
would that control freak let his nexus out of his grasping fingers. “To
verify my story, they will search every nook and cranny of this
compound. I imagine that wouldn’t be good for Grayson. Or any of
you, really.”

The spitter turned and spoke into a cell phone. Ah, modern-day

patrol units, Dylan thought. No walkie-talkies for these wolves.

While Dylan waited, he assessed the two alphas. They were about

six feet tall, but at best they each tipped the scales at one hundred
eighty pounds. They wouldn’t be any match for him even if they
worked together. Still, there were more of them inside. Calculating
quickly, Dylan realized he should have brought some of his brothers.
Coming alone was heroic but stupid.

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After a short chat, Dylan was granted entrance. He tapped at the

driver’s side window and told the driver to stay where he was with the
doors locked.

“You can bring the car on up.”
“No.” Dylan slipped through the gate. “We’re not going to play

any more games with the police department.”

It would be just like Grayson to claim Dylan and his driver had

trespassed on the compound, which was Grayson’s property, and have
them hassled for hours while he moved Preston somewhere else.

“Besides, it’s a nice night for a walk.” Taking a stroll would also

give Dylan a good lay of the land. He took a deep breath, but all he
smelled was anger rolling off the two alphas. They did not like having
a bear in their territory. But he was also an alpha in the eyes of the
pack by virtue of his bond with Preston. That caused all kinds of
messy connections in their primitive brains. It was certainly like that
for Dylan. He was mentally programmed to see them as the enemy,
but another part also saw them as allies. This confusion was why their
species didn’t intermingle.

“If you’ll just give me Preston, I’ll happily be on my way.”
Neither man said anything. They continued walking across the

scruffy drive toward the cluster of buildings.

“Wasn’t this place a commune back in the sixties?”
Dylan wasn’t surprised when they didn’t answer. Small talk was

such a forgotten art. Still, their silence gave him a chance to put out
his own distress call to Preston. Annoying static greeted his efforts.
And then he caught a whiff of a scent. He stopped where he was and
turned. Darting and weaving he followed the scent.

“What the fuck are you doing?”
Many people believed wolves had superior scent organs, but it

was bears that actually had the better schnoz. But Dylan, with his
blend of both, was able to pick out the combined essence of Preston
and himself. Layered into the scent were other bits and pieces
indicating that what he was smelling was Preston wearing his coat.

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One of the alphas reached out for Dylan’s shoulder. He never

connected. He was down on the ground whimpering before he even
knew what hit him. Dylan glared at the other alpha. “You wanna eat
some dirt, too?”

He snarled, but he didn’t come any closer.
Breathing fast then slow, and pulling the air into his nose and his

mouth in alternate waves, helped Dylan pinpoint the direction of the
scent. All he had to do was follow the wind back to the source. As
simple as it sounded, it was difficult when the wind kept shifting.

Behind and to the sides of him, Dylan heard the alphas alerting

the pack. In under a minute, all the alphas and the betas surrounded
him. All but Grayson. Instincts both human and animal kicked in. The
pack was running without their leader. That was bad, as it indicated to
Dylan that Grayson didn’t know what they were up to. They had done
something with Preston, and whatever they’d done to Preston,
Grayson wasn’t privy to it.

“Preston!” Dylan’s voice carried, but right as he called his name,

the wolves around him yipped and cried, drowning him out. He could
scream his bloody head off and no one would be able to hear him over
their racket.

“He’s close. You wouldn’t make all that noise to cover me up if

he weren’t.”

Their yapping had another effect which they clearly hadn’t

planned for. The noise drew Grayson from the compound. With great
ground-eating strides that streamed his gray hair back from his head,
Grayson walked toward them.

“Dylan?” Grayson frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for my mate.”
“Preston? He’s undoubtedly on his way to Twin Pines. He was

adamant that he see you.”

“You’re lying. I can smell that he’s here.”
Grayson’s eyes flickered ever so slightly, indicating his surprise.

“I assure you he’s not here. Whatever you’re smelling must be

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residual—”

“I smell him wearing my coat. I smell sour earth and urine, but

not his.” Sniffing at the group of them, Dylan pointed to Elias.
“Yours. Why would your urine be on my mate?”

