Belligerent Beta: Pack Partners Book Two

WILDE CITY PRESS

http://www.wildecity.com

Published in the US and Australia by Wilde City Press 2014

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Published by Wilde City Press

ISBN

: 978-1-925031-00-8

Chapter One

The cloying scent both called to him and disgusted him. Dan peered through his truck window,

happy to be safely ensconced behind the tinted glass. He rarely considered his werewolf side a curse,
until times like this. People scurried by, rushing to handle their daily tasks, ignorant of everything so
apparent to Dan and his heightened senses.

Dan had a task too, one he'd put off too long already. He crumbled the piece of paper in his hand,

tempted to shred it with his claws. It wouldn't matter. He had to do this. With a low growl, he
climbed from the truck, ready to do battle.

"Watch it!"
Not even thirty seconds into the mission, and he'd almost lost a toe thanks to an obviously

peroxided blonde looking into her oversized designer handbag and not where she was walking. He
scowled, and her eyes widened. She back away, then hurried to the other side of the row, only
glancing back at Dan twice. He must be losing his touch.

Dan dressed with care for jobs in public places. Scuffed black boots, laced tight—they made it

harder to shift. Worn and faded jeans, with a few knee and thigh rips as an added bonus—just in case
he did shift. It would suck to ruin his favorite jeans. Skin tight white tank top that showed off his
tattooed arms, shoulders and upper back—nothing like a ton of ink to scare off the small-minded.
Head cleanly shaved, beard full and thick—it enhanced his scowl and hid his dimples. Humans were
never scared of dimples.

He'd gleaned the entire look carefully from years of experience. What look scared the shit out of

most humans?  Scary tattoo-covered biker guy.  Tatted up and bulked out was a universal trigger that
moved people to the opposite side of the street.  Whatever worked to give him more space and less
hassle. Plus, Dan had grown to love getting the ink as much as displaying it as a living canvas on his
skin.  He considered the colorful artwork a reward for jobs well done, and, as the beta of his pack,
Dan  often  completed  jobs  that  would  make  others  squirm.  Very  few  things  turned  Dan's  stomach
though. If a job needed to be done, he'd do it. He'd been called smart, strong, and even wily. Others
called him an asshole. The second description probably defined him better.

The building loomed in front of him, large and forbidding. So many smells. Too many noises. It

took every bit of strength Dan possessed not to turn around and climb back into his truck. He had the
money. He could pay someone else to do this.

His grandmother's face popped into his mind. She'd roll over in her grave at the wastefulness.

Hell, she'd probably come back to haunt him, including daily lectures as to how she'd raised him
better than that. At almost forty years old, the last thing Dan wanted was a stern talking to from his
grandma's ghost.

With another firm step toward the entrance, Dan looked to the sky and gave his grandma a glare.

"Why'd you have to teach me to be responsible?"

Clearly, Nana didn't understand the horrors that awaited behind the swishing glass doors. Soccer

moms with screaming toddlers bandied about the aisles, cell phones cuddled to their ears with more
care  than  they  gave  the  kid  tossed  in  the  back  of  the  cart  with  a  free  cookie  from  the  bakery  for
company.  Little old men blocked entire aisles while they chose the cheapest box of instant pudding
they  could  find.  God  help  him  if  the  store  dared  to  be  out  of  plain  vanilla.  The  cheap  store  brand.
Then grandma would join the debate. Hours could be lost trying to save a penny.

And the dads, the wannabe grill masters. Oh, those made Dan the craziest. They touched every

single piece of meat in the display before choosing the steak they'd take home and grill to a chewy,
half-burnt, completely ruined crisp. They could ruin their steaks all they wanted, but they needed to
quit poking holes at his.

If Dan shifted right there, he could rip all their throats out and have the store all to himself.

Someone should make a grocery specifically for the lycanthropic inclined. Maybe he'd use part of his
inheritance to open his own. He couldn't be the only shifter who found the idea of grocery shopping a
form of special hell. Could he?

With the memory of his grandma's stern lecture on the importance of being fiscally responsible

echoing in his mind, Dan began to stalk to the entrance. He'd just crossed onto the sidewalk, narrowly
missing being run over by one of the dreaded soccer moms—they should really be outlawed—when
his phone rang.

Saved by the bell. He pulled the phone from his pocket and frowned at the display. Nathan, the

pack omega, who had never once called Dan.

“Nathan?” Dan answered the call quickly, already turning back to his truck. There had to be

something seriously wrong for Nathan to call him.

“D-Dan?”
“Yeah. What's wrong?”
“Well, L-Lex is at his therapy appointment, and Spencer went with him because Spencer thinks his

therapist is stupid, and Ruby is at a big meeting at work today so I didn't want to bother her, and—”

“Nathan. Stop. It's fine. Talk to me.”
“Lex said I should call you if I ever needed anything and—”
“Yes, you should.”
“O-okay. I had an accident.”
“Are you hurt? Where are you?” Dan fought back his annoyance. He needed information, not

explanation.

“B-by the library. On Sherman. I can hear the ambulance.”
“I'm on my way, Nathan. I'll be there in five minutes. Just hold on.”
Shit. Although Nathan wasn't exactly Dan's favorite member of the pack, their new alpha had taken

the omega under his wing. Almost to their third full moon with Lex as their leader, Nathan remained
their weakest adult member.

As Dan rushed to the accident site, he wondered exactly what he would find once he got there. If

Nathan needed an ambulance, it couldn't be good. Even with his reduced strength, he should still be
able to heal most damage. After over six months with their pack, three with the dedicated attention of
a new alpha, Nathan should be stronger, out of the omega stage, and into a more stable power range.

Gawkers filled the library's parking lot. Dan parked his truck at the curb on the street and jogged

to where he could see Nathan standing. Tall and slim, Nathan tended to hunch over and hide some of
his height. He'd let his blond hair grow out a bit since Dan had met him, and now it brushed over his
forehead. The dark circles he'd once had under his eyes had faded.

Dan quickly looked him up and down, searching for any sign of injury. He didn't look hurt at all. In

fact, no one did. Dan sniffed the air and picked up the scent of blood. Not Nathan’s though.

“What happened?”

Nathan reached out to Dan, then pulled back before making contact. His breath hitched, and his

heart pounded furiously. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. “I was leaving the library, and this kid
on a skateboard just came out of nowhere. I d-didn't see him, I swear. But I didn't hit him, Dan. I
didn't. I swerved and hit a car. He freaked out and fell, and he told everybody I didn't hit him. They
called the cops though, and said I did. But I didn't, Dan.”

“Okay, take a deep breath. You aren't hurt, and the kid isn't hurt, right?”
“N-no one is hurt. I'm f-freaking out.”
Obviously. Not even Dan’s presence had calmed him down. Dan scratched his head as he looked

over at Nathan's car. The front end was dented. Nothing too major. So why the hell was Nathan about
to hyperventilate?

“Man, he didn't hit me. I don't care what that lady says she saw. I didn't see the guy. He swerved

left, and I jumped right. Scratched my knee up when I fell.” The kid protested as the cops continued to
question him.

After inspecting the car, Dan returned to Nathan's side. Nathan's dilated eyes darted over to Dan.

He clenched his arms tightly across his chest. Dan placed his hand at the small of Nathan's back.

“Calm,” he whispered as he mimicked the action he'd often seen Lex take with Nathan.
Nathan nodded, and his eyes began to return to normal. He sighed but continued to hug himself

tightly.

“Good job,” Dan murmured. “Just stay calm. I'm here.”
Nathan nodded again and leaned closer. Dan startled for a moment, then stepped in so Nathan

could feel him. For months, Nathan had been skittish of everyone in their pack. Then Lex came along.
Their new alpha had changed a lot of things—most of all Dan's ideas of his position in the pack. He'd
thought he would become the next alpha. When their old alpha died in an accident and his toddler son
inherited the powers, Dan made sure to spend extra time with the kid. An alpha who wasn't capable
of performing the duties chose their successor. Dan waited to step up and become their new alpha,
already making plans for improving the pack. Two-year-old Aidan hadn't chosen Dan. Instead, he'd
bitten a human, former cop, and changed all of their lives.

Dan returned his attention to the questioning occurring on the other side of the parking lot. The kid

remained adamant that Nathan hadn't hit him. The paramedics looked him over, even as the kid
continued protesting. When the cop demanded the kid call his parents, his shouted protest could be
heard even without Dan's shifter hearing.

One of the cops strolled over to Nathan and Dan and rolled his eyes. “Damn kids. You know what

would have happened if I didn't call my mother? She'd have whooped my ass.”

“Mine too. And I'd have been grounded for a month,” Dan said.
Nathan leaned closer into Dan and didn't speak. Dan glanced down at the badge on the cop’s chest

and took note of his name. “So, Officer Ford, is there anything we need to do here?”

Ford glanced between Dan and Nathan and noticed the way Nathan hovered against Dan.
“You his dad?” the cop asked.
“His what? No. No, we're friends. Dan Keller.” Dan held out his hand and fought back a growl of

annoyance. Yeah, he shaved his head and had a bit of gray in his beard. The scary biker vibe didn’t
make him look old enough to be Nathan's father.

“Oh. Gotcha.” The cop smirked and flipped open his notebook. He added a note, then turned to

Nathan. “Mr. Ross, you want to go ahead and call your insurance company?”

Nathan continued to stare at the kid, so Dan nudged him. He jumped and turned toward Dan.

“Yeah?”

“Officer Ford asked you if you wanted to call your insurance company while we waited.”
“Oh, sure.”
Nathan pulled out his wallet and cell phone before taking a few steps away to make the call. His

hands still shook, and his breathing hadn’t evened out all the way.

“He seems spooked,” Ford said.
Dan’s hackles rose. “Wouldn't you be? Accused of hitting a kid? Almost doing it is bad enough,

but then for someone to say you actually did? I'd be scared too.”

“Easy, man. You make a good point. I don't think anything is going to come of it. We've got

Nathan's information, the kid swears up and down he wasn't hit, and the paramedics said he was fine
other than a skinned knee. We'll check with his folks to be sure, but I'd say you have nothing to worry
about.”

“Thanks.”
“No problem. Go on and see if Nathan needs help. I'll check in and see when we can let you guys

leave.”

Dan nodded and moved the few steps to Nathan's side.
“Okay,” Nathan said into his phone. “Thank you.”
Nathan ran his hand over his already tousled hair and sighed. “What a shitty day.”
“No doubt. What did the insurance company say?”
“I told them the car was drivable so I'll have to take it to a mechanic's.”
Dan frowned. “Not today. No way am I going to let you behind the wheel. We'll get the okay to

move it, and I'll park it in the back of the lot. It'll be fine until tomorrow. Sound good?”

Nathan nodded.
“Do you need to get anything out of there?”
“No…oh wait, yeah. My library books.”
Nathan walked around to the passenger door and pulled out a large shopping bag filled with

books. The side of the bag was emblazoned with the name of the local library.

Dan arched a brow. “You come here so often you have your own bag?”
“Um. Yes?”
Unsure how to reply, Dan maintained his silence. He'd never been a big library person. If he

wanted a book these days, he downloaded it. Nathan probably had a dozen books in the tote bag. They
stood awkwardly beside the car until Dan flagged down Officer Ford and got the all clear to move
Nathan's car.

He parked it, scowling at the grinding sound from the engine and the squeal of the brakes. What the

hell was Nathan doing driving the car like this? He was lucky he hadn't hit the kid. He stomped back
to Nathan's side and scowled at the cop.

“I'm going to get Nathan home.”
Dan herded Nathan into to his truck, then hurried to the other side and climbed inside. Nathan sat

huddled in the front passenger seat.

Chapter Two

Lex's Suburban sat in the driveway of his house. The sound of Lex and Spencer bickering with

each other drifted out from behind the closed front door. Nathan cracked his first smile since Dan had
met him at the library. He hurried from the truck toward the front porch with his big bag of books.

They found the alpha and his mate in the kitchen. Lex leaned back against the counter and glared at

Spencer. Spencer stood with his hands on his hips and glowered right back.

“No, you do it.” Spencer demanded.
“No. I'm your alpha. I command you to do it.” Lex scowled and crossed his arms over his massive

chest.

Spencer snorted and turned to the fridge. “Well, I'm your mate, and you can kiss my ass.”
Lex growled. “Fine. Nathan, call Mia.”
Spencer spun around as Lex tossed his cell phone to Nathan.
Nathan caught it with a snort, entered the password, and placed the call.
Dan stared back and forth between them all. He'd never understand the choice of Lex as their

alpha, a human instead of an experienced wolf, but the more Dan saw Lex in action, the more he
began to get the why. Lex's instincts for their individual pack members and their needs ran circles
around Dan's.

“Mia? Hey, it's Nathan. So Le—” Lex coughed and shook his head. “—I mean, I was wondering if

Aidan could come over for a while.”

Spencer stomped his foot. “You will pay for this,” he threatened.
Lex wiggled his eyebrows. “Promise?”
“Oh, I understand,” Nathan continued, “it's okay. Maybe another day.”
Lex growled.
Spencer hurried over to Nathan and swiped the phone from his hand.
“Mia? Hey, it's Spencer. Okay, so here's the thing. I got a new movie. And you know how certain

big grumpy types are about watching certain movies without someone age appropriate in the same
room. So I was hoping you'd let Aidan come over so we could hang out for a while.” Spencer turned
to Lex and shook his head. “Yeah. No, it’s okay. I get it.”

Lex growled again and snatched the phone from Spencer's hand. “Mia? I miss him. Yeah? Okay,

see you soon.”

He ended the call and glared at Spencer.
“See? If you'd just called her in the first place and quit trying to make us do your dirty work, this

whole thing would have been over five minutes ago. But nooooo. Big Bad Alpha Lex can't admit he
wants to spend time with his youngest pack member. Oh no. That would be bad. Could never do
something so vile as spend time with a kid who you obviously adore and who worships you right
back.”

“Enough.”
“Not quite. Told ya so. Now I'm done.” Spencer smirked and began rummaging through the fridge

again.

Lex turned his attention to Dan. “So yeah, sorry about that. Surprised to see you here. Everything

okay?”

Dan shrugged. “I'm fine.” He jerked his head toward Nathan, whose smile immediately faded as he

lowered his head.

Lex frowned and hurried over to Nathan where he hovered on the other side of the room. “What's

wrong?”

“N-n-nothing.”
The hesitation, the little stutter of fear, reappeared in Nathan's voice.
“Nathan. Breathe. Tell me.”
“I h-had a little accident. I'm fine though.”
As Nathan began to recount the details of the accident, Lex stood close in front of him. The

moment Spencer heard Nathan's words, he hurried over to Nathan's side as well. They huddled
around him, and Nathan finally began to relax.

Lex didn't have a lot of height over Spencer and Nathan, but his muscled shoulders stretched as

wide as Dan's. Spencer's dark hair flopped over his forehead in nearly the same way Nathan's blond
hair did. Even though Nathan stood a little taller than Spencer, the alpha's mate clearly had a larger
presence. Spencer didn’t slouch, didn’t duck his head and hide his face. Nathan needed to take a few
lessons in confidence from him.

Dan stood to the side and continued to watch. Everyone babied Nathan. Dan didn't get it. He

needed to toughen up, especially since he'd been accepted by the alpha. Nathan responded to Lex,
listened and calmed in his presence. He should be getting stronger. Nothing about Nathan went the
way things normally worked though. Hell, nothing about Lex did either.

After a few moments of hovering, the three men separated from their huddle.
“I really need to get some work done,” Spencer groaned.
“Go on.” Lex planted a smacking kiss on his mate's forehead and shooed him out of the room.
Nathan chuckled and watched him go.
“Nathan, you mind going over to Spencer's and getting some meat for tonight out of his freezer? I

forgot before we left for my appointment earlier.”

“No problem.”
Nathan hurried out the front door.
Lex leaned against the cabinet and turned his attention to Dan.
“He called you.”
“Yeah?”
“That's huge.” Lex ran his hand over his buzzed hair. “I know you don't get it, but it is.”
“No, I get it. It's big, but at the same time, why did he need help? It was a fender bender, Lex. He’s

what? Twenty-three? Twenty-four? He panicked over nothing, like he was sixteen and facing his first
speeding ticket. What happens when it's something serious? You've got to get him to toughen up.”

Lex growled and pushed himself away from the counter. “Get off your high horse, or I'll throw you

off. You don't know him, and you sure as hell don't know what he needs.”

“That's bullshit, Lex, and you know it. He's got to get stronger. He can't stay the omega forever.

His status weakens us all.”

Lex shook his head and sighed. “I know, Dan. And we're working on him. I want you to think about

something though. What weakens us more than an omega in our pack is a beta who doesn't see his

pack as individuals as well as a whole group. Nathan is a puzzle. Figure him out.”

Having Lex become alpha had been a tough pill for Dan to swallow. Times like this, when his

alpha stared at him with disappointment, helped Dan realize he'd not been ready for the job. He had
way too many loner tendencies for his own good. He liked his pack, but they weren’t the family he’d
had with his old one. “I'll work on it.”

“Good. And while you're at it, can you work on a way to explain to the doctors why my scars have

practically disappeared? 'Cause I have no idea how I'm supposed to explain the healing away, and I
have a follow-up appointment in two weeks. Plus this damn therapist. Shit.”

Several months before Lex had been bitten and turned into their alpha, he'd been stabbed while

trying to break up a robbery. He'd struggled both with the limitations the wounds caused his body and
the forced retirement that had come with the injuries. Since his change, Dan had been working with
Lex a couple of times a week to help him get a handle on his new strength.

“I'll come up with something. Want to go blow off some steam?”
“Yeah.”
They went out Lex's back door and into the yard, where they'd set up a makeshift workout area.

Typical gym equipment didn't cut it for them. Dan could easily lift twice the amount a human his size
could manage. If pushed? Triple. However, strength wasn't what he focused on with Lex. The big stuff
was flashy, sure, and at the beginning the alpha had wanted nothing more than to test the limits of his
strength. Lex learned the hard way that mastering the day-to-day tests took more skill. Things like
taking a glass out of the cabinet without squeezing so hard it shattered, or how to touch other members
of the pack without hurting them. They'd had a couple of close calls with Lex hugging a bit too hard.
Their alpha was a hugger. Luckily, Dan managed to escape having one so far.