Elias clung to Grayson’s side with such tenacity he made his

terror abundantly clear. Dylan figured if Elias didn’t calm down, he
was going to wet his pants. And that explained the scent on Preston.
Something happened that literally scared the piss out of Elias, and the
scent got on Preston.

“Where is my mate?” Primal fury filled up the core of his being.

Never in his life had he felt like this. When he played on the gridiron,
he poured all his frustrations out on the field and felt practically
reborn by the end of the game. This was different. Something very
dangerous from the most primitive part of his beast was clamoring to
come forward.

“His eyes are glowing red.”
Dylan turned and looked at the man who had spoken. Rather than

seeing him as he was in the moonlight, Dylan saw him as if he were
looking through a red filter. He saw the heat of his body. He saw how
the rising heat carried his scent.

“Fuck, his hands!”
Dylan looked down. His fingers were long, thick claws, and

rough, calloused pads covered his palms. He’d pushed the sleeves of
his sweatshirt up during the drive, and now they revealed thick hair
over his forearms. He felt the changes happening all over his body.
This wasn’t a quick shift like what he’d seen his brothers do. What
was happening to Dylan was a slow change into something that was
so primal it had no name. He wasn’t a man. He wasn’t a beast. He
was somewhere in between. Each moment that passed put him further
into the realm of instincts overtaking intellect.

“If you’re not going to tell me where he is, I suggest you run.”

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Chapter 14

Preston thought he heard Dylan calling his name, but then he

heard the entire pack yipping and baying, filling the night with the
sounds of the hunt. Were they only tormenting him? What could they
possibly be hunting? His heart thudded dully in his chest. Had Dylan
come for him and the pack was now hunting him?

As strong as Dylan was, he couldn’t take on an entire pack of

wolves. Once, Preston had witnessed them hunting during deer
season. They were sleek and quick in how they brought down the
buck. Once they had it down, it was screaming, and Grayson wouldn’t
deliver the killing bite. He said he liked the sound. Preston’s job had
been to sit with their gear so when they switched back they had
clothing and human comforts. Not leaving them to their own devices
had been one of the more difficult trials that Preston had ever
endured.

Awkwardly, Preston stood, straining to hear. His drive to reach

into the primal collective of the nexuses was dismissed now that he
had this new problem.

“Dylan!” His voice echoed back at him from the stone walls, and

he doubted anything got out the top of the well. But he kept calling
Dylan’s name. As suddenly as the howling began, it stopped. There
was silence and then a scream. Preston heard feet running by the well,
but he couldn’t tell if they were human, wolf, or bear. Something was
happening above him, but he had no clue what.

And then something looked into the well.
Red eyes peered at him from under heavy brows. A snout poked

out from the center of the face and wiggled, sniffing, and then the

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mouth opened, exposing four rows of glittering teeth.

“Dylan?”
The beast tilted his head.
“Dylan, is that you?” Preston now understood Elias’s urge to

urinate submissively. For the life of him, he wanted to, and might
have, but for the fact he didn’t have to go. Never in his life had he
ever seen anything so hideous. It wasn’t a bear. It wasn’t a wolf. It
wasn’t even rightly a combination of the two creatures. This was
something primordial. Far back into the past when man was more
beast than human, this is what he had been. But there was something
familiar about the monster, too.

For a terrifying moment, Preston thought the creature was going

to jump down into the well. If it did, it would crush him. There simply
wasn’t room enough for the two of them down here. But rather than
jumping down, the thing tossed back its head and uttered a soul-
splitting howl.

Preston tried to block the noise, but he couldn’t, not with his

hands bound behind his back. The mournful tone pierced his heart. He
responded with his own cry of anguish. Heat and power poured into
his body, allowing him to break the rope around his wrists as if it
were formed of nothing more than threads of glass.

When he looked up again, he saw not a horrible creature, but his

beautiful mate. Primal, alpha, and poised to destroy anything that
stood between them, Dylan called to that part within Preston that
would match him.

Slowly, the change swept over Preston’s body. His eyes changed

until he saw more movement and heat than reflected light. His nose
grew long and powerful, allowing him to smell minute traces of
minerals in the earth below his feet. Fur coated his skin, shielding him
from the cold. His fingertips hardened into claws, his palms turned
into the thick pads of a beast, and his teeth grew sharp enough to tear
into the bodies of his foes.