Dan rolled his neck around his shoulders to loosen up while Lex knelt and tightened the laces on

his sneakers. He’d broken Lex of the habit of changing before working out. Who had time to change
out in the real world? He still chuckled over the time he’d beaten Lex while wearing flip-flops. The
alpha’s tantrum had brought the entire pack running. The alpha and beta took their positions at the start
of the modified cross training course they'd created together. The alpha hadn't managed to beat Dan
through the course yet, but Dan wouldn’t try the flip-flop trick again. He’d hate to break his winning
streak.

“On your mark, get set, go!” Dan shouted the moment Lex stood back up. They leapt into action.

First came the tire lift. The old airplane tires weighed in at almost a thousand pounds each. Dan had
hunted them down on the internet. Lifting the weight of the tires tested their strength; controlling the
fall took more skill. Lex had practiced the challenge daily since Dan had introduced it. Now, they
each flipped their tire, keeping them on the designated path until the end line.

“Ha!” Lex yelled as they finished at the same time.
Next, came a series of posts buried in the ground at different heights. Dan had salvaged some old

telephone poles after the phone company converted them to metal. They leapt onto the first post, set
about five feet in the air, and caught their balance. Dan leapt to the second, still slightly more agile
than the alpha, but not by much. He landed on the next post, about four feet away and only three feet
from the ground. Lex rushed his jump and toppled off his second post.

“Fuck!”
“Go back,” Dan reminded him. “Focus.”
Lex ran back to the starting post and jumped onto it again. Dan waited. If he went ahead, the entire

point of the lesson would be lost to Lex rushing to beat him. Dan didn't need to prove his skill to Lex;
he was stronger, faster, and had a lot more control. He'd also been born a wolf, which gave him a hell
of an advantage. Lex leapt again, this time sticking his landing on the second post.

Dan turned his attention to the third and final post. Sitting seven feet high and about ten feet away

from the second post, this one challenged even Dan's skill. He crouched down and pushed off, locking
his gaze on his target. He landed, wobbled for a second, and then gained his balance. He looked back
and watched as Lex repeated his motions and landed beside him on the final post.

“Hell yeah!” Dan bounded from his post and ran to the next challenge. They'd constructed two

salmon ladders high on another set of phone posts. Dan jumped up and grabbed the metal bar hanging
between the two posts. Prepping for his first pull-up, Dan took a deep breath and flexed his arms. At
the last moment, he lifted the metal bar and hooked it into the next set of notches several inches above.
He continued, focused on each new set of notches, and made it to the top of the obstacle before doing
one final lift and dropping to the ground with the metal bar still gripped in his hands.

This time, Dan didn't wait for the alpha; he wanted Lex rushed to see if he could focus for the final

test of the challenge. Footsteps pounded behind him as Dan ran the hundred or so feet to where one
final post remained. He jumped up, grabbed the china tea cup perched on the post, and landed safely
on the ground with the cup cradled in his hand.

Lex landed beside him, the telltale crunch of porcelain showing he'd failed the final task.
“Fucking hell. Son of a bitch. Shit!”
“Think fast.”
Dan interrupted Lex's tantrum by tossing his cup at him. Lex took a step back and caught the

delicate china safely in his hands. He held it up for Dan's inspection and grinned.

“Better,” Dan said and reached out to thump Lex on the shoulder. “The hardest thing is the

transition between. You've heard people say they didn't know their own strength? You literally don't
know how strong you are. Your body isn't accustomed to it yet, but you're getting better.”

Lex nodded, but his attention had turned toward the house. He grinned and took off at a jog. Dan

followed behind and realized Mia had arrived with little Aidan. The toddler had the alpha wrapped
around his finger.

“Pa!”
Dan chuckled over Aidan's shortened version of Lex's title. The first time Lex had heard it, he had

freaked  out  thinking  the  baby  was  calling  him  daddy  instead  of  alpha.  Dan  would  never  forget  the
terrified  look  on  the  alpha's  face.  With  Mia's  support  and  Aidan's  unconditional  acceptance,  Lex's
transition  to  alpha  had  been  smoother  than  Dan  imagined  any  other  turned  alpha  would  have
experienced.

Mia had even pulled Dan aside not long after Aidan had bitten Lex to make sure he wasn't upset.

Truth was, yeah, part of him stung over Aidan’s rejection. He'd wanted to be alpha, thought he
deserved it. The other part? Well, it understood that their wolf instincts didn't lead them astray. Aidan
had made the best choice for the pack based on his instincts. Dan trusted the instincts of the wolf more
than anything.

By the time Dan reached the house, Lex had Aidan up in his arms and the toddler babbled away

nonsense as he patted Lex's scruffy cheeks. Dan leaned against the kitchen counter next to Mia and
watched them in action. The lines of tension between Lex's eyes had already eased, and Dan's own
stress level lowered. The alpha's emotions affected them all, even if he still didn't realize the extent

of his power.

“Do you want to go outside and run around?” Lex tossed Aidan gently in the air and caught him

again. Aidan laughed and nodded, then pointed to the back door with a demanding grunt.

“Pa. Out.”
“Do you mind?” Lex asked Mia.
“Go ahead. Have fun.”
Lex shot Spencer a look they all caught before he left the house.
Mia waited about thirty seconds before she turned to Spencer and glared. “He needed a play date

with my kid. Really, Spencer? What the hell happened at the therapist?”

Spencer hopped up on the kitchen counter and looked around the room at them. “First of all, I want

to say that Lex knows I'm going to talk to you guys about this. I just…I feel weird telling his private
stuff, and I wouldn't if he didn't say it was okay.”

Nathan moved over to Spencer and leaned against his leg. “We know you'd never betray his trust.”
Spencer leaned over and nuzzled against Nathan for a second before he straightened again. “Okay,

so Lex hates lying. It's not who he is. You guys probably know this by now. But he has to lie all the
time since the change. To his friends, his old boss, the doctors, everybody. He gets that he has to. He
really does understand. But it's breaking him down too. I don't know what to do.”

Dan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. Things were

complicated, but there had to be a solution. Bottom line, their secret had to be kept. Dan had no doubt
Lex would do everything in his power to protect his pack, although having doctors and shrinks poking
at him every other week and cops used to solving puzzles wondering at the changes in him…well, he
didn’t blame Lex for struggling.

“Should he stop going?” Nathan asked.
“He doesn't need to go,” Mia added. “He has us.”
“Maybe. What if they cut off his disability money though? I think all this is required for him to

keep getting it.” Spencer ran his hands over his head and sighed. “You should have heard her
questioning him. You could tell she didn't believe a word he said. He couldn't stand it. I thought he
would change right then and there to prove her wrong.”

Dan scoffed and drew everyone's attention. “Our alpha has more control than that.”
Spencer flinched a bit, then nodded. “You're right. I know you're right.”
“Dan…come on.” Mia chastised him in her gentle way.
“I'm not going to sit here and let you guys go on like Lex is weak. Don’t be absurd. There's another

answer. We just have to think of it.”

“So much has changed for him,” Nathan said. “How can he hide it?”
Dan scratched his fingers through his beard, then met Nathan's gaze with a smile. “He can't. What's

changed for him?”

“Um, he became a werewolf?” Nathan frowned.
“What else?” Dan turned his attention to Spencer and raised his brows.
Spencer looked back and forth between Nathan and Mia. “He has… me?”
“Exactly. And what do they say? Love changes everything.”
“I don't get it. How does it make him not lie?”

Dan grinned and crossed the room to Spencer. He reached out to the alpha's mate before checking

himself and reaching for Nathan instead.

“Because he's a fool in love. Watch and learn.”
Dan turned back to Nathan and mocked the therapist's imagined voice.
“Lex, you're getting so much better. What happened?”
Dan pulled Nathan close and glanced over his shoulder at Spencer. “I met the love of my life. I

had to get better for him,” Dan said, deepening his voice to sound more like Lex. He turned back to
Nathan and batted his eyes. “You're amazing, Spencer. You're gorgeous, Spencer. You've made me a
better man, Spencer.”

Nathan snorted and looked away. “He's right. He's so right.”
Mia giggled and bumped her shoulder against Spencer, who groaned and hid his face in her dark

hair.

“You know I'm right,” Dan added. “The women will all swoon, and the guys will all gag and

change the subject.”

“Do you really think that will work?” Mia asked.
“I do. Look, we've all been helping Lex deal with his wolf. It's been the focus of everything for the

past couple months. It's important, and he's got to do it. This isn’t the wolf though. These are
humans—they need a human explanation. What are the doctors going to say? It's the miracle of love.
Lex can sell it. And let's face it, him finding you has helped him the most. Hell, Spencer, all they have
to do is see the way he looks at you.”

“I think you're right.” Mia chuckled and leaned into Spencer. “It is adorable the way he gets heart

eyes when he looks at you.”

Spencer blushed and pushed her away. “Shut up. He does not.”
“You should see what happens when Spencer sees Lex,” Nathan teased. “Little cartoon forest

animals appear and dance around him.”

“Okay, that's enough.” Spencer hopped off the counter and glared at them all. “I'm going to go

outside and play with my mate.”

Dan laughed and watched him stomp away. Spencer couldn't hide his snort of laughter as he closed

the door. He looked back at Dan and nodded his thanks.

Nathan and Mia both leaned into him. Mia looked up and met his gaze.
“Thank you, Beta.”
Dan shivered at the acknowledgment of his title. Pack members had never really sought him out

like this, leaned into his touch and gathered strength and comfort. He thought back on Lex's earlier
challenge to him. Figure out the puzzle. He could do it, if he needed to, even though people weren't
his strength. His pack needed him to be a better beta.

Dan glanced down at Nathan. He just had to figure out where to start.

Chapter Three

“White Knight Automotive. Our Bishop won't let you get rooked. How may I direct your call?”
“Hey, Sally. It's Dan. Bishop busy?”
“Oh hey, Dan. Yeah, he's in the bay working on an old van. He's cussing like a sailor at the thing

so it's probably a good time for a break.”

Dan chuckled as she covered the phone with her hand and screamed for Bishop.
Trying to find out where to start solving the Nathan puzzle hadn't been as much of a challenge for

Dan as he feared. They'd left Nathan's car parked at the library after the accident. Although
technically drivable, Dan didn't want Nathan behind the wheel again until someone he trusted looked
over the vehicle.

Bishop came on the line with his usual charm. “Why if it isn't Doxi-Dan, my main man!”
The joke got older and older every time Bishop used it. “Can't you get some new material?” Dan

groaned.

“Nope. It never gets old referring to you as a laxative.”
“Uh-huh. Hey, got a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“You work with Farm State Insurance?"
“Yeah, why?”
“Got time to bring your truck over to the library on Sherman?”
“Shit, man. You in a wreck? Everyone okay?”
“I'm fine. It's for a friend. He had to swerve to keep from hitting a kid and hit a car instead. The

front end is pretty banged up, but I'm more concerned with how it sounded when I moved it out of the
way. I'd rather have you take a look than some random place his insurance company picks.”

“No problem. I'm on my way.”
Dan had forgotten to return Nathan's keys after moving the car in the library lot. He'd found them

the night before when he'd cleaned out his jeans pockets. As Dan drove his truck over to the library to
meet Bishop, he hoped he was doing the right thing. Nathan didn't do well with strangers, and Dan
worried coming back to see his banged up car in the library lot would cause more stress. Not that Dan
really got why, but maybe if he took some of the worry from Nathan over the car, it would give him
another clue into how to help Nathan grow stronger.

The rumbling sound of the tow truck announced Bishop's imminent arrival before Dan's friend

appeared in the lot moments later. The large black and white truck stopped behind the cars and
Bishop opened the checkered door.

“Don’t start.” Bishop glared as he hopped down from the truck.
One of Dan’s oldest friends, Bishop had started his own business about five years prior. He’d

hired Sally to help with the office, and she’d insisted they needed a gimmick to stand out in the highly
competitive world of mechanics. Bishop’s name became her mantra for the business. The truck was
decorated in black and white, and Bishop sported a black T-shirt with a large white chess piece on
the front.

“Sally ordering supplies again?”
Bishop took off his hat and used a checkered cloth to wipe his brow. “You have no idea. She

wants to have a chess tournament in the parking lot. How the hell will a chess tournament bring me
business?”

“Don’t know that it will. I wouldn’t want to argue with her though.” Dan turned to Nathan’s car to

hide his smile.

“A Honda?” Bishop groused as he followed Dan. “You know how I feel about Civics, Dan.”
Dan chuckled and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Don't be an asshole. They have a great

reputation.”

“At least it's not a Kia.” Bishop tipped back his cowboy hat as he looked Dan up and down.

“Wait. He? Do tell. You got a piece on the side? Finally?”

Dan's stomach flipped, and anger began to ripple through him. He'd spent the entire evening getting

himself used to the idea of protecting Nathan. To hear him reduced to a piece on the side…

A growl began to form deep in his chest, but Dan fought it back. “Bishop, heel.”
Although teasing and Bishop went hand in hand, his friend raised his hands and backed off at Dan's

words. Instead, he turned his attention back to the vehicle and crouched beside it to check the
crumpled bumper.

“I don't see anything too terrible. Going to have to order a new bumper. This one's cracked. I'll

have to get it back to the shop to be sure, but from here, I don't see anything too terrible.”

“Sounds good. It's under the hood that has me more concerned. Nathan…well, I don't think he's had

the means to take care of it the way he should have.”

“Hmm.”
Dan ignored Bishop's puzzled noise. “Need help getting her loaded up?”
“Sure.”
They pulled the chains from the rear and began loading Nathan's car onto the back of the truck.
Bishop whistled softly and drew Dan's attention.
“What's wrong?”
“These tires are bald. No tread at all.” Bishop walked to the back of the car and frowned. “All

four of 'em. You think the engine is just as bad?”

Dan sighed. “I have a feeling its worse. Look it over for me and let me know how much it'll take to

get it in good shape, okay?”

Bishop hmm'd again. “Something you need to tell me there, buddy?”
“No.”
“Sure about that? You seem mighty protective of the twinkie.”
“Don't call him that. You don't even know what he—just shut up.”
Bishop cracked up. “Uh-huh. My point exactly. You’re mighty defensive over someone who isn’t

important. So who is he?”

“A friend.” Dan’s cheeks began to heat. He turned away before Bishop could notice the telltale

red spot forming on his shaved head. He’d not been able to hide anything since he’d shaved his hair.
Not that there was anything to hide. Nathan was a friend. So what if Dan hadn’t really thought of him
that way before now. Hell, he’d not really thought of Nathan at all.

“You really not going to tell me anything else? Alrighty. I'll stop asking.”
“Who do you think you're kidding? You'll ask every five minutes until I tell you.”

Having known Dan since high school, Bishop was one of the few people who would have any

business asking Dan questions about his life. That's what came from twenty long years of friendship.
Problem was, Bishop had no clue about Dan's shifter side, and Dan had never felt the need to
enlighten him. Now wasn't the time to start explaining pack. Never would probably be the best time.

“That I will.” Bishop came around the truck and leaned against the side. “Not to get all girly on

you, but you know I'm here for you, right?”

“Yeah. And you know I'm not a big talker. I appreciate it though. Just take care of Nathan's car for

me, okay?”

“I got this, brother. It's not like you to go out of your way for someone, so this guy must be special.

Although you haven’t shaved yet, so the jury’s still out on this one.”

“I haven’t shaved? What the hell are you talking about?”
Bishop poked Dan’s cheek. “You hide your secret weapon. I never stood a chance with the ladies

when you showed off your dimples. ’Course, you never looked twice at them, so that helped my
cause. I could console them after your brutal rejection.”

“You’re such an asshole.”
“I know, and you love assholes.” Bishop laughed at his own horrible joke and opened the truck

door. “I'll call you tomorrow, once I get a look under the hood, and let you know what the damage is.”

“Thanks again.”
“Hey, Dan.”
“Yeah?”
“Does he have a hot sister?”
Dan rolled his eyes and walked back to his truck. Once Bishop's truck pulled out of the lot, he

called Nathan to let him know what he'd done.

***

The next morning, Dan knocked on Lex's front door before he pushed it open and stepped into the

living room. He found Nathan curled up with a book in one of the overstuffed leather chairs in the
alpha's living room wearing blue track pants, a T-shirt, and striped socks. He looked relaxed until he
glanced up, startled at the interruption, and quickly put the book down onto the side table.

“H-hey,” Nathan said as he jumped to his feet and stepped in front of the side table.
Dan raised a brow. “What're you reading?”
“Uh…” Nathan's voice drifted to nothing, and he began to fidget where he stood.
“Uh. Sounds interesting.” Dan leaned to the left and caught a glimpse of the book. He tried to read

the title upside down, but it didn't seem to make sense. “Barefoot…does that say Contessa? What kind
of book is that?”

“It's a cookbook. She's on TV.”
“And you're reading the book?”
“Well, yeah. I like her. She seems nice.”
Dan took another peek at the book cover and looked back to Nathan. “She does look nice. But how

does she cook?”

Nathan grinned. “I don't know yet. I want to pick a recipe to try.”
“By reading the entire book?”

“Well, yeah.”
“No, no, no.” Dan shook his head. “That's not how you do it.”
He reached around Nathan and scooped up the book. “This is how my grandma taught me to pick a

new recipe. You take the book and let it fall open to a random page. That's the one you try first.”

Dan glanced down at the recipe and scowled.
Nathan looked at the page as well. He snickered.
“It usually works better,” Dan grumbled.
“There's nothing wrong with—” Nathan glanced at the recipe again “—warm goat cheese in

phyllo.” He couldn't even read the title of the recipe without smirking.

Dan huffed and snapped the book shut. “There's everything wrong with that.” He let it fall open

again and smiled. “Now we're talking. Company Pot Roast. Man, I haven't made a roast in years. Too
much hassle for one person.”

“I've never made a roast,” Nathan said as he moved closer to Dan and looked at the recipe.
“I didn't know you were a cook.”
Nathan shrugged, but his eyes had lit up. “I'm not, really. I'd like to be. Just never really had the

chance. I thought I'd pick a few recipes and, when I got my car back, I could get the ingredients to
make something. Lex said he didn't care, and Spencer really doesn't like doing all the cooking.”

Nathan rarely got enthusiastic about anything. In fact, Dan had never seen him this animated. He'd

started speaking up a bit more but still stuttered nervously when he spoke unless their alpha was
around. If Lex wasn't present, either Nathan didn't speak at all, or he whispered in a monotone. Dan
had never quite known what to make of his behavior, but he had to admit he liked the changes he saw.
He'd like to see Nathan happy. Maybe getting his car situation resolved would help.

“Well, speaking of your car, that's why I'm here. Bishop called. He has some news and asked me

to stop by the shop. I thought I'd stop by and pick you up so you could hear what he has to say yourself
instead of me passing along messages.”

“Yeah, I'd like that. I hope it's good news.”
Dan didn't think it was, but Bishop hadn't given him any details. “Why don't you bring the book

with you? We can stop by the grocery on the way back. I was heading there yesterday when you
called.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah. Let me get my shoes on.”
Nathan went down the hall to his room. Dan flipped through the cookbook again while he waited.

He glanced at the side table and noticed several others stacked there as well. Cooking wasn't really
something Dan had a big interest in. He made simple food, and that was good enough for him.

What he liked wasn't the point though. Lex had accused him of only caring about himself. Dan

didn't think the accusation was entirely accurate, but it was close enough. He didn't tend to notice
things like other people did, someone like Mia who could tell at a glance when someone had a
problem, or Spencer who always managed to get the perfect birthday gift.

Dan didn't pay attention to those details. Maybe if he had more of an interest, his pack wouldn't

feel so separated from him. It wouldn't hurt to try, and now that he had the idea, it seemed like Nathan
would be the perfect place to start. He wasn't good at the touchy-feely business, but Dan could take
care of a problem. If he helped get Nathan's car fixed, maybe it would be enough to show he wasn't as
aloof and oblivious as his pack seemed to think.

Nathan left Lex and Spencer a note taped to the fridge before they locked up the house and started

driving into town.

“Hey, in the glove box, there's a notepad and pen. You want to make a list of what we need for the

pot roast recipe?”

“Sure,” Nathan said. He retrieved the items and flipped the book open. The rest of the drive to

Bishop's shop passed with only the scribble of pen to paper as Nathan wrote down the list of
ingredients.

When they stopped, Nathan stiffened at the shrill noise coming from inside the shop.
Determined to put his observation skills to use, Dan decided now would be the perfect time to

practice. “Hey, why don't you wait here while I go see where Bishop is?”

“Okay.” Nathan shivered as the grinding noise started again. “You sure you don't mind?”
“I'll wave you in when I find him, okay?”
Nathan nodded and flinched at a particularly loud bang from inside the shop.
Dan climbed out of the truck and entered one of the bays. Bishop worked at the other end of the

shop, filing down a piece of metal. Dan waited until he stopped, then called out.

“We're here,” he hollered.
Bishop lifted a hand in greeting. He pointed toward Nathan's car, which sat in the far bay. Dan

started walking that direction, and they met beside the vehicle. Bishop used his checkered rag to wipe
grease from his hands.

“Missed a spot.” Dan returned Bishop’s teasing from the day before by poking at a black mark on

Bishop’s cheek.

Bishop huffed and slapped his hand away. “Can’t be all clean and pretty when you’re around, or

you’d never get laid.”

Dan snorted. “Sure, you keep thinking that. Nathan's in my truck. He wanted to hear what you found

for himself.”

“See? You brought your boy with you. You should be thankful I’m not looking my best.”
“Bishop—“
“I know. He’s not your boy. No problem. Before you get him, you need to know something.”
“Yeah?”
“If he was mine, I wouldn't let him back into this thing.”
Dan paused, tempted to correct Bishop's assumption yet again. If he said something like that in

front of Nathan, Dan had no clue how the omega would react. In a way, though, Nathan was his. If he
needed to change his thinking about the pack, considering the members of lower status than himself as
his didn’t seem to be a bad way to start.

“Okay. Why?”
“It's not been taken care of. Tires are bald, brakes are shot, and don't get me started on the engine.

Even if I fix the damage from the wreck, which wasn't all that bad, I wouldn't feel right about letting
him take it out of here without some serious work and cash put into it.”

“So what's your recommendation?”
“I sell it for scrap, and he puts the cash toward a new one.”
Dan ran his hand over his face. “I'm not sure that's an option.”

“I wondered. Well, not many people I'd do this for, but I've got one in the back I'm fixing up to

sell. Had a desperate housewife in here who bitched to her husband when it needed work. Didn't have
all the bells and whistles she wanted. I bought it off of them so I could finish the work. I'll sell it to
you for what I've got into it.”

“Okay. Let me go get him. He needs to hear what you have to say.”
Dan went to the bay door and whistled to get Nathan's attention. After waving him in, he waited

until Nathan had hopped from the truck and jogged over to him.

“So?” he asked.
“Not good,” Dan answered.
Nathan sighed. “Okay.”
“Hey, I trust this guy. He's not going to jerk you around, I promise.”
Nathan nodded, and they turned to walk the rest of the way into the shop together. When they were

close enough, Nathan held out his hand to Bishop.

“Thanks for looking at it for me,” he said as they shook hands.
“Any friend of Dan's is a friend of mine.” Bishop turned and gave the car a quick frown before

turning back to Nathan. “So the damage from the accident isn't that bad.”

“It's the rest of the car, right? I just haven't had the money to take care of it like I should.”
“And it shows. Sorry, but if you were my family, I'd tell you it was time to get something new. It'll

take a lot of money to get it up and running the way it should be.”

“Money I don't have.” Nathan shook his head for a minute before looking up and meeting Bishop's

gaze. “Okay, so what are my options? I believe you when you say it's not safe to drive as it is, but I
don't have the money to get it fixed.”

“Well, we can sell it at auction. Won't get you much, but honestly, I think it's your best bet at this

point.”

Dan watched Nathan's face fall. He cleared his throat. “Bishop has a loaner you can use in the

meantime, don't you, Bishop?”

Bishop sent a quick glance at Dan before nodding. “Sure do. This is the friends and family plan, so

don't go telling everybody I'm a nice guy, okay?”

Nathan chuckled. “Sure.”
“Come on. The loaner's out back. I've got another day or so worth of work to do on it before it's

ready.”

Bishop gestured for Nathan to go first, then glared at Dan. “You owe me,” he mouthed. “Big time.”
Dan nodded and followed Nathan out the back of the shop. Bishop pointed out a little silver Ford

with a hatchback. Nathan gave it a puzzled glance, and then looked over his shoulder at Dan.

“I don't think I can afford this,” he muttered under his breath.
Dan lifted his hand and placed it on the back of Nathan's neck. “Bishop owes me one. We'll work

it out, okay?”

“But—”
“Nathan, you have to have a car to get to work. It's not like public transportation runs out there by

Lex's. Let me take care of this for you.” Dan ran his thumb over the pulse in Nathan's neck. It fluttered
under his touch, Nathan's blood pounding in his veins.

He turned his head and looked up at Dan, studied him for along moment, then nodded. “Okay.

Thank you.”

Dan nodded. “Okay, Bishop. You'll let us know when it's ready?”
“Yep. Had to order a part. It should be in tomorrow, so give me a day or two.”
“Sounds good.”
Dan shot Bishop a look, and his friend nodded. Having known each other for years came in handy

at times. Bishop knew he'd take care of the details later, and it would give him a chance to give Dan
hell about Nathan.

Nathan was already sitting in the passenger seat by the time Dan got into the truck. He turned in his

seat and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

“What?”
“I don't know why you're being nice to me.”
“I'm…trying. Lex said some things to me that really hit home.”
“He has a way of doing that, doesn't he?”
Dan chuckled and started the truck. “He really does. Now, on to special hell, otherwise known as

the grocery store.”

Nathan snorted. “Hate it, do you?”
“So much. You have no idea.”
“Oh, I have a pretty good idea. Man, the smells. And all the noise. The registers beeping, the cart

wheels squeaking, people talking. It's overwhelming.”

“Exactly. Hell.”
“Well, you know what Churchill said, if you're going through hell…”
Dan smiled. “Keep going.”
Instead of taking them to the big grocery store on the main road, Dan went farther into town to one

of the specialty food markets. The place was crazy expensive, but if Dan couldn't get his meat
special-ordered, he'd rather get it there. Plus, if Nathan wanted to be a foodie, he'd need to learn
about places like this.

They got lucky and found a parking spot near the front.
Nathan grabbed the list and hopped out of the truck. “I've never been to this store. It's smaller.”
The red brick building had a striped awning in front. Baskets of flowers sat on the sidewalk, and

aproned employees pushed bag-filled carts out to customer's cars. Dan stepped up beside Nathan and
hooked his hand onto Nathan's neck. They walked inside, and Nathan took a deep breath. He gave a
little cough, then looked up at Dan with a smile.

“Still doesn't smell great, but it's much better than the store I normally go to.”
They stopped long enough for Nathan to pull one of the smaller carts from the row before heading

into the produce section. They grabbed carrots, onions, potatoes, leeks and all the fresh herbs the
recipe called for before heading back to the meat department. Once they picked a roast, Dan noticed
Nathan glancing back the way they'd just come.

“Did we forget something?”
“Oh, no.”
“So…what are you looking for?”

“It's nothing. We've got everything.”
The excitement had dimmed a bit in Nathan’s eyes. Dan didn’t like it. “It's not nothing. Tell me.”
“Well, I was just wondering if they had goat's cheese here. I mean, I've never had it before and

don't even know if I'd like it, so it's not a big deal.”

“So you want to try to make those phyllo things?”
Nathan shrugged. His shoulders hunched up, and he’d ducked his head down. Dan really didn’t

like it at all.

He ran his thumb over Nathan's neck and turned his head a bit. “Hey, you want something, you

speak up. If I have to work on being nice, you have to work on saying what you need. Deal?”

“Okay.” The light came back a little.
Dan couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Good, you go back to the cheese area and see what

they've got. I'll head out to the truck and get the recipe book so we know what else we need.”

Nathan grinned and pushed the cart away. Dan watched him go before turning and heading to the

truck. His heart flipped at that little smile, and the spring in Nathan's step had him catching his breath.
Damn, he liked seeing Nathan happy. He must be spending too much time with Lex. If he didn’t watch
it, he’d start hugging everyone next.

By the time they made it back to the house, Nathan danced in the seat with excitement. “Everything

smells so good. I can't wait. Can you believe how many kinds of cheese they had? I can’t believe they
let us try some. Have you ever had cheese with apricots in it? I’ve never seen anything like that
before! Did you see how much they cost? Could you believe it? Thanks for doing this. For letting me.
I couldn't…well, just thank you. I hope it's good.”

Dan reached over and grabbed Nathan's hand. “It will be. And thank you. Because that was the

first time I've ever had fun grocery shopping.”

Nathan grinned and grabbed the bags. “Come on. Let's get cooking.” The grin slipped, and he

paused. “Um, you were going to stay, right?”

“Yeah. I hope that’s okay.”
“It's more than okay. So I was thinking. The roast takes a couple of hours, according to the recipe,

but the phyllo only takes like twenty minutes. So we should go ahead and start the roast now, right?
Because we'll want it to be ready when Lex and Spencer get home.”

“Sounds good. Where are they, by the way?”
“Spencer's working over at his house. He works here sometimes, but he likes having all his

computers set up just so and he doesn't want to turn the other spare room into his office in case
somebody else from the pack needs a place to stay. I mean, they probably won't, because I'm the only
one who's kinda homeless, but they might, right? And Spencer said even though they could stay across
the street at his house, it wouldn't be the same as staying in the same house as their alpha if they
needed him.”

It was the most Dan had ever heard Nathan say at once. They stood in the kitchen, bags piled on

the  counters  from  their  shopping  trip.  Nathan  chattered  away  as  he  unloaded  their  groceries  and
appeared  finally  completely  at  ease  with  him.  He  reached  out  and  hooked  Nathan's  neck  again,  the
gesture  both  foreign  and  familiar  all  at  once.  Nathan  stepped  into  the  touch,  leaning  his  head  to  the
side so Dan's thumb brushed his jawline.

“Yeah,” Dan murmured. “That makes sense. So what time will they be home?”

“Um, not for a while. A few hours. Lex is out at Wesley's. There was some issue with the farm, so

he went to help out.” Nathan took a step closer and turned so he could look into Dan's eyes.

Dan hadn't noticed all the colors in Nathan's eyes before. It was easy to miss unless you were this

close. They swirled with blues and grays, a stormy blend of color that matched the confused emotions
Nathan showed too often. Dan leaned forward and breathed into Nathan's neck. Nathan trembled in
response.

This wasn't what he'd planned, this physical closeness. Dan didn't know where these sudden urges

came from. He wanted to pull Nathan closer, smell him more deeply, and taste him. Everything.
Instead, he pressed his forehead against the side of Nathan's head and then backed away.

“Okay, then we don't have a lot of time to get started, do we? Let's get cooking.”

Chapter Four

By the time Lex arrived home, the meat had been roasting away for several hours and the house

smelled amazing. Dan's mouth watered at the mixed scents of meat, onion, and the other vegetables.
Even better than the delicious smells, Nathan hadn't frozen up on Dan once in the past few hours.
Their alpha, however, didn't seem to appreciate the delicious aroma; he looked like he'd been sucker
punched.

Nathan's nervousness returned the moment he looked at Lex. His reaction seemed to make Lex

worse. The alpha scowled and stomped over to the back door. He stared out at the yard with his arms
crossed over his chest.

What the hell was going on? If Lex wanted him to figure out this puzzle, the alpha needed to

provide a few of the missing pieces.

“Hey, Nathan. You want to get the cheese things started?”
Nathan nodded and began fidgeting with the ingredients they'd already set out on the counter.
Dan caught Lex's eye and gestured him outside. They went out on the deck, but Lex kept going,

stopping only when he'd reached the farthest point on their training course.

“What's going on?” Dan asked.
“I don't know what to do,” Lex answered.
“Then let me help.”
Lex rarely asked for assistance; he had a stubborn streak matched only by Dan’s own. If anything,

their similarities helped Dan understand how much it took for Lex to admit his problem.

Lex ran his fingers through his hair. “One of Wesley's cows disappeared. Nothing major, or really

out of the ordinary. It happens, or so he says. I don't know anything about it. Then he found the body,
or what was left of it.”

“So something killed one of his cows?”
“Not something. Someone. Someone like us.”
“Okay, explain.”
Lex pushed out a long breath. “There were definite claw marks on the carcass. Wesley knows

more about that than me, and he said it was definitely a werewolf. Not that I needed the verification. I
could smell it. Him.” Lex turned and thumped his head against one of the telephone poles they used
for training. “It was Nathan, Dan.”

“Wait…what? You think Nathan killed an animal, in his wolf form, by himself?”
“It doesn't make sense, but I could smell him, Dan. You know he still has that slightly stale smell.

It bugs me, always has. I noticed it right away with him and knew something was wrong. He didn't
smell right to me, even before I understood what it meant. His smell was out there. All around the
body.”

“That really makes no sense. Why would Nathan kill one of Wesley’s cows? He has to know we

would be able to smell it, would know immediately it was him.”

“I don't know. And I have no clue how to handle this. Wesley is pissed, not that I blame him, and

we're both really confused. I know Nathan didn't have much there for a while, but he's been eating.
Why would he need to take down an animal that size? And it had been eaten, or partially so.”

“And you're absolutely positive it smelled like Nathan.” Dan leaned back against a tree and ran his

hand over the bright tattoos on his arm. It was the one on his chest that drew his thoughts though. The
hamsa hand he’d recently had inked, a symbol of protection and his role in the pack. Its position
directly over his heart reminded him to be strong, to be wise. He needed the reminders as his mind
swirled with the implications of the information Lex was telling him.

“It smelled stale, just like Nathan.”
Lex lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hand. He looked defeated.
Dan didn't know what he could do, but his gut told him they had made a mistake. It couldn't have

been Nathan. Not the man he'd spent the entire day with, who seemed so desperate to belong, who got
excited over tasting cheese and relaxed at the gentlest brush of Dan’s thumb on his neck. No, Lex and
Wesley were wrong. It wasn’t Nathan.

“I think I need to head out to Wesley's and take a look around. Not that I doubt what you’re saying,

but I've got a bit more experience than you.”

“Please, go.” Lex lifted his head and stared into Dan's eyes. “Did I fuck up with him, Dan? You've

been telling me to toughen up on him, but that didn't seem to be the right way to go. I trusted my gut.
What if I was wrong?”

“Did you trust your gut, or did you trust your wolf?”
Lex frowned. “What?”
“There's a difference. If you were listening to your wolf, the alpha inside you, then something is

definitely wrong here. Our wolves don't lie, Lex. That's lesson number one.”

“I don't know. I honestly don't know.”
“I'll go check it out. Let's keep this between us for now.” Dan walked over to Lex and laid his

hand on the alpha's shoulder. “I'll help, no matter what we find. You were right about him. He’s…”

Lex nodded. “Yeah, he is. Thanks, Dan. Call me as soon as you know something.”

***

Lex's Suburban rumbled down the road before it stopped in Dan's driveway. Dan’s ears perked up

at the sound. He wasn’t expecting a visit from the alpha. Scents of roasted meat and cheese floated
into his house soon after. Dan opened the front door and found Nathan climbing out of the vehicle.

He hadn’t expected to see Nathan, either. After leaving Lex’s, Dan had gone straight out to

Wesley’s. He’d examined the area thoroughly before heading back to his place to think. Not even a
hot shower had calmed his conflicted thoughts. He shivered as the evening air brushed against his
bare chest, tickling his chest hair. He'd thrown on his shorts after his shower, but hadn’t bothered with
a shirt.

“I—I thought you should at least be able to try it since you helped make it.” Nathan walked onto

the porch. His gaze drifted over Dan’s chest, absorbing the colorful tattoos Dan usually kept hidden
beneath his clothes. Nathan jerked his gaze back up and shuffled back and forth nervously before he
handed over a foil-wrapped plate.

“It smells good. Thank you.”
“Can I come in?” Nathan backed away as he asked the question, anticipating Dan's rejection.
Instead, Dan reached out and stopped him with a touch to the arm. “Sure. You did the hard work,

you should at least get to see me take the first bite.”