“Come to me.” Dylan’s voice was rough, almost guttural, his

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meaning more clear by intent than by words. But Preston understood
him.

Digging his claws into the softer areas between the rocks allowed

Preston to climb toward the top. When he fumbled and started to slide
back, he flipped his shoes off and used the sharp edges of his toes to
help him claw his way up.

When he was within a few feet, Dylan reached in and grabbed him

by the back of his jacket. He yanked him up, out, and into his arms.
Growling and snarling, they sniffed and pawed at one another in a
frenzy. Preston needed to assure himself that Dylan was okay, and he
seemed to have the same need. No words were exchanged, but there
was a clear understanding between them.

And then their touches changed. A new hunger filled Preston’s

body. He smelled the need on his mate and felt an answering desire
within his own flesh. Turning around, leaning over the rough stone
wall that circled the well, Preston presented himself to his mate.

With a roar, Dylan easily tore away the jeans and underwear that

blocked his access.

Preston lifted his bottom and whimpered.
Howling, Dylan grasped Preston’s hips and plunged his cock

within.

Searing heat along his rectum caused Preston to clutch the stone

wall and angle himself into an utterly submissive posture. Doing so
eased the thrust of Dylan’s drilling prick. His hands that were more
like paws wrapped around the thicker bones of Preston’s hips and
pulled him back as he rammed forward. God, the feel of Dylan was
incredible. The power in his body and the dire hunger of his need
astonished Preston. It was so intense it was beyond what they had
done in their human form only last night. This was so animal it was
positively bestial.

Dylan growled behind him and even though he spoke no words,

Preston thought he understood exactly what Dylan was saying. This
was good. This was raw, naked lust. It was animal and base, and this

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would be the final exchange that would fuse them irrevocably
together into something separate from what they were for the twenty-
four hours after their initial twinning. With this, their lives changed
forever. By this, they moved beyond the animal-shifting
brotherhoods.

As Dylan neared the crest, his grunts were punctuated with him

lifting Preston up so that he could force more of his cock within.
Looking down, Preston realized his jeans and underwear hung around
his hips in tatters. His cock was hard, thick, and bobbed with each
powerful forward thrust of his mate.

Just as Dylan climaxed, he wrapped one arm around Preston’s

waist and the other across his chest, lifting him up and slamming him
violently down onto his monstrous cock. Preston watched himself
climax. He jetted strings of thick cream out his prick while Dylan did
the same inside him.

Together they roared with completion and then clung to one

another, waiting for the violence to pass and their human souls to
reclaim their beastly flesh.

In that timeless moment between man and beast, Preston

connected to the nexus collective. They had accomplished something
that had happened only once before. A trial had been set, and they had
pushed through with one all-consuming goal. To be together. Not just
for a few stolen moments. Not just for the length of a human lifetime.
But to be together for all time.

“My sweet, beautiful Preston.” Dylan’s lips brushed against

Preston’s ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

“My passionate, powerful, and most daring Dylan.” Preston

turned his head and their lips connected.

“Who put you in the well?”
“Elias and the other betas.” Preston looked down into the black

pit. He shivered.

“I will kill him.”
“Please, my mate, I beg you to let him live.”

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Dylan drew a deep breath and wrapped his arms more fully

around Preston to shield him from the cold. “Why would you wish for
any of the wolves to live after what they’ve done to you?”

“Because they are like us.”
“How so?”
“Blending both man and beast is tricky, is it not, my mate?”
Dylan didn’t answer.
“Elias was trying to protect his mate. As cruel as what he did

seems, and as cruel as what Grayson actually sanctioned was, they
simply wanted to survive.”

“At the expense of your life.” Dylan hugged him harder, and his

human heart showed by his actions.

“What good does revenge do us now?” Preston held onto him.
There was a moment of stillness.
“Revenge satisfies that beast inside, but what does that teach those

who committed the wrong? The damage is done. The better lesson is
compassion.”

“Your human side is clearly smarter than mine.”
“I think your human heart is more compassionate than mine.”

Preston saw fully what happened in the back of the car, the very one
waiting at the compound gate, and he felt no anger at all. Dylan had
been bound and determined to help a man in trouble. “You owed Cory
nothing. But you vowed to help him anyway. And as much as you
wish to see his stepfather punished, you wished more to simply end
Cory’s torment.”

Dylan squeezed Preston tight and by so doing hugged him and

kept his cock buried within his clutching heat. “I don’t want to
separate from you yet.”

“I understand.” Preston didn’t tighten himself around his mate’s

prick. Doing so would push him out, so he stayed relaxed, holding
him within. Their joining was much more than symbolic.

“Cory could have taken the drugs in your pocket, left a detailed

note, but would that have been a fitting revenge?”

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“No. He’d be dead.”
“Moreover, there would be no guarantee his stepfather would be

punished for his crime. With the lone accuser dead, the case would
probably die, too.”

“Sadly, mon petit, that’s true.”
Preston thrilled inside to have his mate call him by that sweet

name. “But now he’s safe with Phillip, and a police officer is
investigating. There will be reports. There is a chance that his
stepfather will be punished. But more importantly, Cory will live and
hopefully go on to do something good in the world. Don’t you see
how that’s better than simple revenge?”

From the silence, Preston knew Dylan considered what he’d said.

Very softly, Dylan asked, “How did you get so smart?”

“I had many good teachers.” Preston kissed Dylan’s arm. “My

father was a harsh man, but in his own way, he taught me a lot. And
even though you won’t like this, so did Grayson.”

Dylan’s grip tightened, which pulled him out of Preston’s now-

tender bottom. “Damn.”

“You see what anger does?”
Dylan laughed. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. Rough, animal, and base. You claimed me again. And this

time, there is no going back for us.”

“What do you mean? I thought we were bonded and twinned last

night?”

“We were. But now, our beasts are mated as well.” Preston turned

and peered up into Dylan’s eyes.

A curious beeping intruded on their moment. It was Dylan’s

phone in Preston’s pocket. When he withdrew the cell, he discovered
a call from the driver. Dylan told him to continue to wait and he
would be there shortly.

“There’s a message, too.” Preston clicked, and he heard Dylan’s

voice.

“I don’t know if you can hear this, but I’m coming for you. I

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heard your cry, and I’m on my way to you as fast as I am able to go.”
His voice hitched, and he let out a long, slow breath. “I never said the
words because I thought it was too soon, and now I hope to God that
I’m not too late. I love you, Preston. I love you so much my heart
feels bigger when I think of you. Because of you, I have a new skill
that’s allowed me to recognize and help a soul in torment. I’m
honored that some power in the universe thinks this is something I’d
be good at. But most of all, I’m honored you picked me. Please help
me find you when I get to Lone Pine because I’m not going to stop—
”

The message ended, and Preston turned off the phone.
“I meant every word,” Dylan said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Preston leaned up and kissed him. “We have

choices to make, but for now, for tonight, we have earned the right to
some peace.”

“Have we?”
“We need to go. I need to tell my brother—”
“Your packmates?” Dylan asked.
“No, my real brother.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Danny Jones is my brother.”
Dylan’s eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open.
“No, Danny doesn’t know. I’d rather he didn’t, but I think he’s

going to have to know. There is a lot we have to tell our brothers. But
not now. Not tonight. Not when we’ve earned the right to be
together.”

With his clothing ripped up and hanging off him by a thread,

Preston walked with his head held high toward Phillip’s car.

Following beside him in his tattered clothing, Dylan asked, “Just

where the hell are we going?”

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Chapter 15

“This is just about the last place I thought we’d end up.” Dylan lit

the hurricane lamp, and rather than leaving it in the window as a
beacon to others, he pulled it away so he could use the light to help
him start a fire in the wood-burning stove.

“You know what you’re doing there?” Preston was wearing only

Dylan’s letterman jacket. With his hands buried in the pockets, he had
pulled the edge up considerably. The fact that he was barely covering
his cock and enticing bottom only distracted Dylan more. Preston had
long, slender legs that were right at the border between fragile and
strong.

“Damn distracting is what you are.” Dylan reached out and briefly

palmed a handful of Preston’s butt before Preston moved out of his
reach.