Dan carried the covered dish into the kitchen and unwrapped the foil. “Damn, this smells good. I

think your Contessa knows what she's talking about.”

“Try the goat cheese first.” Nathan bounced on his toes and leaned over to grab one of the pastries

from the plate. He held it out for Dan who leaned forward and took a bite.

Nathan squeaked and scooped his other hand under the phyllo to catch escaping cheese. He

laughed when it plopped into his palm.

“Never heard you laugh before. You should do it more often. And give me some more of that.

Damn, that's better than I thought it would be.”

With a pleased grin, Nathan held the rest of the pastry out. Dan took it gently between his teeth.

The tartness of the goat cheese burst into across his tongue, followed by the sweet, buttery crust of the
phyllo. Dan let out a happy little moan as he chewed.

Nathan's breath hitched, and he took a step back. Dan followed as he licked his lips clean. “Where

you going?” Dan reached out for Nathan and caught his wrist. Nathan froze, staring down at his arm.
Dan had never noticed how pale Nathan’s skin was. He ran his thumb over the pulse point, grinning
when it thumped happily at his touch. He inhaled, his senses categorizing all the delicious scents
Nathan carried with him, from the food to his own scent, the one Dan needed to imprint deeply into
his thoughts.

“What…what are you doing?” Nathan asked.
Dan grinned. “Not a thing.”
He backed away, not wanting to spook Nathan further, but he'd gotten what he wanted. A nice,

deep breath of scent straight from the source. He understood why Lex had been concerned. The scent
of the predator from Wesley's farm was really close to Nathan's, but there were subtle differences.
Subtle and slight, but there. Nathan wasn't the one who'd killed the animal.

“Now how about I try some of this roast. Is it as good as the goat cheese?”
“I think so,” Nathan answered.
“You think?”
“Well, I didn't exactly try it. It smells good though.”
“Wait. Why didn't you eat?”
Nathan shrugged. “Lex was being weird, which meant Spencer was nervous. So I just packed up a

plate for you and asked if I could borrow Lex's truck. Do you think they had a fight or something? Or
is it me? Did I do something wrong?”

He hugged himself and began to pace back and forth. “Maybe I overstepped by cooking? It’s

normally Spencer’s job. Maybe he didn't really mean it when he said he didn't mind if I cooked some.
Is it one of those providing for your mate things? I don't know. I don’t understand the mate thing. He
didn't seem to be lying to me. He really didn't. I thought he didn't like cooking very much. He’s good
at it though, and Lex always goes on about how good his food is.”

Dan reached for Nathan and placed his hands on Nathan's shoulders. “Nathan, breathe. Lex had a

bad day, that's all. Everything is going to be fine. You know how it is. The alpha's mood affects the
pack. If Lex is worried, we're all worried.”

Nathan seemed confused. “I didn't…I mean, I didn't know he was upset.”
“Nathan?” The omega's heart had practically skipped a beat, and now it pounded away in his

chest. His gaze drifted to the side. “Why are you lying to me?”

The skip repeated, and Nathan scrambled backward. “I'm…not.”
“Nathan. I'm the beta of your pack. Don't think you can get away with lying to me. Tell me.”

Nathan's back hit the wall. He chewed on his bottom lip as he looked up and met Dan's stare.
“I didn't know his mood affected ours.”
Dan paused, his thoughts shifting. He didn't know? It was Alpha 101. Nathan must have had at

least one alpha prior to coming into their pack. How did he not know? He didn’t understand mates,
and he didn’t understand alphas. What else didn’t Nathan know? If Nathan didn't know the basics of
pack structure, the minimum of what an alpha's abilities meant, then…

Dan stepped closer, crowded Nathan back against the wall. He breathed in, took in the scent of

fear and confusion. He focused his hearing, heard the rabbit quick thud of Nathan's heart. Dan drew
his finger down Nathan's arm, the tiny goose bumps tickling his fingertips. He leaned in and pressed
his forehead gently against Nathan's.

“You don't have to be afraid of me,” Dan whispered. “I'm not going to hurt you.”
Nathan's heart raced faster. “I-I know you won't.”
The stutter revealed the lie. “No, you don't know. I don't know why, but you don't. So I'm going to

tell you. Look at me, Nathan. Look into my eyes.”

Nathan glanced up, his pupils blown in fear.
“Use your sight. I'm not going to hurt you.”
Nathan nodded.
“Now listen. Listen to my breathing and my heartbeat. Can you hear it?”
Nathan nodded again.
“I'm not going to hurt you.”
Nathan shook his head, and his brow furrowed.
“Come here.” Dan drew him closer still, pressed his body against Nathan and surrounded him

completely. He wrapped his hand around Nathan's neck and guided him forward until they were
pressed together from shoulder to hip. With Nathan's face pressed into Dan's neck and Dan's other
arm wrapped tightly around his waist, Dan repeated his mantra. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

The fight finally went out of Nathan. He whimpered and breathed Dan's scent more deeply into his

lungs.

“You're okay now. I've got you.”
Dan didn't even know what hurt he was trying to mend, the extent of the damage that needed to be

healed. The wounds ran deep, worse than he'd realized before. His earlier reminder to Lex ran
through his mind: trust your wolf. Dan's currently demanded he protect Nathan and make him whole
again.

Nathan looked up at Dan with an expression Dan hadn't seen before on his face. They were close

enough in height that they were nearly eye-to-eye. Nathan’s expression wasn't quite peace, or security,
but it was close. He leaned in and ran his nose along Dan's chin, up to his ear. His breath tickled the
sensitive skin, and Dan shuddered. His ears were his weakness, and Nathan had just discovered that
fact.

His tongue snuck out, barely swiped against the lobe of Dan's ear. Dan tightened his hold and let

out a shaky breath. He should stop him, shouldn't he? Hold him close like Lex tended to do. His body
didn't seem to understand the desire of his brain. Dan tilted his head slightly to the side and gave
Nathan better access.

Nathan tasted again, this time tugging the lobe between his lips. He let out a little purr of

satisfaction and nipped the skin with his teeth. Dan groaned and pushed Nathan farther into the wall.
With his fist clenched tight in Nathan's T-shirt, he fought the urge to lift Nathan and pull his long, lean
legs around Dan's waist. It wouldn't take much, just one quick adjustment, and he could have Nathan's
ass pressed to his dick. He'd be perfectly placed.

Dan fought the instinct with all he had. He didn't know exactly what Nathan was up to. Hell, he

doubted Nathan knew what he was doing, but Dan didn't want to scare him again.

Nathan continued exploring the sensitive skin on Dan's neck, seemingly oblivious to Dan's more

carnal thoughts. With each lick, each hint of hot breath on his skin, Dan's cock thickened. He adjusted
his stance to allow his dick room to move in his shorts. Nathan mumbled his displeasure at Dan's
movement and gripped Dan’s bare back to pull him closer.

One side thoroughly explored, Nathan nipped his way to the other side of Dan's neck. Dan moved

his neck agreeably, letting it fall toward his shoulder as Nathan licked and scented and drove Dan
wild. His cock approved, wanted more friction, demanded Dan do something, anything, to release the
ache building inside.

Nathan thrust his tongue into Dan's ear, and it was the final test. Dan gripped Nathan around the

waist and lifted him off the ground. Nathan grumbled and wrapped his legs around Dan's waist.

Dan simply leaned his neck closer and let Nathan return to his exploration. Then he pressed his

hard length against Nathan's and froze.

Nathan stilled in his arms and raised his head. “D-Dan?”
Dan fought every urge to scream in frustration and ran his hand soothingly up and down Nathan's

back. “It's okay.”

“Your heart sped up.”
“Yeah, it did.” He continued petting and smiled. “My ears are kind of ticklish.”
“Oh.” Nathan blushed and slid his legs from around Dan's waist. “I didn't mean…”
“It's okay. You were getting my scent. It's natural.”
What wasn't natural was Nathan's lack of sexual response. Dan had been ready to strip the omega

naked and fuck him senseless, but when he'd pressed his dick against Nathan's crotch, there'd been no
answering hardness. Nathan wasn't aroused at all. He was simply following his instincts and getting
the scent of the second strongest member of his pack. Some beta Dan turned out to be. If Nathan's wolf
wasn't broken, he'd recognize the truth. Dan's arousal should be a call to Nathan's wolf. He'd either
answer, or not, but either way, the instincts should guide his reactions.

Scent-marking Dan like he had, well, Nathan should be completely aroused. He'd declared himself

and his intentions to Dan's wolf, but he hadn't understood what he was doing. He hadn't meant it. Dan
backed away a step, keeping his hands at Nathan's waist. He'd curse his stupidity later; now, he
needed to keep the connection he'd made with Nathan. He needed Nathan's trust to find out why a
wolf that smelled a lot like Nathan had come into their territory. He had to find out why Nathan's wolf
was so broken he didn't understand the basics of being a wolf.

With one last deep breath to control his baser instincts, Dan forced another smile. “You heading

back to Lex's tonight, or do you want to stay here?”

Nathan frowned, then glanced over at the plate of pot roast still sitting on the counter. “Well…I

guess I need to find out if Lex needs his truck back tonight.”

Chapter Five

Waking up with a warm body curled against him was an anomaly for Dan outside of the full moon.

After they ate dinner—the roast tasted even more amazing than it smelled—they cleaned up and went
to bed. Dan kept his shorts on, and Nathan stripped down to his boxers. The rest of Nathan’s instincts
might need work, but his lack of inhibitions about his body fit most wolves. They didn’t care about
nudity, and an injured wolf craved skin on skin contact with his pack. With what he’d learned, it
didn’t surprise Dan how much Nathan craved touch.

Dan untucked his leg from beneath the cream sheets. His normal morning ritual entailed a slow

wake up, lots of coffee, and a hot shower. This morning’s routine would be much different. Not that
Dan particularly minded. Nathan had settled his head against Dan's chest, had an arm curled over
Dan's stomach, and had a leg tucked between Dan's. Nathan didn't seem to care whether or not it was
normal to need this extent of closeness to his pack. Dan began to wonder if craving touch was the only
instinct Nathan really possessed.

He'd woken up with lovers like this, but never someone he'd not fucked or at least planned on

fucking. Pack members curled against each other, but it more resembled the puppy piles of a new
litter of pups. They sprawled every which way, seeking comfort and warmth from the closeness of
pack, of family. Nathan curled over Dan like they’d spent the night ravishing each other. He clung to
Dan’s chest. And Dan liked it a little too much.

After last night's experience, Dan needed to spend some serious time getting Nathan back into the

appropriate box. Namely the hands-off, pack-only, never gonna get him naked and sweaty box.

Dan's cock protested. It didn't seem to mind the warm weight of Nathan's knee settled against it.

Oh no. Dan's dick didn't mind Nathan's presence at all. Problem was, it wasn't going to get any
satisfaction, just like it hadn't the night before. With a stern lecture to himself firmly in his mind, Dan
eased Nathan off of him and made his way to the coldest shower in the history of cold showers.

He'd been labeled a polar bear before and didn't mind being called a hot, older gay man. A white

streak in his beard matched the one he had on his muzzle in wolf form. It made him appear older than
his actual age. He might be pushing forty, but he kept himself in shape. He didn’t mind the white
patch. Everyone in his family had one. The streak had been on his wolf his entire life, but it wasn't
until he grew his beard that his human form began to look older. Either way, Dan had welcomed the
hot young men who wanted someone like him. He'd always thought the other kind of polar bears were
crazy—the ones who jumped into icy waters just for the hell of it. As the frigid water of the shower
hit his chest, Dan figured he'd officially earned both labels.

Dan didn't stay under the freezing spray for long. He dried off and went back into his bedroom to

grab some clothes. He found Nathan blinking awake from his bed with a puzzled frown on his face.

“Morning,” Dan said with an attempt to keep his voice neutral. It wasn't the omega's fault his blond

hair had fallen across his forehead or that he looked ready to be seriously rumpled. Dan tried not to
imagine him flushed and sweaty, skin pink where Dan’s beard had rubbed. He’d be pink everywhere.

Dan glanced over his shoulder, considering another dip into the icy shower might be in order.
“Hey,” Nathan mumbled. “I forgot where I was.”
“No problem. Shower's all yours. I'm going to get dressed and make some breakfast.”
“Okay.”
Dan went into his walk-in closet and pushed the door shut. He waited until he heard the shower

start before jerking on some clean clothes and pulling out some sweats and a T-shirt for Nathan.

“I will not like the sight of him in my clothes. It doesn't mean anything.” He had a weakness for

seeing a lover in his clothes, but refused to look at Nathan that way after last night's disaster.

Dan shook his head at his own assholeishness as he made his way into the kitchen. He’d been

single entirely too long. Maybe he should take Bishop up on one of his many offers to go out. His best
friend never minded being his wingman at one of the gay bars around. Hell, Bishop enjoyed any
attention he could get. Dan turned on the burner beneath the frying pan and added some butter. With
the butter sizzling away, he cracked a couple eggs into the pan before dropping a couple of pieces of
toast into the toaster. It wouldn't be much of a breakfast, but Dan still hadn't found the time to make it
to the grocery store to restock his supplies.

Nathan came into the kitchen as Dan slid the eggs onto their plates and the toaster popped up.
“Sorry it's not anything fancier. I still haven't made it to the store.”
“That's right,” Nathan said. “You were going to the grocery when I called you after the accident.”
As Nathan ate his breakfast, Dan worked on his strategy. In order to gather all the pieces of the

Nathan puzzle, Dan would have to learn about Nathan's past. The omega had told their former alpha,
Taylor, but Taylor hadn't told his secrets to anyone before his death. Dan decided to do his own
version of shock treatment, and planned to clean up the mess afterward. Hopefully, he wouldn’t
shatter the fragile trust Nathan had placed in him.

With Nathan in the passenger seat of his truck, Dan made the drive over to Wesley's farm. Wesley

walked out onto his porch as the vehicle approached. His expression left Dan cold. Wesley had
already made up his mind about Nathan. Dan held up his hand and shook his head. Wesley caught the
gesture and frowned, but nodded his acceptance. Sometimes, being the beta had its privileges.

“What's going on?” Nathan asked.
“Got something I need to show you. See what your thoughts are.”
“Here? Why?”
“You'll see. Come on.”
They'd found the carcass at the opposite end of the pasture, closest to the woods and farthest from

Wesley's house. The wolf who'd killed the animal had known enough to keep his distance. Had he
known he was on another wolf's territory? Dan couldn't be sure. It wasn't as if Wesley scented every
inch of his property, but enough remained around that any wolf worth his weight would stay away.

But what if they were dealing with a wolf that wasn't? Someone like Nathan, whose wolf senses

weren't developed enough to understand his alpha's mood changes. Who had spent minutes thoroughly
scent-marking his beta without understanding what such a heavy scent mark implied.

Wesley had cleared the remains to prevent scavengers from getting too close to his remaining

animals, drawn by the scent of death. He hadn't cleared everything at Dan's request. Enough of the
scent remained that Dan could still clearly make out the evidence he'd sought the night before.

As they approached the site, Nathan's nose curled up a little, but he didn't seem too out of sorts.

Dan's own nose protested at the scent of death and violence. He could smell the blood and decay
almost as clearly as he had when he'd been standing over the bloody carcass. Nathan didn't seem to
be anywhere near as affected.

“There's a weird smell here.”
Weird. Not the way Dan would describe what he could smell, and definitely not the reaction

Nathan should have to another wolf being on their territory. As their weakest pack member, he should

be quickest to sense the danger a strange wolf presented. His instincts should be screaming at him to
alert the alpha and get somewhere safe.

“Yeah, there is.”
Dan stopped by the spot where they'd found the body and waved Nathan closer. “Now, I want you

to do something for me, okay?”

“Okay.”
“Really focus on the smells here. It's unpleasant, I know, but I need you to do it for me. I'll be right

here with you.”

Nathan looked confused but nodded. He wrinkled up his nose and breathed in deep. Seconds later,

he gagged. “What is that? It's horrible.”

“I know. I'll tell you in a minute. Now, breathe it in again, but this time, see if you can pick up

anything else. Anything at all.”

Nathan swallowed and grimaced, but did as Dan asked. He inhaled, then doubled over and rushed

to the tree line to throw up the little bit of breakfast they'd eaten.

“I'm sorry, Dan. It just smells so bad. What is that?”
For Dan and Wesley, the scent of a strange wolf was nearly as strong as the blood and decay. It

hadn't taken Lex long to pick up the other wolf's scent as well.

Dan rubbed his hand down Nathan's back and handed over a bottle of water he'd tucked into his

jacket pocket in case Nathan had this very reaction.

Nathan swished the water in his mouth and spit it into the trees.
“Sorry.”
“It's okay. I know it's awful. Now, I need you to do something else for me.”
Nathan turned slightly green again. “O-okay.”
“I know it's tough. There's a reason. Trust me, okay?”
Dan waited for Nathan's nod before continuing. “Come here. Let's clear your nose and try again.”
Nathan stepped close enough for Dan to reach out and hook his hand around Nathan's neck. He

gave a gentle tug and guided Nathan's nose against his throat. Nathan inhaled deeply and began to
relax.

“Good,” Dan whispered. “Now concentrate on my scent. Can you smell my wolf? Your beta?

Focus on me.”

Nathan breathed in again and nodded into Dan's neck.
“You're doing great. Now, lean back and breathe in again. Tell me what you smell.”
Nathan leaned back and looked up into Dan's eyes. He breathed in, flinched at the bitter scent of

death, and frowned. “There is…wait…” He breathed in again. “I smell…I don't know. It's…someone
else. Oh, I can smell Lex. And Wesley. And you.”

“Come on. One more breath.”
Nathan breathed in one last time, and his eyes widened. “There was another wolf here too. I-I

don't know that scent, Dan. Is it someone in our pack?”

Dan shook his head and pulled Nathan into him again. Nathan should have known right away the

scent was of a strange wolf, not one of them. Hell, they'd piled up in Lex's living room enough that by
now he should have all of their scents deeply ingrained in his mind.

“No. Not one of ours. Not someone we know.”
Nathan looked up at him again. “So someone else was here…and…the bad smell. That's

something dead, right?”