“Get that fire going first before you stoke mine.”
“I think I’ve got this down.” Dylan made a cone of fluffy kindling

with a layer of thin sticks above it, with yet another layer of thicker
branches with bits of bark attached above that. “If I can’t get this
going, then I’ll use my superpowers to incinerate the wood into
coals.”

“Seems like such a waste of your awesome abilities.”
“Does it?” Dylan fed another tube of lit newspaper into the stove.

To his delight, the fire seemed to catch.

After climbing in the car, they drove into Lone Pine, where the

driver was kind enough to go on a shopping spree with Dylan’s credit
card. They had new clothing, which neither of them was wearing at
the moment, and they had some food for later, but mainly, they had

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127

privacy at the cabin until the next morning.

One call to Phillip explaining their situation had Phillip putting

the driver up in the best motel he could find near the cabin. He also let
Dylan know that Cory had told the police everything and was staying
at Phillip’s home until further notice.

“He’s okay now, and I think he will be okay in the future. His

stepfather apparently saw the writing on the wall and took off. He
won’t get far. Dillinger was a great help. He mentioned a program
that will help Cory cope.”

Dylan was pleased that everything had turned out so well. And

now he had a long night alone with his mate. He looked up just in
time to see Preston leaning over the bed, straightening the covers.
This pulled his letterman jacket up and exposed just the gentle arcs of
both buns.

When Dylan growled low, Preston whirled around.
Waggling his finger, Preston admonished, “You get that fire

going, mister.”

“I got your fire right here.” Dylan cupped his cock. He was hard

again, which made him smile. He had a feeling that being turned on
was going to be a rather constant thing around his mate.

“I want it to be warm enough so we can clean up first.”
“Yeah?” Dylan considered the makeshift shower that was

essentially a tin pan above a drain in the back corner. It was rather
clever how they’d created a bin above that warm water could be
poured into.

“Yes. There are things I wish to do to you.”
“There are?”
“Are you going to echo everything I say?”
“Everything you say?” Dylan grinned. “Sorry. I’m not thinking

clearly. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

“Me, either.” Preston found several large pots and pans in the

kitchen, filled them with water, then set them on the stove. There
were rings of dried minerals from where others had done the same

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thing.

“Who owns this place anyway?”
“I do.”
Dylan’s brows rose. “You do?”
“You’re echoing again.” Preston kissed his forehead.
Dylan pulled him close and sucked at his semihard cock.
“Ah, ah, ah!” Preston danced back. “None of that yet. I see how

you are.”

Exhaling a long sigh, Dylan said, “Fine. Tell me about this place.”
“It was my father’s cabin. When he passed, it came to me.”
“With the trust.”
“Yes.”
Dylan had been stunned to find out that all the money the wolves

used was actually Preston’s money through his trust fund. Enraged
that Grayson was puffing his chest as the big man at Preston’s
expense damn near brought his primordial beast back out, but again,
Preston urged him to be compassionate. Preston didn’t care about the
money. There was more in there than he could ever spend in several
lifetimes. He wouldn’t reach his majority until he was twenty-one,
and until that time, he had to work with Grayson. Getting another
trustee would be a mess for many reasons. Besides, Preston pointed
out that Grayson would not want to make any more waves than he
had.

“Grayson is going to bend over backward to be considerate in all

our dealings from here on out. I’d rather work together than
antagonize him in any way.”

Reluctantly, Dylan had agreed.
They were sitting under the covers of the bed, watching the water

warm up while demolishing a bag of chips, when Dylan brought up
his greatest concern.

“What are we, exactly?”
“We are what we have always been.”
“And what’s that?”

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“We’re human. We’re beast. We’re miracle workers.”
“I need clear-cut answers, Preston. I need to know what to tell my

brothers.”

Preston nodded and finished chewing the chips in his mouth. “We

have to find a surrogate. Into that man we’ll imbue our nexus powers.
But it’s not so simple as that. The man we choose will be what we
once were. He’ll never mate. He’ll never bond. He’ll forever be the
bridge between brothers without the promise of finding a mate
himself.”

“But we can twin souls until we find this surrogate?”
“Yes. I don’t know how much time we have to pass the torch but I

know we can’t go on forever. If we fail to choose…”

“The choice will be made for us?” Dylan asked hopefully.
“I fear the chance will be lost entirely.”
“So we choose or our groups will have no nexus.” Dylan already

knew without a nexus his sloth would wither and die.

“I’m afraid so.”
“I can’t do that to someone else. I can’t burden another man with

something so hopeless.”

“Was your life hopeless?”
“No. But I found you.”
“Exactly.”
Dylan considered. “You’re saying that he will think that when

maybe that’s not the case?”

Preston shrugged. “Who can say? To know the mind of god is to

be god.”

“How do I pick someone?”
“I think we have to go with our gut. When we see him, we will

know.”

“But what if I pick the wrong man? What if he—”
“You can’t control what he does anymore than anyone controlled

what you did.” Preston sighed. “We are what we are, and we do what
we do. If we’re wise, we listen to others, but most of us have to

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stumble our way through life. Our parents tell us not to echo their
mistakes, and what do we do? We make those same mistakes again
because most of us don’t believe what they say will happen to us until
we experience it firsthand. It’s the nature of our beast.”

“The nature of our beast.”
“You can tell a fool a thousand times not to touch his tongue to a

frozen pole, but when he sees one for the first time, he will be
compelled. He will stick his tongue on it despite your warnings. But a
wise man will wonder why the pole is frozen in the first place, and
he’ll question his own strange compulsion to lick it. Still, the odds are
fifty-fifty that he’ll lick it, too.”

“How do you figure?”
“It’s the nature of our beast.”
Dylan laughed then sobered.
“You don’t look happy.”
“I am, but I’m worried. I want the best for my brothers.”
“As do I.”
“Your brothers treated you like shit.”
“They are still my brothers. You don’t understand because in your

pack there isn’t a lowest member, there isn’t an omega, not like with
my pack. Just as we have the ultimate alpha, we have to have the
corresponding lowest member. The runt of the litter, in some ways.
Everyone gets to boss that member. It’s a way for everyone to feel a
little superior and then be happy with their lot.”

“Yeah, happy, except for the guy getting shoved around.” Dylan

wadded up the empty bag of chips and set it aside. “I get it, that kind
of social structure. Intellectually, I grasp that’s how it is, but see,
when it’s the man I love getting shoved around...”

“I wasn’t beaten by my packmates. I just had to do more of the

grunt work. I had to help more often. But what you don’t see is that I
was also a confidant to many of them. They told me things they
would never tell anyone else because if I in turn told, who would
believe me? Besides, I wouldn’t tell anyway, because it helped me to

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131

build their trust. The more they trusted me emotionally, the less likely
they were to harm me physically.”

Dylan nodded and opened up his jacket, exposing Preston’s chest.

“I get it, I do, but I don’t want that in our relationship.”

“But it’s here, too. It has to be. You’re the alpha, and I’m the

omega.”

“No. You’re not my whipping boy. I’m not going to order you

around and—”

“Not like that.” Preston sighed as Dylan made lazy circles around

his nipples. “I’m not saying you’re going to treat me badly, but you
are extremely masculine where I am less so. I fully expect to support
you as you become a trauma surgeon.”

“Support me?”
“Financially, emotionally, spiritually, sexually.”
“I’m not letting you pay for everything.” No way was Dylan

going to become a mooch like Grayson.

“How very alpha of you.” Preston grinned and slid Dylan’s hand

lower. “If you had a trust fund, you’d be more than happy to keep me
in style, wouldn’t you?”

Dylan frowned because he’d been caught rather well. The fact

was he would have no moral issue with paying for everything, but it
chafed to have Preston do so.

“It rankles your pride. And I understand. That’s why I won’t be

paying your way.”

“No?”
“No, not in its entirety. But I do want to buy a house. I do want

you to live with me while you finish your schooling.”

“And what will you do?” Dylan allowed his hand to be directed

down to Preston’s cock. It was bumping up into Dylan’s hand like an
eager puppy.

“I want to make a nice home for you. But I also would like to find

out what I’m good at.” Preston uttered a little moan when Dylan gave
his cock a firm stroke. “I barely made it through high school, so I

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don’t think college is right for me, but perhaps some type of art, like
sculpting.”