“Yep.”
“But…why did you bring me here?” Nathan pulled away from Dan. “You thought I had something

to do with this, didn't you?”

Thankfully, Dan didn't have to lie. “No, Nathan, I knew you didn't have anything to do with this.”
Nathan frowned and took another step back. “So why am I here? Oh.” He shook his head. “You

think I know who it is, don't you?”

“No, I don't think that either. Come here.”
“No.”
“Nathan. Come here. Now.”
Nathan looked ready to bolt, but Dan held out his hand and waved him closer. He stared at Dan's

hand for a long moment before he took it and let Dan reel him in again.

“I don't understand.”
“I know you don't. And I'm sorry I had to bring you out here. Let's go back to the truck, and I'll

explain, okay?”

Nathan nodded and let Dan guide him back toward Wesley's house.
Dan used the walk to try to figure out how to explain that he hadn't doubted Nathan, but their alpha,

the man Nathan trusted most of all, had.

Chapter Six

Instead of talking to Nathan with an irritated and confused Wesley watching and listening, Dan

drove them back to Lex's. Nathan sat curled against the truck’s window, shivering and in obvious
distress. Dan reached out and grabbed Nathan's hand. Nathan squeezed his fingers tightly, once more
clinging to Dan. Dan preferred the way they’d woken up this morning to Nathan trembling in fear.

“It's going to be okay, Nathan.”
“I doubt it.” Nathan pulled his hand away and covered his eyes. “I've been here before. I thought

this time was different.”

As much as he wanted to stop the car and demand answers, Dan continued driving. He could only

reassure Nathan so much as his beta. He'd need his alpha's reassurance.

Lex stood on his front porch as they pulled into his driveway. By the time Dan had the truck

stopped, the alpha had crossed the yard. He pulled open Nathan's door and tugged the omega from the
vehicle.

“You okay?” Lex looked Nathan up and down as Dan circled the truck and stopped beside them.
“What am I asking? Of course, you aren't okay. I know you aren't. I can feel it. You aren't leaving

this pack, Nathan. So stop whatever it is you're doing.” Lex rubbed his hand over his heart and then
pulled Nathan against him. “Stop it.”

It was the first time Dan had ever seen the alpha's touch not immediately settle Nathan.
Spencer ran up the drive from his house across the street. He hit both Nathan and Lex with his

body and had them both wrapped up in a hug. “What's happening?”

Dan rubbed his hand across his chest. Even he could feel it. It was almost as bad as the night

Taylor, their former alpha, had been killed in a car accident. A sudden tearing that left a huge, aching
wound. That wound had only begun to heal when Lex had come along, and now it was back. The
moment Nathan had caught sight of their alpha, he'd withdrawn.

“Let's go inside so we can talk.” Dan wrapped his arm around Nathan and gave Spencer a gentle

push against his back. “Come on.”

They all began to move, Lex and Spencer keeping Nathan against them. Nathan remained stiff, his

pupils blown and his face stark white.

When they got inside, Spencer separated from them only long enough to grab the pile of blankets

they kept stored in the front closet. Lex wrapped Nathan against him and met Dan's gaze.

“What happened?”
Dan shook his head. “Let me start a fire, and we'll huddle up and talk this out.”
Lex scowled but gave Dan a firm nod. His trust in allowing Dan to take the lead didn't go

unnoticed. Dan started the fire, letting the kindling crackle brightly for a moment before adding a
couple of larger logs.

Spencer had the blankets spread on the floor. They all looked lost. With the heat from the fire

already warming up the living room, Dan guided both Lex and Nathan to the blankets and nudged them
down. Nathan lay stiff in Lex's embrace. Dan pointed behind Lex and Spencer curled up behind his
mate. Dan settled behind Nathan and pulled them all closer together. He ran his hands down Nathan’s
arms, over his hips, then breathed into Nathan’s neck. Nathan seemed soothed by him before, and Dan
hoped it would help at least a little.

“We went out to Wesley's,” Dan explained after a moment.

“Shit.” Lex leaned his forehead against Nathan's. “It’s okay, Nathan. It's going to be okay.”
“It took him a while to pick up the scent, but he did. It's not one he recognizes.”
Lex glanced at Dan, his confusion apparent. “What?”
“He doesn't know who it is, Lex. He doesn't have a clue. It took quite a bit of coaxing before he

could pick up the scent, and he couldn't be sure it wasn't one of us.”

Spencer's head popped up. “Wait. What?”
“He doesn't recognize the smell, Spence. He can tell it's a wolf, but nothing else.”
Nathan jabbed his elbow into Dan's side. “And he is right here.”
Dan ran his hand over Nathan's arm. “I know. And I know you don't understand, so we're going to

explain. Spencer, talk to me about your sense of smell.”

“What do you mean?”
“Tell me what pack smells like.”
“Uh, hmm. I've never really thought about it. Home, I guess. Comforting. Familiar. Not a specific

scent like cinnamon or vanilla or something, but it's one I'd recognize just as easily as those.”

“And what does Nathan smell like to you?”
Spencer lifted his head farther and propped his arms against Lex's shoulder. He dropped his chin

onto his hands and looked down at Nathan. “Well, he smells like pack. I don't know what you mean,
Dan.”

“It's okay. Just go with me here.”
Spencer nodded.
Dan reached down and grabbed Nathan's arm. He held it out to Spencer, even as Nathan tried to

pull away.

“Nathan, stop fighting me. Spencer, take a deep whiff. Trust me. Tell me what you smell.”
As Spencer breathed in, Dan leaned in closer to Nathan's ear. He locked his gaze on his alpha, but

made sure his words were spoken directly to Nathan. “You know Spencer has the best sense of smell
in our pack, right?”

Nathan nodded.
“Okay, Spencer. Go ahead.”
“First, you're really weird, Dan. Second, I already told you. He smells like pack, like home.”
Lex turned his attention to Nathan. “There's an underlying hint of something else. I noticed it when

I first met you, but yeah, now you smell like us. Like me, and Spencer, and home. I can still smell the
other scent, but…”

Spencer nodded. “Yeah, it's sort of—no offense, Nathan—stale. Like an old lady's house or

something. Moth balls.” He shivered. “I can't stand moth balls. Um, not that you smell exactly like
moth balls. Shit. I'm messing this up.”

Nathan chuckled and relaxed slightly in Dan and Lex's hold. “I get it. I stink. Nice of you to let me

know.”

Dan leaned in again. He breathed in deeply, and Nathan shuddered. “It's not that. You want to

know what I think it is, Nathan? I think that we all think of you as pack, but you have one foot out the
door. Isn't that right? You're waiting for us to kick you to the curb.”

The glimmer of smile slipped from Nathan's lips, and he turned his face into the blankets.

“Are you fucking kidding me with this, Nathan?” Lex pushed himself up into a sitting position and

pulled Nathan up as well. Dan leaned back and let the alpha work. He'd seen that expression before.
Nathan was in for it.

“You don't think we're your pack? Are you out of your damn mind? Did you hit your head or

something? Are you injured? I mean, I know I should be able to tell and you seem okay to me, but I
can't think of a more rational explanation!”

Lex ended on a shout, and Spencer bit his lip and looked away. Dan had to fight back a laugh

himself. Lex had managed to sit with his legs crossed on the blankets but he'd put his hands on his
hips anyway as he yelled.

The alpha turned his attention to Dan. “Stop laughing at me, dammit. I'm not messing around. What

the fuck is going on? Someone who's been a wolf longer than I have had better have a reasonable
explanation as to why the one wolf other than my mate I was most sure of in this pack is suddenly
trying to pull himself out of my pack. This is not acceptable.”

Nathan let out a sigh and fell back into Dan. Lex’s words worked their magic, at least for a little

while. They still had work to do. Dan rearranged himself so Nathan rested between his legs. The
omega curled up into his chest. Dan wrapped Nathan up in his arms and waited for the alpha to
continue to do this thing.

Spencer watched them, then leaned into Lex. “He's a bit broken, Lex. Like you were when we first

met.”

Dan nodded from his place at Nathan’s back. “He's committed to our pack, don't mistake that. But

you can't believe we really want you here, can you, Nathan? How many packs have you been in? I
think it's time you told your alpha the truth.”

Nathan trembled for a moment until Lex growled and pushed them all back onto the blankets.
“Stupid werewolves. This is crazy, Nathan. Are you kidding me with this? You live in my house.

Hell, half the time you sleep in my bed with me and my mate. You think I don't want you here?”

Nathan shrugged. “No one else has,” he whispered.
“Well, they're stupid.”
Spencer chuckled. Dan propped up on his elbow and watched the alpha try to make sense of what

they were telling him.

“How many?” Lex asked after a few minutes.
“I don't know,” Nathan answered. “A bunch. After a while, they just want me to go.”
“Because you're an omega?” Dan asked.
Nathan shrugged. “I guess. They never really say.”
Lex tugged Nathan closer and pushed Nathan's face into his neck. “Fucking idiots. What the hell,

Dan? I don't understand all this bullshit.”

Dan ran his hand down Nathan's side. “Tell me about your parents, Nathan. You're a born wolf,

right?”

Nathan nodded. “I never knew them.”
Another piece to the puzzle fell into place. “Tell us what you do know about them.”
“I heard my mom was human. She got bit when she was pregnant with me.”
“So even though both your biological parents were human, you were born a wolf?” Spencer asked.

“I guess. I mean, that's what I heard once when I was a kid. I guess my mom died. She didn't take

to the bite. That happens sometimes,” Nathan explained to Lex.

“He's right,” Dan added. “Not all humans who are bitten successfully turn.”
Lex growled. “But Nathan did. As a baby. Still in the womb?”
“Apparently so,” Dan said. “What else, Nathan?”
Nathan shrugged again. “All I know is that I was never with a pack for very long. It was like no

one quite knew what to do with me.”

Dan shook his head and leaned in closer. “Nathan, you aren't going to get out of this pack. You

wanna know why?”

Nathan trembled against him.
“I'll tell you why. Because you finally found an alpha who knows exactly what to do with you.”
Dan looked up and found Lex's gaze locked onto him. He nodded at the alpha, who pulled Nathan

closer. “And I'm not letting you go,” Lex demanded.

A car screeched to a halt in the driveway, and moments later, the front door burst open.
“What the hell is going on here?” Ruby screeched. “What's happened to Nathan?” She rubbed her

hand over her heart and glared down at them. When she saw Nathan lying in between his alpha and
beta, she paused. “What…I don't. What's wrong?”

Dan had grown to admire the blond bombshell in the few months since Lex became alpha. Where

he'd once seen an annoyance, now he recognized a deep well of strength. Sure, it was coupled with a
smart mouth and a whole lot of sass, but deep down, Ruby was one of the strongest members of their
pack. Her dedication to Nathan was second only to her complete loyalty to Lex.

Nathan looked up and half smiled. “Lex w-won't let me g-go.”
“Well, of course Lex isn't going to let you go, you idiot. What the hell? I swear, have you not

gotten enough snuggles lately?”

Spencer snorted, and Lex glared at her over his shoulder. “Shut up and get down here.”
She tossed off her jacket, kicked off her boots, and stormed over to their makeshift nest. With a

huff, she flopped down on top of Nathan and gave a satisfied sigh when he grunted over her added
weight.

“If you ever scare me like that again, you fucker, I'm going to kick your ass from here to Jamaica.

Yeah, Jamaica. And while we're there, I'm going to lay on the beach and drink something from a
coconut or whatever so I have the energy to kick your ass all the way back. Because you can't leave!”

“Okay, okay,” Nathan said. “Quit poking me. Your fingernails are sharp.”
“You're just lucky I didn't use my claws. You scared the shit out of me. I left work without a word.

I thought you'd been killed or something. Fuckhead. I'm so pissed off at you.” She pushed her forehead
into his and then inhaled deeply.

Lex leaned up and kissed her cheek before settling back down.
The ache had left Dan's chest. Nathan had settled again, but for how long? Now that Dan

understood more of his history, things began to make a lot more sense. No one had ever taken the time
to teach Nathan, because no one had ever truly seen him as a member of their pack.

How anyone could ignore a child so much that they felt abandoned was beyond Dan's

comprehension. He thought about Aidan and how the pack rallied around him. As annoyed as Lex had

been to be bitten by the tyke, he'd immediately gone into protective mode over him just like the rest of
the pack. Those were ingrained instincts. Protect the weakest, starting with the youngest in the pack.

Dan had never been in a pack with an actual omega until Nathan. However, with Lex's instinctual

reaction to Nathan, Dan could only imagine other omegas were as cared for as their young. Protect the
weak didn't just mean helpless; physical and emotional distress could weaken a wolf as well.

The pack he'd grown up in had been pretty stable. Very few newcomers and mostly families. He'd

seen his pack rally around an older pack member when her mate passed from old age. She'd shut
down for a while but rallied under the care of the pack. When he'd gone off to college, Dan had
decided to find another pack, not because anything was wrong with his family's pack, but because he
wanted to explore the world a little more. The practice was pretty common among wolves when they
reached adulthood. Some stayed with their families; other's left and went their own way.

Omegas weren't very common though. It took a lot to break a wolf down far enough to dull their

senses and impair their ability to shift. Nathan's case seemed even more unusual than most, and Dan
had a sneaking suspicion that was a result of his upbringing. If a wolf could be turned omega by
trauma, what happened to a cub who'd never been nurtured? And how could they fix it?

Dan wondered if the wolf who smelled so much like Nathan had the answers they sought. There

was only one way to find out. Dan needed to track down the stranger and find out. He could do this to
help Nathan, to repay Nathan for the trust he so willingly placed in Dan. With that in mind, Dan
untangled himself from the pile of bodies on the blankets. He tended to the fire before heading
outside.

Ruby stopped him as he climbed into his truck. “You want to tell me what happened?”
“Lex can fill you in. I have something I need to do.”
“Something involving Nathan.”
Dan nodded.
“Then I'm coming with you. Wait for me.”
“Okay.”
Lex and Spencer weren't the only pack members who'd bonded with Nathan. Ruby was the other.

They'd had a run-in with a rival pack right after Lex became alpha. When Nathan got hurt, Lex had let
Ruby have it with both barrels. She'd stepped up since then, owning her mistake and proving herself
to both the alpha and the rest of the pack.

Ruby went into the house for a minute and came back out shrugging into her jacket. “Let's go,” she

said as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Dan started the truck and headed back to Wesley's. If they could catch the other wolf's scent, they

could track the stranger down and find out what he or she knew. It was the only thing Dan could think
of to find out what they needed to do to help Nathan heal.

As they rode, Dan filled Ruby in on the dead animal and the familiar scent at the scene. She

figured out pretty quickly what Dan left unsaid—Nathan had been suspected at first.

“Dammit. He was doing so well too. Spencer told me he even called you when he had the fender

bender. A month ago, he wouldn't have. He is making progress. He's just slow as damn molasses at
it.”

“If you had told me that a month ago, I wouldn't have believed you. Now, I think you're right.”
She laughed. “Of course I am. He's trying so hard, but he gets spooked so easily. I wish he could

Chapter Seven

Wesley met them in front of his place again. He glared at Dan, but Ruby flipped him off before

storming toward him.

“Did you really think Nathan killed one of your precious cows? Asshole. Learn how to use your

damn nose. Now come on. We need you to help us track down who really did it.”

“Wait. What?” Wesley watched as Ruby stripped off her jacket and tossed it onto his porch.
“Did I stutter? We need to go find out who really did this. So hurry your ass up.” She continued

stripping off her clothes. When neither Dan nor Wesley moved to follow, she put her hands on her
hips and glared. “Guess I'll be doing this on my own then. Good to know.”

She began to shift, then took off at a run toward the pasture. Dan burst out laughing as he and

Wesley hastily stripped and began to shift. No one messed with Ruby and her pack. She didn't like
strangers.

By the time they reached the edge of the pasture, Ruby was already there. Breathing in the scents at

the scene was even more intense in this form. The death brought a fierce hunger from the wolf to hunt
and bring down even bigger prey, but another part of him immediately sensed the threat of a strange
wolf in his territory.

Dan growled and breathed the scent in again. With the rogue wolf's scent fresh on his tongue, Dan

leapt into the woods to begin tracking. Ruby and Wesley ran alongside him. Although they were each
powerful wolves in their own regard, as beta, Dan's senses were stronger.

They followed the trail for miles. At first, it seemed the wolf traveled with no purpose. They

changed directions randomly, keeping to the woods and more heavily populated areas. Dan stopped,
breathing deeply again, and tried to figure out what the other wolf was up to. At this rate, it had
scattered its scent throughout their territory. Circling them. Testing their borders. Looking for a
weakness.

His wolf had a better sense of direction than Dan. After a couple of hours, Dan began to recognize

familiar territory. Not by sight. By scent. He recognized the scent of his alpha. Of their pack. They'd
run through this area on the last full moon. Now the other wolf had their scent and was following the
path back to its starting point.

Lex's house.
They always shifted as a pack and ran together on the full moon. When their wolves tired out and

the moon waned, they curled into a large pile in the alpha's living room to sleep the rest of the night as
a pack.

Dan picked up the pace, sending a snarling growl at Ruby and Wesley to let them know there was

potential danger. He didn't think a lone wolf could do much damage to their alpha. Lex was ferocious
and had managed to scare off a rogue pack on his very first shift. But left alone with his mate and the
omega, there was no telling what Lex would do if threatened.

Dusk had fallen by the time they reached the woods behind Lex's house. A purple haze drifted over

the sky as the sun sank beneath the trees. Dan saw red. They'd led a stranger right to their doorstep.
What if Mia had stopped by with Aidan? What if any other pack member showed up unannounced?
They'd left their phones with their clothes when they shifted and had no way to reach their alpha.

But they did. Dan skidded to a halt, threw back his head, and howled his alarm. Ruby and Wesley

continued running, but joined their voices to his. At least Lex would have a head start, if the wolf

hadn't already arrived. If it had, Lex would know they were on their way.

Dan ran faster, catching up to Ruby and Wesley. They remained at his flanks and kept pace as they

bolted around trees and over brush to reach their alpha's home.

Minutes later, they heard Lex's answering howl. It wasn't one of trouble or danger, just an

acknowledgment. If the other wolf knew what was good for it, it would turn tail and run.

They burst into the clearing and found the entire pack there waiting for them. Ruby hadn't been the

only one to feel the ripping pain of Nathan's earlier withdrawal. They'd all gotten to their alpha as fast
as they could. Several of them, including Lex, had shifted after hearing Dan's howl.

Dan let out a sigh of relief. They were okay. He began the shift back to his human form, gasping for

breath after the miles long run through the woods.

When he'd regained the ability to speak, Dan explained. “Tracked him here. Close,” Dan panted.
Lex snarled his disapproval and herded the rest of the pack back inside the house. He shifted back

and waited while the others who had shifted returned to their human form as well.

With everyone situated, Lex turned to Dan. “What do we know?”
“Nothing, unfortunately. We tracked the wolf. The trail wandered for a while, then he must have

picked up our scent from the last full moon. He began heading this way.”

“Do we know it's a he?”
Dan shook his head. “Yes. He scent-marked a couple trees along the way, but that’s all we know.”
“That's not all we know,” Spencer said. “He smells like Nathan.”
“Okay. The scent is important,” Lex added. “Someone explain the possibilities to me. And Nathan.

Come here.”

Nathan drifted closer to Lex, who hooked an arm around Nathan's neck and dragged him closer.

He looked over at Dan, giving a tentative smile in greeting. Dan itched to reach over and pull Nathan
to him, but knowing Nathan needed Lex now more than ever, Dan crossed his arms over his chest and
nodded in acknowledgement of Nathan’s smile.

Wesley rubbed his chin as he stepped up beside Dan. “He's got to be family. It's the only way I

know for someone to have an almost identical scent.”

“But Nathan's biological parents are both human. Wouldn't he smell like them?” Lex asked.
“No, you're right. He would.” Dan explained. “But what about his…well, wolf father?”
“Explain to the not-born wolf.”
“I mean, the wolf who attacked his mother. Would Nathan smell like the wolf or like his birth

parents?”

Killian stepped up. Their quietest pack member rarely added much to their debates, but when he

did, the other pack members counted his word as good as gold.

“He could take the scent of either. In this case, it seems most likely we are dealing with the wolf

who turned Nathan's mother.”

“Most likely, but not definitely?”
“I don't believe we can say for certain,” Killian said. “We would be lax for making an assumption

at this point. It seems a rather large coincidence, but perhaps that is all this is. A loner who caught the
scent of pack and came a little too close.”

“I agree,” Wesley added. “The attack on my livestock happened over twenty-four hours ago. If the

wolf followed the scent, wouldn't he have been here already?”

“That doesn't make me feel any better,” Lex snapped. “So some strange wolf was out there

watching us and I didn't know? How close did he get?”

“Close,” Dan replied. “I caught the scent as close as the edge of our training area. By that point, I

was hell-bent on getting here and making sure everyone was okay.”

“Okay. Thoughts on what we should do next.”
“Since we don't know this wolf or its intentions, I think it safest if we all gather somewhere else

for the evening.” Killian suggested.

“I agree,” Charles said. “I can bring one of the patrol cars along. Won't help much in a fight, but

knowing the human law is close by might be enough of a deterrent.”

“I don't like running,” Lex grunted.
“We aren't running. We're doing what's best for the pack. We leave for the night and reconvene in

the morning. The only other option I see is for us to split up. Part of the pack continue tracking, the
rest wait it out somewhere safe.”

“I don't want us to split up either,” Lex growled.
Spencer chuckled and rubbed his mate's arm. “Well, that's our options. What do you want us to

do? Track or stick together.”

“Stick together,” Lex said. “After the scare with Nathan earlier—” Lex paused and ran his hand

over Nathan's head “—I think it's best for us to be together for the night. Dan?”

“Agreed.” It was the first time Lex had asked his approval, and the action didn't go unnoticed by

other members of the pack. Wesley nudged up against Dan's side, while Killian thumped him on the
back.

After a short debate, Dan convinced everyone his house would be the best place for them to

gather. They loaded up the vehicles and made the short drive.

Nathan sat beside Dan in Lex’s truck and sent a couple of worried glances his way.
“What?” Dan asked.
“What are we going to feed them?”
Dan thumped his head against the seat. He still hadn't made it to the grocery store.
“You didn't happen to pack one of your Contessa books, did you?”
Nathan snorted. “No, but I have the number for pizza delivery on speed dial.”
“Why didn't I think of that?”
Nathan shook his head. “Don't know. You think we can start a fire in your fireplace?”
“Sure. Why?”
Nathan shrugged. “I really liked it.”
“Liked what? The fireplace?”
“No. Lying on the floor with you and Spencer and Lex. Oh and Ruby. But I really don't want her to

belly flop on me again. Her hip bones are sharp.”

Dan looked over at Nathan and winked. “So you didn't like my fireplace, huh?”
“What? No. I liked it. Wait.”
Dan laughed as they made the turn into his driveway.

“You were kidding.”
“Of course I was,” Dan answered. “I like giving you a hard time.”
Nathan put his hand on the handle, then turned back to Dan. “You only give people you like a hard

time, don't you?”

Dan stilled and met Nathan's serious gaze. “Yeah.”
Nathan stared at him for a long moment before his lips curved into a soft smile. “Good.”
The moment lasted longer for Dan. His stomach had dropped to his knees, and a fluttering

sensation built that didn’t seem to be going away. Dan locked his gaze on Nathan as Nathan hopped
out of the truck. He helped everyone unload the blankets and pillows they'd brought along from Lex's
house. Dan finally managed to make it to the front door, still puzzling over the look Nathan had given
him and his reaction to it.

After Nathan had scent-marked him, Dan had worked really hard to keep Nathan firmly in the

pack-only box. The close to fifteen year age difference between them alone should have been enough
of a barrier. If you added the difference between the strength of their wolves, a relationship between
them should have been unthinkable. Romance novels might say opposites attract, but they weren't
dealing with pack hierarchy.

Something in his look though. For the first time, Dan began to see the possibility of something

more. Of coming home to a house that wasn’t cold and dark, of sharing his life, of enjoying more of
what pack life had to offer. He’d tried years before, gone on a mad hunt through several packs for his
one and only true love. He’d ended up disappointed, alone, and discouraged.

Dan shook off his musings and went into the house. He couldn’t get his hopes up again. He shoved

furniture out of the way to make a large empty spot in the living room in front of the fireplace. The
pack trooped into the house and began to settle. He tensed for a moment, waiting to feel
uncomfortable at everyone in his space, making themselves at home. The feeling never came.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a notepad before hunting down Nathan in the living room.

“What do you think we should order?”

Nathan took the paper and pen and looked around the room. He stopped at certain pack members

—Spencer-Hawaiian, Mia-Vegetarian, and Lex-double meat—before handing the list back to Dan.

“Look okay?”
“Yeah,” Dan answered. He would never have known what type of pizza each of them liked. How

did they all do it? He’d never realized how much of an outsider he’d allowed himself to become. No
wonder none of them really trusted him. He’d never even let them into his home before.

“Hey,” Nathan said. “Come here.”
It was an interesting turn of events. Normally, Dan had to get Nathan to follow him. Now the

reverse, with Nathan pulling him along. He went after Nathan into the kitchen, and they stopped
outside the pantry door.

“Don't give yourself such a hard time,” Nathan said. He pulled a couple bottles of water from the

bottom of the pantry and handed them to Dan.

“I’m no—?”
“You think you don't know us,” Nathan interrupted. “But you do.”
Dan shook his head. “I really don't. I'm working on it.”
Nathan frowned and handed over a bag of cookies. “Yes, you do. Look, you might not know what

my favorite pizza is, but you know that when I'm upset, it helps when you touch my neck.”

“Well—yeah, I guess.”
“It's important, Dan. You don’t have to know my favorite pizza. You can ask me that. But if you

didn’t know I needed you to touch me sometimes, do you think I would ask? Those are the things
you’re better at. Seeing what needs to get done, and doing it. I know Lex gives you a hard time about
not being the best beta.” He took a deep breath, then looked up and stared deep into Dan's eyes. “But
Dan, we don't need another alpha. We already have one, you know?”

“I do know. I've always thought—”
“That you would be alpha. I know. I can tell. After Taylor died, you started acting like you were in

charge. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with you not liking the
grocery store. You do good things too. Who else would have known how to train Lex? Who else
would know that it wasn't about beating him, but making him understand his strength? Who else could
have helped him gain control?”

Dan frowned and turned to put the supplies Nathan had taken out onto the counter. Nathan came up

behind him and tucked his face into Dan's neck. “No one but you, Dan,” he whispered.

Dan stood still for a moment. When he turned, he pulled Nathan against him and tucked Nathan's

face back into his neck. He lowered his head and put his mouth against Nathan's ear.

“Thank you.”
Nathan wrapped his arms around Dan's waist and rubbed his nose under Dan's jawline. “You're

welcome.”

“Hey, is there any food in—-oh man, not again.” Justin stumbled to a halt in the doorway to the

kitchen.

Dan glared over at him, not really annoyed but enjoying the flustered expression on Justin's face.

The poor guy had a habit of walking in on pack members in compromising positions. Especially when
their alpha and his mate were enjoying a little private time. Dan had a feeling Lex did it on purpose at
this point, just to see how they could traumatize Justin next.

Justin scrambled back out of the kitchen, muttering under his breath, but the mood was broken.

Aidan toddled into the kitchen next and bumped into Nathan's legs. Nathan scooped him up and let the
baby rub his face into his neck. Aidan then held out his arms to Dan, who took him with a small smile.

“Little man,” Dan said. “What kind of trouble are you going to get into tonight? My house isn't

Aidan-proofed, you know.”

Aidan grinned and pointed to the food on the counter. “Cookie.”
Of course, he'd spotted the bag of cookies. Dan shook his head. “Oh no. You're asking your

momma about that. You're cute, but she'd have my hide.”

Aidan stuck out his lip. “Pease?”
“No way. Not even when you're cute.” Dan looked over at Nathan, who wasn't even trying to hide

his laughter. “Go get Mia. You should be rescuing me here. Come on!”

Nathan cackled as Aidan continued to point at the counter. “Cookie, pease?”
Mia came into the kitchen, her motherly instincts clearly in high gear. “Not until after dinner,

Aidan. Speaking of, what are we going to have?”

“Pizza,” Nathan answered. “I interrupted Dan's weekly grocery trip, and he hasn't had a chance to

go yet. Besides, with all of us here, we'd have to empty the entire contents of his kitchen to feed

Chapter Eight

With the pack full of pizza and a fire keeping the room toasty warm, the pack settled down for the

night in their usual positions. Everyone tended to huddle around Lex, each of them touching him in
some way. Dan found he slept best down by Lex's feet where he didn't end up covered by half a dozen
pack members trying to snuggle with their alpha.

He woke up warmer than usual and opened his eyes to find Nathan sprawled across him and

Killian curled up at his back. Finding it a bit disconcerting, Dan laid completely still. He felt more
than heard Lex wake up. The entire pack started awake when Lex sat up frantically.

“What's wrong?” Dan said, pushing Nathan gently aside and preparing for Lex to tell him the rogue

wolf was close.

“Uh…nothing. Sorry.”
Spencer rubbed his eyes and then elbowed Lex in the side. “You scared the crap out of me.”
Aidan began to whimper, and Lex lifted him up and patted his back.
Lex cleared his throat. “I, uh, didn't know where Nathan was.”
Dan glanced to his side, where Nathan sat curled against him. Then he looked back at their alpha,

who analyzed the new sleeping configuration with a proud gleam.

Uncomfortable with the attention, Dan scrambled to his feet. “I'm going to check outside and make

sure everything is okay.”

“I'll start b-breakfast.”
Nathan's cheeks brightened to a deep pink, and he stared at the floor. Dan paused, then leaned

down and rubbed his hand over Nathan's hair. He stopped when he reached the skin of Nathan's neck
and rubbed his thumb across it gently.

Nathan glanced up and relaxed slightly. Dan nodded and climbed his way out of the pile toward

the front door.

He circled the property, scenting the area for any hint of intruder, but found none. Making a second

loop, he stopped at a familiar rumble coming down his road.

Bishop's black and white tow truck turned into the driveway, and Bishop hopped out from behind

the wheel. “Why the hell aren't you answering your phone? You scared the shit out of me.”

His friend stomped over and shoved Dan's arm.
“My phone didn't…shit. I left it over at Wesley's yesterday.”
Bishop looked around at the collection of cars in Dan's driveway with a puzzled frown. “Did you

have a party?”

“No. Not exactly.” Some days, he wished he'd shared his secret with Bishop, but it just wasn't

done.

Lex came out onto the porch and stared at Bishop.
“Who's that? Give up the cute blond already?”
Lex smirked, having heard the comment clearly, and began the walk down the drive.
“Shut up. This is Lex. We're just friends. His partner, Spencer, is here too.”
“Huh. Didn't see you for the orgy type. I'm learning more about you every day.”
Lex snorted out a laugh and held out a hand to Bishop. “Lex Tompkins.”

“Hey, Bishop McKinley. Been friends with this guy for years.”
Lex smiled, then gestured toward the tow truck. “What's this for?”
“Oh, right. Since someone—” Bishop stopped and glared at Dan. “—seems to have forgotten to

answer his phone, I thought I'd bring Nathan's new ride over. I finished it up yesterday.”

“New ride?” Lex frowned and turned to Dan. “I thought you said it wasn't bad.”
Dan froze. He'd not explained the entire situation to Lex and didn't know how the alpha would feel

about him buying Nathan a new car.

Bishop chuckled as he began to lower the car from the bed of the truck. “Yeah, he didn't want the

cutie driving in a car that wasn't safe. Bought this one for him instead. Sweet, isn't he?”

Lex arched a brow at Dan. “You bought Nathan a car?”
“His was in bad shape.”
“But it was only a fender bender.”
Dan huffed out a growl and turned to help Bishop. “He'd only dented in the fender, but the rest of it

was falling apart. I wanted him to be safe.”

Lex crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “Got it.”
Bishop finished maneuvering the car off the back of the truck, then tossed Dan the keys. “Want to

move her out of the way? I'm heading to another pickup, so can't stay and chat. Well, hello, cutie.”

Dan turned and found Nathan standing by the front door watching them. “Leave it alone, Bishop.”
“Sure is convenient that he's here. He can get his ride himself, and maybe let you know just how

grateful he is for your help.”

Dan scowled. “Dammit, Bishop. Shut up.”
Nathan hurried down the driveway and stopped beside Dan.
“He doesn't have to buy me something for me to be grateful.” Nathan turned to Dan and glared.

“Are you sure he's your friend? He's a jerk.”

Dan's eyes flew open, and Lex's jaw dropped.
Bishop burst out laughing. “I got it, cutie.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I'll back off. Just

giving him a hard time, is all.”

“Hey, Nathan. Where's the flour? Aidan wants pancakes.”
“Oh, holy shit. Who is that?” Bishop stared at the front of Dan's house with his mouth hanging

open.

Ruby rolled her eyes and propped her hip on the door. “Like what you see? Good. Now move on.

I've got shit to do. Nathan! Flour!”

“Coming!” Nathan turned back to Bishop and glared. “She's off limits. And be nice to Dan!”
Bishop climbed into the truck and started it with a rumble. “No problem. Keep him on his toes,

okay?” He winked and backed the truck out of the driveway. Stopping at the end, he stuck his head out
the window. “Is she single?”

“Not for you!” Nathan said before he turned to Dan and crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought

you said the car was a loaner.”

“Well, it is a loaner. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”

“Well, instead of Bishop loaning it to you, I am. You needed a new car, Nathan. Your old one was

falling apart. What if you really did need to stop quickly? The brakes barely worked, and the tires
were bald. You could have been hurt.”

“Or I could have hurt someone else. You're right. But it's a loaner. I'll pay you back.”
“I knew you would. I was going to explain when Bishop brought it over anyway.”
Nathan grinned at Dan before giving him a big hug. “Thanks.”
He turned and bolted for the house, leaving Dan and Lex standing in the driveway.
“I take it you didn't pick up the scent of the rogue?” Lex asked after a moment of quiet.
“No. We should probably go back to your place and track with a larger group of us.”
“Agreed. So you really bought him a car, huh?”
Dan shook his head. “Aww, come on. Not you too.”
“What? You mean I can't be thankful you stepped up when you saw one of your pack members in

need? I can't say good job of handling it without wounding his barely existent self-worth?”

Dan continued to shake his head. “I took care of a problem. That's it.”
Lex grabbed Dan's shoulder and squeezed. “You're right. That's exactly it. And thank you.”
Dan nodded, and they both turned back to the house. Lex divided them up into groups, sending part

of the pack out to Wesley's and the rest back to their place. Justin pouted when Lex kept Mia and
Aidan with his group, but backed off when Lex growled at him. Dan chuckled. Justin's crush on Mia
would go down as the stuff of legends if it continued the way it had been for the past few months.

After a brief discussion with Lex, Dan went with the group out to Wesley’s to pick up his truck

and phone, then followed the alpha back to his place so he could pick up his search where he'd left
off. The pack searched the entire day, and although both teams picked up traces of the rogue, neither
one found the wolf itself.

***

Dan spent the next two days in the woods, determined to find the other wolf. It became a personal

mission of sorts; the other wolf had answers about Nathan, and Dan wanted them.

After the third day with no new signs, Dan returned to his house, exhausted and irritable. He stared

at the now cold fireplace and considered starting a fire. Then he dismissed the idea with a snarl of
annoyance and turned on a lamp instead.

He stormed through the house and into the bathroom, where he showered off the grime of the

woods. When his cell phone rang, he stomped toward it with a frustrated growl. “What now?”

Nathan's name appeared on the display. Dan's heart skipped, worried that something had

happened. “Nathan?”

“Hey.”
“You okay?”
“Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. I'm good. Fine. Nothing's wrong.”
“Okay.”
A long silence stretched.
“This was a stupid idea,” Nathan muttered.
“What was?”

“I know you've been busy looking for the other wolf, but I wanted to thank you for helping me.”
“Nathan, you don't have to—”
“Dan. I wanted to cook dinner for you. May I?”
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah. I picked a new recipe from our cookbook. A couple of them, actually.”
“And which method did you use?” Dan leaned against his bedroom door and smiled. Nathan's

breath sped up, teasing his ear with the memory of Nathan licking and tasting his skin, his hot breath
and wet tongue tracing a path up Dan's neck. He shivered and pushed the memory aside.

“Well, I read the book.”
Dan chuckled. “Okay. Dinner sounds great. When?”
“Um, I was kind of hoping tonight? I'm sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store now.”
With another chuckle, Dan pushed away from the door and went to his closet. “Let me guess, it's

the night before the full moon, and Lex is feeling a little frisky?”

“You got it in one. I might like to sleep with them sometimes, but I don't want to have sex with

them!”

Dan laughed. “Come on over. You can stay here tonight if you want.”
“I was really hoping you'd say that. Now you're getting dessert too.”
“See you soon.”
The stress of the last few days faded. Dan slipped into some comfortable clothes, then stripped the

sheets off his bed. He remade it with fresh ones before throwing the dirty ones in the wash. With a
little spring in his step, Dan cleaned up the few dirty dishes he'd managed to leave in the sink over the
past couple of days and even took a minute to prep the fireplace. Nathan loved a nice fire. Maybe they
could eat dinner in front of it.

About the time Dan realized he was acting like a teenager getting ready for a first date, his phone

rang again. Nathan's name was on the display so Dan answered with a smile.

“Did you forget something?”
“No. D-Dan. I think someone is following me.”
“What? Where are you?” Dan ran for his bedroom, ready to get his keys and shoes.
“On my way to your house.”
“Okay. How far?”
“I don't know. A few minutes.”
“Okay. You're okay. I'm here. Tell me what's going on.”
“I thought I felt something funny at the grocery store. I don't know. I kept thinking one of our pack

was right around the corner. But I never saw anyone. That's weird, right? You guys would all know it
was me?”

“Yeah. We'd all know. Go on.”
“Well, I finished shopping and went to my car. When I was putting the bags in the trunk, I saw a

guy watching me from a couple rows over. He didn't say anything, but it gave me the creeps. So I
hurried up and got in my car. Then he started following me.”

While he listened, Dan began to slip out of his clothes. As long as Nathan got here in one piece,

they didn't have anything to worry about. Dan had no doubt he could protect Nathan from another
wolf.

“It's okay. Just breathe. How far away are you now?”
“Not far. A couple minutes.”
Dan went out into the yard and stood beside one of the mature trees he used for shade in the

summer. He focused his energy, and his claws came through. “Okay. I want you to hang up and call
Lex. Pull all the way up the drive by the front door. Go straight inside.”

“B-but—”
“Nathan, we don't know who this is. Do what I asked, okay? Call Lex. I won't let anything happen

to you.”

“I know.”
Dan ended the call and tossed his phone aside.
Moments later, Nathan's car appeared. As Dan had asked, he turned into the driveway and pulled

all the way up to the house. Nathan jumped from the car and hurried onto the porch. The other car
stopped at the end of the drive, and a tall man climbed out.

Dan's hackles rose. He crouched down and released a low, threatening growl. The scent they'd

been tracking flowed heavily in the air. This close, it was enough to gag Dan. Sour and stale, rot and
decay. How was this man even alive?

The man strolled closer, smirked at Dan, and then stopped far enough away to remain less a threat,

but close enough to leave Dan on guard.

“So there is another one. I wondered.”
He stared up at Nathan, who hovered by the front door of Dan's house.
“Another?” Dan asked.
“Like me. A true omega. I've heard packs complain about the scent, but never understood just how

off-putting it could be. Until now.” He grinned at Nathan. “You really don't smell very pleasant, you
know.”

Dan growled and stepped into the man's line of sight. “What do you want?”
“Nothing, really. I'm just passing through. I couldn't help but wonder about him. There aren't many

of us out there.” He leaned and stared at Nathan again. “You won't be able to stay long. You'll poison
them. You're young, so you might not understand yet what you are. You'll get worse and worse, the
longer you remain with a pack.”

Nathan made a whimpering sound, but Dan, well, he couldn't stop smiling. He straightened and let

his human form fully back to the surface. The omega stared at him with a furrowed frown.

“I think it's time you left,” Dan said with a chuckle.
“What's so funny?”
“That you think he's anything like you.”
“I can smell it on him. You're blind to it, but you must be able to smell the stench.”
“Oh, I can smell that he's hurt and wounded. That his wolf needs help. But you? You smell of

death. You think you recognize the scent of him? He smells nothing like you.”

Dan looked over his shoulder and met Nathan's pain-filled gaze. “Nothing, Nathan. Do you hear

me?”

Nathan nodded but continued to look unsure.
“Come here.” Dan held out his hand and beckoned Nathan toward him.
With a hesitant glance at the other wolf, Nathan came down the porch steps and stood beside Dan.
Dan pulled him close and smiled. “Use your nose. But, I'll warn you, don't breathe too deep. He

stinks.”

The omega growled, but it reminded Dan of nothing more ferocious than a Chihuahua. He arched a

brow at the other wolf as Nathan did as Dan asked and took a shallow breath in. His nose wrinkled,
and he swallowed quickly.

“See? I can promise you that you don't smell like him.”
“A-are you sure? He said—”
Dan huffed. “Oh, I heard what he said. He doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. The fact

that he's weak and stinks of death has nothing to do with you. His wolf is dead inside him, and no
pack wants to be near him for that reason. Look at him. Less than a week ago, he ate nearly an entire
cow. But look, he's scrawny and thin. Gray and weak.”

Nathan looked at the omega again. “Lex couldn't even eat that much.”
“No, he couldn't. Because Lex is healthy and whole. You're wounded, Nathan. You needed help

and a strong pack. He can't be helped.”

Dan turned back to the omega who had begun to rumble as he crouched down on the grass.
“Don't even think about it. Our alpha should be here any min—” Dan paused when he heard the

sound of a rapidly approaching vehicle “—make that second. If I were you, I wouldn't be anywhere
near one of his favorite pack members when he arrives. His protective instincts are a bit—”

“Hypersensitive,” Nathan interrupted with a grin.
“You are his third favorite. I mean, I'd say first, but there's Spencer.”
“And Aidan. He really loves that baby.”
“Yeah, but you're third. That's not too bad.”
Dan kept his attention on the omega, even as he teased Nathan.
“You joke?” The omega sputtered even as he looked worriedly over his shoulder.
“You’re no threat to me. I have to wonder though. Do you make it a habit to attack pregnant

females? It’s obvious you took that route at least once.”

The omega growled again. “I’m unable to make myself a healthy pack.”
“I don’t doubt that. But really, our alpha is almost here. It would be better for all of us if you

weren’t here when he arrived.”

Nathan clasped his hand in Dan’s and squeezed tight. “Run.”
Nathan’s calm helped soothe Dan. He didn't want Nathan scared when Lex arrived, or their alpha

would  really  lose  his  mind.  He  didn't  have  to  worry  though.  The  omega  heard  the  other  vehicle
approaching  and  did  as  Nathan  suggested—he  ran.  He  started  his  car  and  sped  away  as  Lex's
Suburban  skidded  to  a  stop  at  the  base  of  his  drive.  Lex,  half  transformed,  leapt  from  the  backseat
while Spencer slid from the driver's seat and dropped his hands onto his knees.

“Okay there, Spence?” Dan asked.
“I am not a race car driver. And I think I hit a bump in the road that sent us into orbit. My stomach

is still up there.”

Dan chuckled as Lex rushed to Nathan and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Dan left Lex to his

snuggles and went to pick up his phone from where he’d dropped it earlier. He quickly called
Charles.

“You in the patrol car?”
“Yeah. I’m on duty until tonight. What’s going on?”
“We finally caught up with the rogue. Well, he caught up with us. He’s driving a black Toyota. I

think we need to make sure he knows to get out of our territory and not come back.”

“I’ll take care of it.”
Dan answered a few more questions for Charles before returning to Lex, Nathan, and Spencer.
“You’ve reached your scare-the-alpha quotient for the month,” Lex grumbled. He pulled away

from Nathan for a moment and gave him a gentle shake before pulling him close again.

Spencer rolled his eyes at his mate. He walked up to Nathan and leaned into him.
“You okay?”
Nathan nodded.
“Will someone tell me what just happened?” Lex snarled.
Trust their prickly alpha to get cranky once he’d gotten his snuggle on.

Chapter Nine

Dan ran his nose over Nathan's hair and breathed in his scent. “Either Nathan isn't an omega, or

that wolf wasn't. They definitely aren't the same.”

“Well, no.” Lex said. “Even I could tell you that.”
Dan looked up and arched a brow. “What do you mean 'even you could tell me that'?”
“They don't smell the same at all.”
Spencer wrinkled up his nose and glanced back and forth between them. “But Lex, sweetie, they

really—”

“No, they don't. I know you have a super-sniffer, but that wolf smelled like death. I know what

death smells like, Spencer. I think it confused me a little, over at Wesley’s. With the cow being dead,
and then the strange wolf’s scent mixed up in that, I couldn’t separate the two scents. Now that I’ve
smelled him up close, Nathan doesn't smell anything like him.”

Dan couldn't keep his hands off Nathan. He pet his arms and back, anywhere he could touch.

Nathan still trembled slightly, and Dan caught the slightest hint of fear in his scent.

“No, he doesn't,” Dan agreed. He thought over the differences. There was a similarity, Lex

couldn't argue that away, but the strength of the smell and the variations made them different.

“So what do you think?” he asked.
Lex shrugged. “I don't know, but I can tell you that from the first time I saw Nathan shift, I've felt

differently toward him than any other member of the pack.” He glanced down at Nathan and smiled.
“You're special.” Then he scowled.

Spencer snorted out a laugh. “You big old softie.”
“Shut it.”
“Nathan is special,” Dan agreed.
He thought back to a few days before, when the pack had gathered at his house, then looked over at

his alpha. The pieces began to fit together. He turned Nathan in his arms so he could look into his
eyes.

“Out of all the members of our pack, whose wolf do you think has the best instincts?”
“Lex,” Nathan quickly replied.
“No. Think, Nathan. Lex has amazing instincts, but he's still learning, right?”
Nathan frowned. “I-I don't know. You?”
Dan shook his head. “Who knew who would make the perfect alpha for our pack?”
“Aidan.” Nathan tilted his head to the side, confusion clear in his expression.
“Aidan, who isn't old enough to have his human side interfere with his wolf's instincts. Right?”
Nathan nodded.
“When you smelled the other omega, what was your first instinct?”
“To get away from him.”
“Exactly. And you'd agree that your instincts aren't the best?”
With a sad shake of his head, Nathan agreed.
“But you knew to avoid him. So what do you think Aidan would have done if that wolf had come

near him?”

“Screamed for his 'Pa' as loud as he could.”
“Absolutely. And pity the wolf that got between them. So what do you think Aidan would do if you

smelled like that, Nathan? Would he come up to you and ask to be picked up like he did the other day?
Would he lay down with you when we sleep as a pack? Would he let you touch him without being
scared or upset?”

“N-no. He wouldn't.”
Lex grinned from his position behind Nathan and squeezed him tight. “See? You aren't like him,

Nathan. You aren't whole, we get it, but you aren't poison to us either.”

Spencer grinned. “Nope, you're just a special princess who needs lots of snuggles.” With a wink,

Spencer bumped against Nathan and laughed. “Lots and lots of snuggles.”

“I don't need snuggles,” Nathan protested. “I just like them a lot.”
“Uh-huh. And I don't need Lex,” Spencer replied. “I just like him a lot.”
“Speaking of need,” Lex glanced down at Spencer and pulled him close, “you want to head home?

Nathan can stay at the house, and we can go over to your place for a while.”

“Or Nathan can just stay here like he planned,” Nathan said with a smile. “I'm okay, Lex. I

promise. Dan will take care of me.”

“That I will,” Dan promised. “You guys go and enjoy your night together before we all invade

tomorrow for the full moon. Besides, Nathan promised to cook me dinner, and I'm starving.”

“Oh man,” Lex groused, “Nathan's cooking?”
Spencer crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “So you'd rather stay here? That can be

arranged.”

“Oh no. We can order pizza. Pizza sounds great. Or Chinese food. You know you love those

noodle things.”

“Come on, let's go home.” Spencer reached out his hand and tugged Lex toward the Suburban.
As they pulled away, Nathan let out a long sigh. “Do you think…” he trailed off, then shook his

head.

“What?” Dan asked.
Nathan stared after them for a long moment, then glanced at Dan. He smiled softly, but it didn't

quite reach his eyes. “Do you think you could help me unload the groceries from the trunk?”

Whatever the thought had been, Nathan wasn't going to express it. Dan decided not to push and

followed Nathan over to the trunk of the car. They carried the bags in and began preparations for the
dinner Nathan planned.

“So what does the Contessa have in store for us this time?” Dan unloaded ingredients from the

bags and waited for Nathan to settle again. Something had put him on edge, and it didn’t have anything
to do with the rogue omega. Nathan hadn’t been nervous around Dan in a while, but his shoulders
were hunched and he’d ducked his head. Unacceptable. Maybe Dan would have to do a Lex and
snuggle it out of him. He wouldn’t mind trying.

“Oh, s-steak.”
And now the stutter had returned. Dan walked up behind Nathan and hooked his chin over

Nathan’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Nathan’s waist. “Are you mad at me?”

Dan didn’t really think it was anger, but he hoped the question would get Nathan talking.

“What? No. Of course not.”
Nathan turned in his arms, and it was then that Dan realized he’d never but his clothes back on.

He’d stripped earlier in preparation to shift to take on the rogue. Nathan didn’t seem bothered by
Dan’s nudity, but soon he’d see the results of Dan holding him in his arms.

“You promise?”
“How could I be mad at you?”
“Not sure, but you’re nervous around me again. I don’t like it. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
Nathan ran his fingers over Dan’s right shoulder, tracing the snake tattoo Dan had put there after

college. “I know. Can I ask a question?”

“Of course. Anything.”
“Why a snake? Snakes are…well, snakes.”
“They’re scary, huh?”
“Well, they aren’t my favorite.”
Dan grinned and bumped his nose against Nathan’s. “When I was younger, I had this, oh I don’t

know, I suppose now you’d call it an emo phase. I wanted to know the meaning of everything. Why
did werewolves exist? Why was I one?”

Nathan chuckled. “I’m imagining you wearing all black and a beret.”
“Oh, hell no. I wasn’t that bad. But I did a lot of soul searching.” Dan paused to search Nathan’s

face. “Am I boring you? I…don’t normally talk about all this. My tats are for me.”

Nathan continued to run his fingers along the bright orange of the snake and the flowers

surrounding it. “No. I’m not bored at all. I want to know.”

Dan couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He teased up the edge of Nathan’s T-shirt so his fingers

could touch Nathan’s warm skin. “I realized it’s about duality. Yin and Yang. Is being a wolf a
blessing or a curse? See, lots of people are scared of snakes, think they represent evil. But have you
ever noticed they’re on the signs for doctors and medicine? So I thought being a wolf meant I had a
job to do. We’re guardians, in a way. God, it sounds ridiculous to say all this out loud.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Nathan buried his face into Dan’s neck and breathed deeply. “I like your theory.

It makes it all mean something.”

Dan’s stomach chose that moment to growl.
Nathan snickered into his neck before he raised his head. “Let’s make dinner.”
“Okay, I’ll go get dressed, then come help.”
Dan turned to leave, but a little whimper of distress had him spinning back to Nathan. Nathan’s

cheeks had pinkened, and he jerked his gaze up when Dan turned around. “You okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Fine. Sorry. I’ll just, uh, yeah. I’ll cook.”
“Okay. Be right back.”

***

Another successful recipe under their belts, including an amazing baked chocolate pudding that

had Dan salivating before it had even come out of the oven, and the two settled in the living room.
Dan lit a fire, and they sat on the couch to watch a couple of movies. By the end of the second, Nathan
had sprawled out on the couch and was using Dan's thigh as a pillow.

Dan ran his hand over Nathan's head, teasing the short hairs at his neck and around his ears, before

making  long  strokes  over  his  scalp  again.  Nathan  seemed  so  completely  relaxed  Dan  thought  he'd
fallen  asleep.  Such  trust  was  so  amazing  and  new  for  Dan.  His  past  lovers  had  erected  a  wall
between  them,  afraid  of  being  hurt.  Not  physically.  Dan  had  never,  could  never,  be  abusive.  But
emotionally,  Dan  held  himself  apart,  put  up  a  defensive  wall  that  no  one  had  been  able  to  break
through. No one except Nathan. Dan didn't think anyone had ever let him as close as Nathan, had ever
been so at ease in his presence, and Dan suddenly realized why. He let Nathan see a side of him that
no one else got to see.

Problem was, Nathan wasn't his lover and didn't seem to have any desire to be. Dan forced his

desire aside, determined to do whatever he could to help without making Nathan feel like he owed
Dan anything.

“Hey,” he whispered after a few more stolen moments of petting.
Nathan blinked open his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Dan. “Yeah?”
His voice was low and soft, sleep muffled. Dan rubbed his thumb over Nathan's cheek, unable to

resist his soft skin. “You ready for bed?”

“Hmm,” Nathan mumbled. “I'm comfortable.”
Dan stroked his cheek again. “Come on, sleepyhead. You'll be just as comfortable in the bed.”
Nathan climbed to his feet and waited for Dan to stand as well. He thumped his head down on

Dan's shoulder and let Dan lead him to the bedroom.

They stripped down to their boxers, and Dan slid into bed first. Nathan climbed in beside him and

found his favorite position curled around Dan. After a long moment, he pushed his nose closer to
Dan's chest and took a deep breath.

“Dan?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think, maybe, someday, you might be able to look at me the way Lex looks at Spencer?”

Chapter Ten

Dan's breath caught, his hand freezing in the unconscious path it had been tracing along Nathan's

back.

“I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—”
Dan reached over and cupped Nathan's face in his free hand. He lifted his chin and stared into

Nathan's eyes.

“Yeah,” he rumbled. “I think I could look at you like that every single day, if you'd let me.”
Nathan tucked his face back into Dan's chest and breathed deeply. A wet drop hit Dan's skin, and

he scooted down farther onto the bed. Turning so he could lay facing Nathan, Dan pressed their
foreheads gently together and bumped his nose against Nathan's. Nathan nudged Dan's nose in return,
and another lone tear streaked down his cheek. Dan caught it on his thumb and wiped it away.

“Are you sure?” Nathan stared into Dan's eyes, searching for the answer.
“Positive,” Dan answered. “Didn't think you were interested in me like that. I've been fighting so

hard not to scare you off.”

“Yeah?” Nathan grinned and ran his nose over Dan's cheek. “I didn't think you'd even consider

someone like me. You're so much stronger, and you have it together, and you're just…”

“Alone. I'm alone, Nathan. And I don't want to be, but I've not found anyone I wanted around long

enough to change that. Then you curled up against me, trusted me, and well…I'm in.”

Dan nudged Nathan's cheek again, then traced down to kiss gently at the corner of Nathan's mouth.

He wanted a taste, needed one to be honest, and when Nathan's breath ghosted over his lips, Dan
couldn't resist the temptation any longer. He teased Nathan's lips with his own, then licked against
them. Nathan groaned and opened enough to allow Dan the access he craved.

Nathan pulled Dan closer, grasping at his back as Dan deepened the kiss and tangled his tongue

with Nathan's. Hot and slick, they teased and stroked. Nathan whimpered against him, pulled away
long enough to gasp for breath, then dove in again.

Dan pushed against Nathan's shoulder and guided him onto his back. He followed, wanting to feel

the press of Nathan's skin along his. Nathan clung tighter and spread his legs enough to allow Dan to
slide between them.

When oxygen became a need, not a want, Dan pulled away and stared into Nathan's eyes. Blown

pupils, red lips, panting breath. Everything about Nathan screamed that he wanted more. Dan was
only too happy to oblige, but part of him needed the words, wanted to be sure nothing went further
than Nathan wanted.

“You okay?” He managed the whisper but had to fight the need to tilt Nathan's chin back and sniff

along his neck. He could see beads of sweat forming there and wanted to breathe them in, then lick
them clean.

“I'm more than okay,” Nathan answered. He stretched up and traced his nose over Dan's cheek and

around to his ear. “Want to smell every inch of you, make you smell like…”

“You,” Dan completed. “I'd like that. But only if I can return the favor.” Dan grinned and rubbed

their cheeks together. “You want to smell like me? You want me to rub all over you, get you so
sweaty you can't tell which of us is which, then taste you, let you taste me? Mix us up so completely
you won't know one from the other?”

Nathan whimpered his response.

“I can do that. Want to. Need to.”
“I need you to. God, please. Don't tease me anymore.”
Dan captured Nathan's lips again, then reached behind himself to pull one of Nathan's hands from

his back. He tangled their fingers together and pushed Nathan's arm against the bed. When he reached
for the other, Nathan's hand met his. It joined the other, and Dan pulled away long enough to enjoy the
sight of Nathan pinned beneath him.

He leaned down and tasted Nathan's collarbone. It jutted out enough from the position of his arms

to let Dan nibble and leave his mark. He drifted to the side, licked his way under Nathan's arm, down
his ribs. Nathan laughed and flinched away.

“Ticklish,” he grumbled but squeezed Dan's hands tighter.
Dan looked up and smiled. “Yeah? I'll remember that.”
Nathan tugged on Dan's hands, so he started his way back up the path he'd just made. He teased his

way to one nipple, caught the bud between his teeth, and gave a gentle tug.

“How about that? That tickle?”
Nathan arched beneath him and cried out Dan's name. The sound sent another fierce burst of want

through Dan. He slid back up and captured Nathan's lips against his. Nathan opened for him, plunged
his tongue into Dan's mouth, and pushed his hips up against Dan's.

Dan gasped at the hardness pressing against his own. He thrust down, lining his own length against

Nathan's and slid them together. The friction of their boxers teased, and Dan wanted nothing but skin.
He released Nathan's hands from his grip and pushed up.

Nathan growled and followed. “Don't stop.”
He pulled at Dan's arms until Dan captured his roaming hands and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
“Want to take your boxers off. You going to let me?”
“Oh, hell yes.” Instead of pulling Dan closer, Nathan pushed him away and began tugging at the

fabric at his waist.

Dan gripped the elastic and lifted it to free Nathan's cock. After he pushed the boxers down over

Nathan's hips, he leaned forward again. He used his weight to push Nathan back against the mattress
and trapped their bodies together.

“Better?” Dan asked with a smug grin.
“Would have been better if you'd let me take them off,” Nathan grumbled. He squirmed beneath

Dan but the fabric prevented him from spreading his legs completely and allowing Dan to settle
between them.

Dan reached beneath him and caught the edge of the fabric between his fingers. He shifted his

fingers, letting his claws emerge, and tore the material down the side. One leg freed, Nathan slipped
his legs apart and hooked it around Dan's hips.

“More,” he moaned. “Come on.”
Dan repeated the action on the other side, then ripped his own away. Finally, nothing separated

them at all.

Nathan wrapped both legs around Dan and squeezed. “I've never wanted like this. Don't know…

Dan. Please.”

His fumbling actions added another piece to the puzzle. “You've never?”

Dan pulled away enough to look into Nathan's eyes.
Nathan broke their gaze. “No.”
“Oh, hell.” Dan pressed their lips together again. The trust Nathan placed in him left Dan

breathless. He slid his hands down Nathan's side, then over his hips.

Nathan broke away. “We don't have to if—”
“I want to. I'm just going to have to slow down a little. You're making me crazy. I don't want to

hurt you.”

Nathan ran his hands up Dan's back and hooked them around his neck. “You won't.”
With a groan, Dan lowered himself again, determined to make Nathan crazy with need. He kissed

his way down Nathan's chest, over his trembling stomach, and finally to his stiff cock. He sniffed his
way up the entire length, then breathed hot air over the tip.

Nathan groaned and thrust his hips up. “Dan…Please.”
Dan wrapped his fist around the base and licked at the mushroom-shaped head. Nathan whimpered

and thrust, pushing his cock deeper into Dan's throat. It didn't faze Dan in the slightest. He opened his
mouth wider, moved his fist, and let Nathan bury his length in his throat.

Nathan cried out, his hands fumbling at Dan's smooth scalp. He couldn't find a grip. Dan reached

out, grabbed his hands, and forced them to the mattress at his side. He sucked and slid his mouth up to
the tip again, before lowering his head. Repeating the action slowly and carefully drove Nathan wild.
He twisted and turned beneath Dan's hold, searching for more, demanding release.

Dan pulled away, spit dripping down his chin, and then slid his way lower. He nosed against

Nathan's balls, tasted them as he guided Nathan's knees up and apart.

“Hold them up,” Dan demanded.
Nathan moved his hands and tucked them behind his knees. He raised his head so he could stare

into Dan's eyes.

“Still okay?” Dan asked.
“Uh-huh,” Nathan breathed out.
Dan kept his gaze locked onto Nathan's as he lowered his head and licked across Nathan's hole.

Nathan groaned and arched up off the bed. He lost his hold on one of his legs, and his foot thumped
against Dan's back.

“Sorry,” he whimpered as he tried to move his leg back.
Dan grinned and blew across the wrinkled skin. Nathan's entire body trembled.
“Dan!”
“Yeah?”
“Make it…make me…I need…”
“I know. Shh.” Dan raised up and covered Nathan again. Nathan wrapped arms and legs around

him, holding Dan in place as Nathan began to thrust up against him.

“Please.”
Dan reached to the bedside table and fumbled around for the lube. He found the bottle and pulled it

from the drawer. When he lifted his head, he snicked the cap open and held it up for Nathan to see.

“You sure?”
Nathan nodded.

“Say the words. I need to hear it.”
“I'm sure. I want you.”
Dan's hands shook as he squeezed some of the lube onto his fingers. He rubbed it between them for

a moment so it wasn't quite so cold, then lowered them to Nathan's crease. He teased across the
entrance for a moment before slipping the tip of a finger inside.

Nathan cried out and arched up off the bed.
He responded so beautifully to every touch. Dan couldn't remember a lover ever being so

sensitive. He leaned down and kissed Nathan's knee as he slipped his finger farther in side. Teasing
strokes followed as Dan leaned in and nipped at Nathan's lips.

Nathan grew frantic beneath him, writhing until he began to shake and cry out. Dan pulled away,

sensing Nathan was about to come. If he came too soon, he'd be too sensitive to enjoy the rest.

His own need built with each frantic whimper from Nathan's kiss-swollen lips. He added slick to

his cock, let out a whimper of his own at the sensitivity, and leaned forward to guide himself into
Nathan's body.

Nathan froze beneath him at the first brush, then tightened as Dan's cock began to breach his hole.
“Relax, Nathan. Breathe.” Dan lifted his head and met Nathan's gaze. He held his hips still as

Nathan gasped for breath.

“Stings,” he panted.
“It'll ease. Push back against me when you're ready. It'll be okay.”
Nathan nodded, focused his breathing, and then pushed back as Dan had suggested. Dan slid

farther inside, and he clenched down again but relaxed a moment later. It didn't take long for Dan to
be fully seated inside him.

Dan leaned down and nibbled at Nathan's lips, in awe of the tight grip Nathan's body had on his

cock.

“I'm ready,” Nathan whispered.
“I'm not.” Dan looked up at him, remaining still for a moment longer. “You feel too good. Want to

make it last for you.”

Nathan reached up and cupped his hand around Dan's head. “You are. Now move. Please.”
He grinned and raised up to lick a gentle swipe over Dan's ear. Dan shivered and thrust his hips

involuntarily.

“You cheated,” he grumbled. “You figured out my weakness.”
“Yeah,” Nathan whispered. “Want me to do it again?”
Each hot breath was enough to get Dan moving. He gasped as Nathan lifted his hips, letting his

thrusts go deeper. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and Nathan swiped it away as he pulled Dan to
him again.

“Not going to…oh, god. Thought I could hold on,” Dan groaned. He reached between them and

stroked Nathan with a firm grip. His thrusts grew faster, harder. He kept his eyes locked on Nathan,
sending up a prayer that he wasn't hurting him, but saw only welcome lust in Nathan's gaze.

Then Nathan came, his body tightening and his face showing his shock and pleasure. Dan waited

only long enough for Nathan to release the tight grip on him before he thrust once more, burying
himself as deeply as possible into Nathan's body. His release came as quickly as Nathan's, upon him

Chapter Eleven

The next evening, they drove to their alpha's in preparation for the full moon. Instead of leaning

against the window of Dan's truck, Nathan leaned toward the center. Dan clasped their hands together
as Nathan sat relaxed beside him.

The full moon would rise within the next few hours. Dan's wolf huddled beneath the surface, ready

to break free and run. He'd teased it several times over the past few weeks with claws and fangs, but
the freedom to be fully wolf didn't come nearly often enough. Even the tracking they'd done to hunt
down the other omega had left his wolf hungry for more.

The rest of the pack gathered inside Lex's house. Dan normally made it a habit to arrive later than

the others; this time, it hadn't been on purpose. Nathan was extremely distracting.

Lex sniffed the air when they walked in, and everyone's head turned their way. Many eyebrows

rose. Justin scowled and rubbed his nose with an annoyed huff. “I swear, everyone in this pack does
this on purpose, don't they?”

Mia giggled, and Justin's head spun her way. Justin grinned at the sight of her smile, and his

irritation disappeared.

Spencer rubbed Lex's arm while the alpha stared them down. He glanced back and forth between

them for a long minute. The rest of the pack watched and waited for their alpha's reaction. Finally,
Lex's gaze stopped on Nathan's face. Nathan smiled at him and leaned against Dan's shoulder.

Lex gave a quick nod and walked forward. He pulled Nathan against him and clapped Dan on the

shoulder. “Everything okay?”

Dan nodded and ran his hand down Nathan's back. “Great,” he replied.
After another quick squeeze, Lex released Nathan and weaved his way through the rest of the pack.

Everyone wanted Lex's attention on the night of the full moon. Their instincts demanded they please
their alpha, show him their best. Nathan released Dan's hand and went into the kitchen. He glanced
over his shoulder before he went into the other room, and the silly grin reappeared on his face.

Dan's stomach flipped. Damn, that smile would be the death of him.
It wasn't long before they all gathered in Lex's backyard to wait for the full moon to rise. Everyone

stripped down, leaving their clothes safely inside the house. Lex tossed Aidan in the air, the baby
clad only in his diaper until the urge to shift became stronger.

With the entire pack gathered around, the power of the moon's pull changed their focus from human

to wolf. Lex stripped off Aidan's diaper and, moments later, held a wolf cub in his arms. He petted
Aidan and spoke softly in his ear.

Nathan began to hunch in on himself and drew Lex's attention.
“Nathan, stop,” Lex barked.
Nathan froze.
Lex handed Aidan over to Mia; for once, the pup didn't protest not being right beside his alpha.
“You will not change,” Lex commanded. “I am your alpha. I am your strength. You are stronger

than this because of me. Do you understand?”

Nathan nodded, but his body continued to tremble. The urge to shift was instinctual and impossible

to resist.

Lex came closer, pushed in close to Nathan. “You will not shift. Use my strength. I'm right here in

front of you. See my power, Nathan. Know you're strong enough to resist, because I am.”

Nathan nodded again.
Spencer and Ruby appeared at Lex's shoulders. “Your pack wants you strong,” Spencer said. Ruby

put her hand on Nathan's shoulder. “We need you strong.”

“You can do this, Nathan. You have to believe in us, believe in your pack.” Spencer reached over

and grabbed Nathan's other shoulder. “Believe in us.”

Dan couldn't handle the pained expression on Nathan's face any longer. He stepped up close

behind Nathan and wrapped his arms around Nathan's waist. “Your beta has your back. I will keep
you safe. I swear it to you, Nathan. Nothing will get through me to get to you.”

Nathan's head fell back onto Dan's shoulder, and their gazes met. “Promise?”
“I swear, Nathan. I will protect you. As your beta and more. You know it. You trust me, you trust

Lex.”

“I do,” he whispered.
“Then let your wolf heal. Let him be strong inside you.”
“It's hard,” he whimpered. He crossed his arms over Dan's and held on. His claws had emerged

and pierced Dan's skin, but still, he held on.

“You can do it.” Dan bumped their noses together.
Everyone crowded closer. “You've got this,” Spencer whispered.
“Look,” Lex said and turned to watch the rest of the pack. Several of them hunched down and

prepared for the transformation from human to wolf.

Nathan's knees weakened, and he pulled against Dan's arms.
Dan checked with Lex, who nodded, so Dan let Nathan go.
Nathan knelt on the ground between them. When the rest of the pack started to change, Nathan did

as well.

Between them stood a beautiful, pale wolf. Too skinny, but stunning. Dan's wolf grumbled inside.

His mate needed food, and Dan would provide it.

Dan dropped to his knees and ran his hands across Nathan's fur. Already, the stale scent

dissipated. Dan buried his face into Nathan's shoulder and breathed him in.

“You did it,” he whispered.
Nathan bounced around a bit, an excited pup, then stilled and pushed his head against Dan's chest.
“I know. Soon, love. I've got to wait my turn.”
“Um, Dan?”
Spencer's voice drew Dan's attention from Nathan. He looked around and found only four

remaining: Lex, Ruby, Spencer, and himself.

Wait. Ruby and Spencer.
“What?”
Ruby and Spencer weren't next in the hierarchy.
“I don't know,” Spencer said. “I don't feel any different.”
“Me either,” Ruby added.
Moving as one, Spencer and Ruby knelt. Their transformations happened simultaneously.

Dan looked up at Lex whose puzzled frown showed his confusion too.
“Looks like we have a couple of new gammas on our hands.”
Dan looked back at Nathan, the urge to shift upon him now that the rest of the pack had safely

shifted. For the first time, he didn't have to fight the change, hold on tightly to his wolf until only the
alpha remained.

“And it looks like we finally have our beta.”
Lex squeezed Dan's shoulder before he knelt down beside Dan.
Dan let the transformation happen, his body moving fluidly from man to wolf. Moments later, Lex

joined him.

The pack gathered around both of them, scenting and ensuring their place in the pack. Nathan

didn’t escape their attentions either. He ended up at the bottom of a pile of his pack, and if
werewolves could laugh, Dan knew he’d hear the sound of Nathan’s joy over all the yips and playful
growls coming from the others.

He could feel Nathan’s happiness, deep in his gut. He couldn’t stop himself from impatiently

prancing at the outskirts of the pack, waiting his turn. When he couldn’t take it any longer, he began to
push his fellow pack members aside.

In wolf form, Nathan became a sleek gray. He stood up, danced around Dan, and then pressed their

heads together. Dan bit playfully at his neck, and Nathan stilled, his wolf content. When Lex howled,
they all joined in before beginning their hunt.

Hours passed, the wolf taking over. Dan never left Nathan’s side. His wolf burst with pride,

watching Nathan explore the world around him. His senses had already improved, his connection
with the pack snapping into place as he finally accepted and trusted them.

When dawn began to break, they bounded back to Lex’s house. Dan shifted back to his human

form. After Nathan completed his own change, he couldn’t resist pulling Nathan against him. Nathan’s
eyes widened, his breath came in short, quick gasps.

“That was so amazing. I’m…I’m pack.”
“You are.” Dan couldn’t stop his smile.
Nathan gave him a puzzled look, then poked at his cheek. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Dan brushed at his beard, checking for any stray leaves.
“You have dimples.”
Dan brushed Nathan’s hand away and pulled him closer. He tucked Nathan’s face into his neck.

Nathan’s body shook with laughter. Dan squeezed him tighter.

“I have a weakness for dimples.”
Dan huffed but ran his hands down Nathan’s back. “Good thing,” he murmured into Nathan’s hair.

“I have a weakness for you.”

Nathan pulled back, his smile wider than Dan had ever seen. He jumped into Dan’s arms and

wrapped his legs around Dan’s waist.

“Get a room!” Justin griped.
Nathan threw back his head and howled with laughter. “We will,” he shouted back before he

crushed his mouth against Dan’s and kissed his breath away.

Dan held him until Nathan pulled away, gasping for air. Nathan slid his legs down and stood

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