Preston’s voice rose on the last word when Dylan slid his finger

down past Preston’s balls and rubbed against his sweet spot. “I think
that sounds like a wonderful plan.”

“And of course, each night, I would expect sex.”
“Of course.” Dylan pressed two fingers along that sensitive spot

between his ass and balls. “And we’re not going to have any silly
rules about sex, are we?”

“No.” Preston arched up. “No silly rules.” He gasped and lifted

his hands to pull Dylan closer. “Whatever feels good. Whatever we
agree upon. Whatever—ah, God, I’m going to climax!”

Dylan dove below the covers and took Preston’s cock into his

mouth. The rubbing and sucking caused him to thrash in earnest as he
struggled not to come. But Dylan wanted to taste him. Gently, he
moved his finger lower, slid it deep into Preston’s bottom, and rubbed
his sweet spot more directly.

“Ah, Dylan. My love. My mate. My—fuck!”
Preston climaxed, and Dylan drank all of him in. There was

nothing in this world that tasted as luscious as his mate’s pleasure.
When his mate was empty, Dylan let go and looked up. Preston was
smiling down at him, his hand tenderly cupping Dylan’s head.

“May I ask—”
“You don’t have to ask if you can ask. Just ask.” Dylan kissed his

way up his mate’s chest then settled beside him.

“Why do you shave your head?”
“I don’t. I’m bald. I have alopecia.”
“What’s that?” Preston rubbed his head more tenderly.
“It’s a disease that causes hair loss. I grew back my lashes and

eyebrows, but the rest is gone forever.”

Preston grinned. “And here I thought you waxed yourself like I

do.”

“Is that why you have no pubic hair?”

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133

“I used to shave, but it itches. Waxing hurts the first few times,

but I’m used to it now.”

“Do you want to keep doing it?”
“Yes. Unless it bothers you.”
“Naw. I think it’s sexy. You look like me. All hairless and clean

and I can see every little twitch when you’re trying so hard not to
come.” He grinned at Preston. “I like watching you.”

“I noticed.” Preston matched his grin. “I like watching you suck

my cock. You’re so intense. So serious. Like what you’re doing is the
most important thing in the world to you.”

“At that moment, it is.” Dylan kissed him tenderly. “But tonight,

there’s something even more important I want to do.”

Once the water was warm enough, they filled the bin over the

shower and took turns soaping up and rinsing off. It was leisurely and
sweetened by the fact the lights were low and it was almost like they
were the only two people in the entire world.

From the bag of supplies the driver had obtained, Dylan removed

the bottle of massage oil. He placed it on the bed then encouraged
Preston to lie down.

“You don’t have to do all this.”
“No. I don’t. But I want to. Did you know that in my studies

toward becoming a trauma surgeon, I took therapeutic massage?”

“You did?”
“I did. There’s an entire field of study devoted to the healing

nature of touch. It wasn’t specifically for my degree, but I thought it
was an important component.” Straddling his narrow hips, Dylan
started at Preston’s shoulders and worked his way down to his toes.
By the time he rolled him faceup, Preston was dreamy eyed and
grinning.

“You like?”
“I like much.”
Dylan continued along his front, ensuring that not a muscle went

without attention. Preston became putty in his hands. For a moment,

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Dylan thought he had fallen asleep. As disappointed as he was that he
wouldn’t be able to continue, he was also proud of the fact he was
able to relax his mate so deeply. But then Preston moaned and
stretched his hands high and his toes low.

“I can’t tell you how good I feel.”
“You don’t need to.”
“Why all this?”
“I wanted to show you that I love you.”
“I feel it every time you look at me.”
“I still wanted to show you.”
“Keep showing me.” Preston parted his legs around Dylan’s body.
With a grin, Dylan smoothed his massaging hands around his

cock, balls, and between his buttocks. A few pillows below his hips
lifted him, so when Dylan parted his legs wide, his mate’s hole was at
the perfect height for his tender, loving lips.

“Dylan.” Preston uttered his name on a breathless moan.
Taking his time, Dylan kissed and tongued his sweet ass until he

was wriggling helplessly for more. Into his bottom went one oily
finger, which caused Preston to sigh and spread his legs wider.
Another followed, but when he came too close to orgasm, Dylan
slowed his motions.

“Not yet, mon petit. Not just yet. Watch me.”
Carefully, Dylan slid the pillows out from under Preston and then

loomed over him as he oiled up his cock.

“Every time we’ve come together I’ve taken you from behind.

This time, I want to watch your face. I want to go slowly and see
everything that you feel. I want to share it all with you.”

Preston smiled. “I want that, too.” His gaze darted between

Dylan’s eyes and the movement of his hand against his cock.

“Are you ready for me?”
“Yes.” Preston lifted his arms, and Dylan lowered himself over

his mate, who felt so tiny below his massive body, but Dylan was
careful to keep the weight of his body on his arms.

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135

“Guide me into you.”
Preston reached between their bodies and pressed Dylan’s cock

against his sweet hole. Dylan closed his eyes at the rush of pleasure
that simple contact gave him. What they did was simply flesh against
flesh, but somehow it was the most profound feeling in the world.

Dylan opened his eyes and looked right into Preston’s eyes. “I

love you.”

“I love you.”
Slowly, keeping his gaze locked with Preston’s, Dylan slid into

him. Pleasure radiated from the point of contact all over his body.
Preston’s snug heat, the way he opened to him, even the almost
imperceptible whimpering sounds he made at the back of his throat all
stroked over Dylan like comforting hands.

“You are so beautiful.”
Preston blushed.
“That first night here, when I saw you over the two men we were

supposed to twin, I remember thinking how utterly beautiful you
were. And that before the night was over I was going to kiss you.”

“Really?”
“Really. And that one kiss was all it took. I was lost in love, and

nothing was ever going to be the same again.”

“Are you disappointed how things turned out?”
“No. I’ll miss twinning my brothers once I find the replacement,

but I’m not going to rush my choice on that. Once I do find another,
I’m sure I’ll still be welcomed in the sloth. Even though I lost, or will
lose, that exalted position, it’s okay, because I gained a partner. A
true mate and equal who will be with me through this wild ride called
life.”

Preston smiled and cupped Dylan’s cheek. “I remember looking at

you and knowing you were my mate.”

“How?” When Dylan went as deep as he could, they both closed

their eyes for a moment, sighed, and then reopened them.

“I don’t know. It was the way you looked at me. Your scent. The

way my hormones went crazy when you were near. I knew.”

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“Any regrets?”
“No. I wouldn’t change anything.”
“Neither would I.”
Dylan began to rock his hips, enjoying the way his mate echoed

his movements. Together they made a slow love unlike anything
they’d done before. This was easy and sweet, but every bit as
passionate.

“We still have to find our replacements.” Dylan had dreaded

having to make that choice until Preston pointed out that the universe
worked in mysterious ways. He wasn’t dumping a terrible burden on a
man but potentially giving him the greatest gift.

“We do. But not tonight.” Preston tightened around Dylan’s prick.
“God, you feel so good.”
“As do you.”
“I’ve been thinking about the mark that you want.”
“Yes?”
“If I bought you a ring, would you wear it?”
“I’d be honored.”
Unable to speak, Dylan nuzzled Preston’s lips as his urge to

climax grew ever more acute. When the rush became inevitable, he
flicked his hips deep and slow, until he finally came. Tightening
around him, Preston climaxed, spilling between their bellies.

Kissing him, Dylan rolled so that Preston was above him, and

they drifted off to sleep. For the first time in his life, when Dylan
dreamed of his future, he wasn’t alone. Preston was with him,
supporting him, through everything he did. Even when the time came
to pass on his torch to the next nexus, Dylan knew he wouldn’t be
alone.

THE END

WWW.ANITRAMCLEOD.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reading, writing, and white-water rafting are the three things

Anitra Lynn McLeod enjoys the most. You can visit her at
www.AnitraMcLeod.com.

Also by Anitra Lynn McLeod

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 1:

Powerful Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 2: Driven Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 3: Kinky Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 4: Devoted Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 5: Wicked Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 6:

Passionate Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 7:

Aggressive Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 8: Strong Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 9:

Dedicated Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 10:

Dangerous Alpha

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM