Vet Found

Hiding Hounds 2

Vet Found When Dr. Cameron Dalton agrees to treat an entire pack of shifters dying from a form of parvo, he has no idea that he'll be getting more than he bargained for. He definitely doesn't expect to be peed on by an adorable golden retriever puppy upon arrival. A bit stunned, Cameron can't believe the sexy little man is his mate. Quaid Sedgwick is excited to see that his best friend, Toby, has returned. But when he catches the most delicious smell and follows it to an equally delicious-looking man, instinct kicks in, and Quaid pees on the man, claiming him as his mate. Cameron comes to learn Quaid is hiding something from him, and he suspects the worst. But is he jumping to conclusions, or is Quaid just not the mate Cameron was led to believe? Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter Length: 35,494 words

VET FOUND Hiding Hounds 2

Joyee Flynn

EROTIC ROMANCE MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer. WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

VET FOUND Copyright © 2011 by Joyee Flynn E-book ISBN: 1-61034-564-9 First E-book Publication: June 2011 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Vet Found by Joyee Flynn from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Joyee Flynn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Flynn’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION To Beth: Thank you for all the sanity saving help & laughs. All the ideas you've come up with to figure out a stream-line process for my non-writing work & trying to help me find an intern just makes me want to purr at your feet. Plus, no one has ever sent me charts & tables that I actually WANTED to see before or made me laugh. Kisses & hugs always!

VET FOUND Hiding Hounds 2 JOYEE FLYNN Copyright © 2011

Chapter 1 “Toby Walker, get your ass over here, boy,” a man screamed the moment we stepped out of our trucks. I glanced at Randall, who seemed as shocked as I was. “Alpha Ed, I brought help,” Toby said as he ran over to the man and dropped to one knee, bowing his head. “I met my mate, claimed him, and he brought me to his friend, who’s a veterinarian. I’m feeling much better, and Dr. Dalton helped us get medicine for the whole pack. He said he needed to come to run tests and figure out what’s doing this so we don’t all get sick again after he makes us better.” “No outsiders, Toby,” Alpha Ed growled as he shook with anger. Part of me wanted to join in and pick on the man since he might have been a dog shifter, and he did have a really big nose like another Ed from TV. “What fucking part of that is confusing to you?” “You sent us out to get help, Alpha Ed,” Toby replied with a whimper. “I brought help. And Randall is my mate. That makes him pack now, doesn’t it?” “You’re fucking lying, Toby. I never sent you out to get help,” the Alpha shouted, and I no longer was thinking of anything funny. Who was a big enough douche to treat sweet Toby this way? I cringed as I

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saw Alpha Ed pull back his arm to hit Toby, taking a few steps forward. Before he could, Randall beat me to the man and grabbed the Alpha’s arm. “Touch my mate and I will fucking end you. Are we clear?” Randall asked so forcefully with such rage I was hoping the Alpha pissed himself. It would serve him right! “Now, Alpha Ed, what did you mean that you didn’t send out for help?” “I never told anyone to seek help,” the Alpha replied as he pulled his arm away from Randall. While the guy was bigger than Toby, mostly from the gut he was sporting, he was nowhere near the size of Randall or me. I knew either one of us could take this jerk Alpha with one hand behind our backs. It was obvious that the Alpha was scared of Randall as he stood there and stared daggers at the shorter man. “I don’t believe in modern medicine. If a pack member isn’t strong enough to survive this, then they deserve to die.” “What?” Toby gasped, jumping to his feet. “How could you let your own pack die when we could be helped? And if you didn’t give the order for me to go, who did?” “I did, Toby,” another man, Fletcher, said as he stepped forward out of the crowd we were drawing. Great, this was turning into an episode of Jerry Springer, shifter edition. “I’m very sorry to have misled you, my friend. But as you can see, my father wouldn’t have done anything to save our pack.” “I understand,” Toby replied with a weak smile as his glance darted to the Alpha again. I wasn’t worried with Randall standing in right there looking as if he might shoot the Alpha if he even breathed wrong. Randall moved to Toby’s side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders protectively. “You ordered Toby to go get help?” Alpha Ed growled at the other, very handsome man, narrowing his eyes at Grady. “You’re not the fucking Alpha here, boy.” What was with this guy and calling everyone boy? Was a shifter pack run like a bad D/s club?

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“I realize that, Father,” he answered as he stared right back at his father in anger. Okay, well that explained a small fraction of my questions. “But left up to you, the pack would have died. And while you might think it’s the natural order of things, I think it’s bullshit.” “Your opinion doesn’t matter,” the Alpha said as he went to hit his son. “Don’t even think about it,” Randall growled, stopping the Alpha in his tracks. “Enough with the threats and hitting. What’s done is done. Now, let us help your people.” “You can’t come onto my land and boss me around,” Alpha Ed shouted but took a step back as Randall moved on the man. “I don’t want my people to have this medicine.” “Then they will die, Alpha,” I said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’ve tested Toby’s blood. He’s getting better, but his shifter DNA has parvo. It’s a very deadly disease that dogs can get. And while I believe your human DNA slows it down, eventually it will kill everyone here, including you.” “Go home, Father,” the son said softly as he put his hand on his father’s shoulder. It confused me as to what was going on. The kid seemed almost sad instead of angry when the Alpha had just tried to hit him. “If you don’t want this, then go home and don’t watch. But it will happen.” “I want them off my land,” Alpha Ed said as he shrugged off his son’s hand. “And you and what army is going to force us?” Randall asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “I’m Sheriff of Wenatchee, Alpha. We can bring back the authorities and handle it that way if you prefer. But I don’t see anyone here who’s capable of even stopping us from doing whatever we want.” I stared at Randall, glad he spoke up before I spoke my threat of calling in the CDC. His idea was much better. How the hell would I explain all of this to the Center for Disease Control? But if it meant

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the lives of fifty-three people, I’d figure out a way before standing by and letting them die. Randall reached behind him for Toby’s hand. I trusted Randall to take care of the situation, but that didn’t mean I’d stay right where I was to back him up if need be and turn my back on the crazy-ass Alpha. Toby stepped forward and took his hand as we waited with baited breath for the man to answer. Instead, the man turned on his heel and stormed back from the way he came. “You wouldn’t really bring the authorities up here, would you, Randall?” Toby asked when the Alpha was out of earshot. “I know you won’t hurt anyone, but I don’t get what just happened.” “Your mate just drew a line in the sand my father wasn’t willing to cross.” The son chuckled as he moved toward us. He hugged Toby before extending his hand to Randall. If I got my choice, I’d opt for a hug from the son, even if his dad was obviously nuts. Maybe this trip would be a partial vacation for me after all! “Congratulations on your mating. Toby is a good friend and a wonderful person. You’re very lucky.” “I am,” Randall said as he shook the son’s hand, giving Toby a wink. “I’m Randall Markins, Sheriff of Wenatchee. This is Dr. Cameron Dalton, the town’s vet and a good friend of mine.” I gave him a nod and eyed him over as if he was on the menu for lunch. Wow! It seemed I wasn’t going to keep my hormones in check. But, then again, it had been so long since I’d gotten laid I’d stopped keeping track. “Welcome, both of you, and I thank you for coming to help,” the son said as he turned to shake my hand as well before looking at Toby. So much for my hug. He didn’t even hold my hand very long, though I’m sure he had several other things on his mind right then. “Toby, I wonder if we might have a word in private.” “Sure, Grady,” Toby replied as they started to walk to his house before he turned and waved Randall to come with them. Okaaaay, I

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guess I could start unloading the truck. At least I learned the son’s name out of all of this. “Should we unload the truck first, pup?” Randall asked Toby with a smile. “I’m thinking it might not be wise to leave everything in the bed of the trucks with a pissed-off Alpha running around.” I was glad I wouldn’t be left alone to unload with all the strangers of the pack staring at us like we were movie stars. I know Toby said the pack was secluded and they never had any outsiders visit, but they acted like they’d never seen another human being before. Shaking my head at the idea I went back to my truck. “What the fuck?” I shouted as I went to pull one of the coolers out of the cab of my truck and suddenly the right leg of my jeans felt wet. Glancing down, I saw the cutest golden retriever puppy, complete with little tongue hanging out, lifting a leg and peeing on me. This is how they greeted people? “Why am I getting peed on?” “Remember you said you wanted a little mate of your own, Cameron?” Randall chuckled as he pointed at the pup when I looked at him like he’d grown a second head. What did that have to do with a dog pissing on me? “One just claimed you, my friend.” “Seriously?” I exclaimed as I glanced between the pup and Randall. I’d just been claimed? Hey! Did I get like a vote in this shit? And what did I do now? Toby was giggling so hard along with Grady at my situation. That didn’t make me feel any better. It was like some inside joke they knew the ending to while I was in the dark. “That’s how Toby claimed me,” Randall answered as he leaned over to kiss his man. I stared down at the pup, who’d now lowered his leg as he sat down, his tongue still hanging out as he stared at me as if I was his favorite treat. Or maybe chew toy, I wasn’t sure. But I really hoped it wasn’t the latter. The puppy shifted into human form and leapt into my arms. I grunted as I caught him and tried to figure out how best to hold him. I

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mean, it wasn’t like he was wearing any clothes, and didn’t I have to know his name before I touched his ass? “I’m Quaid,” he announced as he started to rub his naked body against mine. Damn, that felt good! It had been so long for me that I went from annoyed to hard and ready to cream in my pants in the span of a few seconds. “You’re so fucking hot.” “Umm, thanks,” I replied as I tried to focus on what he was saying as he humped his hips against my body. His leaking cock had slipped under my T-shirt and was leaving a trail of his pre-cum on my stomach. I held onto Quaid, who’d wrapped his arms and legs around me tightly. Could it really be this easy to find a man in this place? “I think we should have sex now,” Quaid said before kissing me. I gasped in surprise at the offer, and he took full advantage, slipping his tongue into my mouth as he twined his fingers in my hair. I let out a loud moan and stopped trying to hold him away from me. Instead, I brought him closer as he darted his tongue around every inch of my mouth. At first I was just holding on for the ride as I leaned back against my truck to support both of us. I massaged the cheeks of his firm ass as he nibbled on my lower lip. I was completely in a fog for a few minutes of intense making out. “Look, Horndog already attacked the new guy,” someone shouted, and that snapped me out of it. Huh? What? And how had I lost control enough to make out with a naked stranger as people watched? “Wait, wait, wait,” I said, making my voice sound firmer each time as he tried to reclaim my lips. I leaned my head back against the truck and stared at the sky for a moment, panting as I tried to have a coherent thought past burying my cock in his little ass. When his lips started sucking on my neck, I realized he wasn’t going to listen to me telling him to wait. “Stop, Quaid. Give me a minute here.” “But I want you to fuck me,” he whimpered. Right? Okay, and I was saying no to this why? “We can talk all you want after, I promise.”

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“Where?” I asked, knowing I’d be pissed at myself later for thinking with the wrong head. “Where can we go so your entire pack isn’t watching us?” “I like it when people watch, though.” Quaid went back to licking my neck in long sensual strokes. That wasn’t helping. “I can’t do this in front of them.” “Side of that house,” he said as he lifted his head long enough to point to a smaller house behind Toby’s. “No one lives there while it’s being updated, and we’ll be mostly hidden. Please, my mate? I want to please you and feel you inside of me.” I swallowed loudly and tried to find my voice but couldn’t. Instead, I nodded like a bobblehead doll and walked with him in the direction he pointed. It didn’t take long since it’s not like we were in a big city. The entire time he licked and sucked my neck while he kept rubbing his very hard dick against my stomach. “I don’t have stuff,” I groaned in disappointment as I leaned his back against the side of the house. He had my shirt off the second his weight was supported enough not to fall. “I was playing with my ass a little bit ago for the Internet,” he said quickly as he tried to reach down and under him to get at my belt. “I’m stretched and ready, believe me. I can’t get your pants.” “We’ll talk about that tidbit later,” I replied firmly before kissing him again. Was he like some Internet porn star? Is that why he was so quick to jump at us having sex? Not like I was judging, since I was undoing my pants and pulling out my cock just as fast. It was all very confusing. As soon as I had my jeans and boxer briefs down my hips, Quaid grabbed my cock before I could and lowered himself onto it. Fuck, he was flexible! When he was fully seated, I grabbed his hips and held him still, much to his disappointment. He whimpered, sounding almost more puppy than human. “Let me take a moment to enjoy our first time together,” I whispered gently as I stared into his big brown eyes. He had the

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coloring of a golden retriever, too, darker blond with some highlights in his ear length hair. Quaid was more pint-sized than I was used to with previous lovers, but still breathtaking. He couldn’t be more than five-four and was on the thin side, though he was nicely toned. There wasn’t any hair on his chest or groin, which I thought was hot as hell. And his ass felt like heaven! I guess if I didn’t get a choice in whom I was mated to, I could have done much, much worse. And he was obviously very friendly. Maybe this could work? “Please, I need to come,” he begged. Oh, I liked begging. It was one of the biggest turn-ons for me when my bed partners pleaded for me to take them. “How do you like it, baby?” I asked as I pulled out slowly. He’d been right that he was stretched and slicked up enough for me. But right then I couldn’t think of the why he was ready to go. “Doesn’t matter to me, normally, but if I don’t come soon I’m going to lose my mind. So, hard and fast, please.” That worked for me! I made sure his shoulders weren’t leaning on anything that would hurt him before slamming back into him. Quaid threw his head back and cried out as I stared at his long, sleek neck. Why did I want to sink my teeth into his neck and mark him as mine? Again, not the best thought at the moment but something I knew I’d be mulling over in detail later. I pounded into his ass, moaning at how his tight, hot hole massaged my cock at every thrust. This was already officially the best sex of my life, and if he was my mate, that meant I was assured repeats. That I liked. “Thank you, thank you,” he chanted over and over again as he held onto my shoulders. Quaid was yelling out in pleasure, but I swear I saw pain in his eyes. Was I hurting him? No, that couldn’t be it, when he asked me for hard and fast, right? “Is this good? Too much?” I asked anyway with a grunt. I loved the feeling of his slim hips in my large hands. Oh yeah, I was so getting a repeat of this.

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“Perfect, you’re perfect,” he gasped before mashing his mouth to mine. It wasn’t a sweet kiss. It was intensely passionate, like a race to see who could get better access to the other’s mouth. It was clashing teeth, biting, sucking, and everything I’d ever wanted in a hot kiss to go with hot sex. He suddenly went stiff before groaning loudly as he filled the space between us with his cum. “Shit,” I hissed as his ass clamped down on my cock. I gave into the urge I’d been having and bit him hard where his neck met his shoulder. I yelled around his skin as I shot my load deep into his ass. A thrill went through me that I was marking him as mine with my bite and my seed. What was up with that? I wasn’t a possessive man. The question left my mind as quickly as it entered as I experienced the most intense orgasm in the history of orgasms. Quaid went slack in my arms as I rode out the last wave and released his skin. I buried my face in his neck, reveling at how soft and smooth it was against my cheek. “You’re keeping me forever now, right?” he asked after several moments. Oh, fuck!

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Chapter 2 As the silence dragged on to an uncomfortable length, I realized it might not have been the time to ask. I just needed to know this hot, prime example of what a man should be was mine. This gorgeous outsider was the best sex of my life and my mate. That should mean I would get to stay with him always! From the moment I saw him with Toby and his mate, I wanted to lie at his feet and expose my belly until he rubbed it. I hadn’t even realized I’d crossed the square until his scent hit me and I started shaking. I couldn’t have controlled what happened next if I’d wanted to. I shifted and marked him as mine. The man was at least a foot taller than me, broad shoulders, muscular, and sexy as hell. He had these light blue eyes that I swore were the windows straight to his soul. And the contrast of jet black, short hair was just stunning on him. I needed him to say he was keeping me. I opened my mouth to say his name to get his attention when I realized something crucial… I didn’t know his name. “Who are you?” I asked, hoping if I got him talking that maybe he’d answer the other question as well. “I mean, I heard Toby say you were a vet, but I don’t know your name.” “You just had sex with a stranger whose name you don’t know?” His eyes got wide, and I was waiting for him to get angry, but he didn’t. He cupped my cheek gently as his cock softened and slipped from my ass. “I’m Cameron Dalton, and I don’t know if I’m keeping you, Quaid. You’re a human being, and you don’t just keep one as you would a pet.”

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“You could, though,” I blurted out quickly. “You could keep me as a pet if that meant I got to stay with you. I’ll be good, I promise!” “Okay, calm down,” he said gently as he placed his hand over my mouth. Cameron unwrapped my legs from his hips and let me slide down his body. Once on my feet, he stared at me for several moments as he tucked himself back into his pants and set his clothes to rights. “They said you were my mate. Is this true?” “Yes,” I answered with a smile. “I saw you, and you were so totally hot that I wanted to touch you even though my head hurt, and then I got close to you, and you smelled so nice, and then I knew you were my mate, and I shifted and—” “Yeah, okay, I got that part.” He chuckled as he bent over and picked up his shirt. He pulled it on over my head, and I put my arms through the holes. “You talk just as fast as Toby. That’s going to take some getting used to.” “Toby’s my best friend,” I announced proudly. Maybe if Cameron knew that, since he was obviously friends with Toby’s mate, he’d be more willing to keep me. “I work for him, too. I do all the websites that his company does.” “Very impressive,” Cameron replied with a smile. “We need to talk about what being mated means, Quaid. I don’t know anything about shifters other than a few basics Toby told me. We were focused on getting here and getting everyone— shit! You’re sick!” “Probably,” I replied and then yelped when he lifted me up and threw me over his massive shoulder. He raced with me back to his truck, opened the door, and sat me down in the passenger’s seat. “I’m not as bad as some of the others. Just my stomach can’t seem to handle anything solid and I’ve thrown up a few times.” “That’s fine, but I’m not taking any chances with you,” he said quickly as he started pulling out supplies. I smiled at his concern, thinking that was a good sign that he was worried about my health. He hung a bag to the truck’s door and attached a tube to it. Then he attached a needle to that tube and took my hand.

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“You’re going to stick that in me?” I asked and tried to take my hand back. “Yes, the first dose of medicine has to be given intravenously,” he replied with scrunched eyebrows. “You’ve been to a doctor before right? I mean, you have to have one here.” “No, never been to one, and we don’t have one up here,” I answered, shaking my head. He was my mate. I had to trust him. I needed to show him that I would be good and not cause trouble or he wouldn’t keep me. I put my hand back in his and gazed into his eyes. “If you say this is what we need to do, I trust you. Just tell me what to do.” “Thank you, Quaid,” he whispered, his face softening before he gave me a quick peck on the lips. He rubbed a small cold pad over my forearm, and I didn’t like the smell of whatever that was. Then he paused. “I need you to shift. Toby was taking his medicine in dog form and that healed him faster.” “Okay.” I shrugged and shifted. I shook my head until I could find the neck of his shirt and crawled out. “Jesus, you’re adorable.” Cameron chuckled as his eyes twinkled with mirth. “Only when I’m a puppy?” I asked as he took my paw and pushed the needle under my skin. I whimpered at the quick pain. It didn’t last, at least. “I know, baby,” he cooed as he taped the needle to my paw before scratching behind my ear. Oh, god. That was my favorite spot, but it had never been this much fun when someone else did it as when my mate did. “And you’re adorable as a puppy, but you’re sexy as hell as a man. I mean, you’re cute too, the way you smile and your face lights up. You have to know how attractive you are.” “I do?” I asked, not sure I understood the question. “No one’s ever said I was attractive or sexy before—just a good fuck and easy.” “Umm, okay,” Cameron replied as his forehead creased and he frowned. “I’m going to start setting all this stuff up in Toby’s house,

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and I need to treat everyone. You stay here, and I’ll be back to check on you. Make sure you don’t leave until the bag is empty. This is important, Quaid.” “Got it. Stay. I can do that.” I giggled and turned my head in his hand to lick his palm. “And when I get back we’re going to talk about a few things.” “Am I in trouble?” I didn’t feel his anger or that he was upset, so I didn’t think I was. “Nope, just need a crash course on shifters.” He chuckled. Cameron gave me a quick pat on the head before lifting a few bags onto his shoulders. I smiled as I watched him walk into Toby’s house. My mate had a mighty fine ass, too. I closed my eyes and dozed a bit as I let the medicine work. I’d had another sleepless night as I finished a new website project for Toby while helping some of the others make money with the webcam. It was hard not to be horny all the time when you had people constantly in your spare room, doing all kinds of dirty things for anyone on the web to watch. Not that that’s why I normally wanted sex or put out, but it didn’t help. Things would be better now that I’d found Cameron, I decided. I’d do whatever I had to so that he’d keep me. It made me feel funny inside, but in a good way I’d never felt before, at the idea of spending the rest of my life with him. He had to be a good man. He was a doctor after all! I was enjoying the peace I so rarely got when suddenly it felt like knives were being shoved in my head. Someone was pissed in a big way and getting close. No! I didn’t want this now. I wanted to enjoy the glow of finding my mate. Whimpering in pain, I scented Alpha Ed and cringed. He was the only one who knew my secret and constantly used it against me. He was the reason the webcam site was started after all. He didn’t want to share Toby’s money with the pack and wanted more. So he made me start the site a while back.

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“There you are,” he snarled as he spotted me in Cameron’s truck. “Shift back and let’s go. I need a release, and now so do you.” “I can’t. I’m taking my medicine,” I whimpered as I glanced at the bag. Okay, so I was totally lying, since the bag was empty, but it was a shot at getting out of what I knew he wanted from me. Then I decided to just drop the bomb and hope maybe Cameron would keep me safe. “And I’ve found my mate, Alpha Ed. I can’t betray him and be with others anymore.” “You what?” he said between clenched teeth. That was never good. It meant he was ready to blow his top and get violent. “The vet who came with Toby is my mate,” I answered as I quickly pushed at the needle with my paw. It took a few tries, but I finally got it out. “I’ve claimed him, and we’ve bonded.” “No! This isn’t to be,” he yelled, drawing several gazes. “You are my whore, and I’m keeping you, Horndog. I will take you away from here, and you’ll never see him again if you deny me now!” “No,” I cried out and leapt down from the truck. I backed away slowly as my eyes darted around for someone to help me. “No! No more, Alpha Ed. I’m mated, and that comes before your orders. I know that from the werewolves.” “I am the law here!” He growled and took a step forward. “Fine, then I’ll just tell everyone why you’re so different, Quaid. You want that? You want everyone using you like I do? And you could do nothing but roll over and take it like the whore you are.” “No,” I gasped as tears filled my eyes. “Cameron will protect me. I’m his mate.” “You’re a nice piece of ass to the human.” Alpha Ed smirked down at me before lunging to grab me. I let out a yelp and ran. I headed for my house as my head pounded and my vision swam. Once inside with the door locked, I shifted back, and then I tried to get hard. I needed to come. It was the only thing I’d found that cleared up the pain I felt from everyone else’s emotions. But, like always, I couldn’t get it up without help when I was in this much pain.

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Thinking of an alternative plan, I grabbed my lube and a plug. I slicked it up and shoved it in my ass. I wasn’t stretched out enough for it, so it burned, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the pain in my head. Besides, the walk back to Toby’s would move the plug around enough to stretch me out for my mate. I braced my hand against the wall as I stumbled my way back to the door. I’d read about human migraines, and while the symptoms were similar, they didn’t list the pain in the rest of my body I felt as well. As soon as someone was angry, sad, or just upset near me, I felt as if someone was clawing the skin off of my body. Only when someone was dealing with intense rage like Alpha Ed had been did I feel the sharp pains in my head. It didn’t take me long to get to his house even with the blurred vision. I walked in through the front door and was able to make out Cameron as he organized the supplies he brought. Not able to take the shooting pains anymore, I didn’t hesitate. I moved up to his side, wrapped my arms around his waist and started humping him as I whimpered “Quaid!” Cameron exclaimed as he turned in my arms. He wasn’t angry though because the pain didn’t get worse, and as soon as I scented him, I was finally able to get hard. “Does everyone have to see your assets constantly?” “I was horny and got myself ready for you,” I lied with a pout as I turned to show my mate my ass. He started cussing up a storm as he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder. Now he was agitated and the pain got worse as I started whimpering as the tears of pain flowed from my eyes. The only benefit of this position was that Cameron couldn’t see them “I’ll be back,” Cameron said as he raced toward the back door. I could deal with his questions and even his frustration later, though I hoped he lost it when he fucked me. “What am I going to do with you, baby? We just had sex, and you want it again.”

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“You’re just so hot,” I blurted out as he raced back to that same house we used earlier. This time I knew he couldn’t see my face. So the instant he set me on my feet, I spun around, braced my hands on the side of the house, and presented my ass to him. “Please, please, Cameron, make me come. I was a good mate and took my medicine. Please, just fuck me. Don’t tease me.” “There’s something else going on here, Quaid,” he said firmly as I heard him undo his belt and then zipper. “You lucky I love begging so much, or I’d say no until you explained to me what was happening.” “I will later,” I whimpered, knowing I’d have to tell him everything if he was going to protect me from Alpha Ed. Maybe if I was really good, he’d take me back with him out of the pack so Alpha Ed’s threats wouldn’t matter. “Please, Cameron. I’ll do whatever you want if you just fuck me.” “Okay, baby,” he said, his tone softer as if he knew how the pain was for me. He ran his hand over my hip gently as he pulled out the plug. I sighed as his touch helped ease the claws I felt all over my skin. No one had ever been able to help me like that before. See, he really was my mate! “Hard and fast,” I moaned as he pushed up against my hole. “Okay, but one day I’m going to demand we make slow love in an actual bed.” He chuckled before slamming into me. I cried out and arched my back as the tears kept coming. The pain wouldn’t ease until I had an orgasm. I had no clue why that was and no one to go to for my questions, but when I had a climax it was like insta-heal. All the pain faded and my body tingled as the stress went away. “Yes, yes,” I gasped as he fucked me at a punishing pace. “Anything you want.” “Jesus, baby, it’s never been like this for me during sex before.” Cameron grunted as he leaned over so his chest molded to my back. “Will it always be this good for us?”

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“I’ll do whatever you need to make it always good for you,” I swore, and it was a promise I would easily keep. I knew I was incredibly kinky, and our sex life would never get boring. “But being mated is more than just about sex, right?” I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or more himself. All ability to reply left as he reached down and started stroking my cock hard and fast in time with his thrusts. “Thank you!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as my orgasm slammed into me. As my cock shot the first of my seed, the knives in my head went away. The second one had the claws stopping. After that, each stream of cum brought more and more soothing relief until I felt great. I went limp in his arms, and not just from the great orgasm. The stress on my body from the pain wiped me out each time. Cameron bit my shoulder again, as he had earlier, getting a shiver from me. He groaned around my neck and came deep inside of me. I sighed with contentment as he pumped the last of his seed into me before collapsing against my back and moving his hands next to mine to brace his weight. “How many times a day do you need to have sex?” Cameron chuckled as we both panted. “Because I’ve gotta tell you, I’m not as young as I once was, and I’m like ready for a nap already. I’ll never get any work done in a day at this rate.” I wanted to tell him everything, but I was scared. Would he be mean to me because I was different, like anyone else who knew my secret had been? Or would he reject me for being a freak? If I didn’t take the risk, I’d be keeping a huge secret from my own mate, and that wasn’t right. But if he left me or walked away because of it, that would crush me for good. “Quaid? What’s going on?” he asked as he pulled out of me. I groaned at the feeling and cringed when he spun me around. “Have you been crying? And why does everyone always get to see you naked?”

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I latched onto that last question because it was the easiest to answer. “Shifters in general are very comfortable with being naked around other people. I can try to be more aware of it and make sure I’m always clothed if it makes you unhappy.” “What makes me unhappy is that you’re obviously keeping something from me,” he replied firmly and grabbed my shoulders. That didn’t hurt in the slightest, but I could feel his frustration, and it started to feel as if spiders were crawling over my skin. “And what were you talking about earlier about touching yourself for the Internet to see?” “We have a webcam site that everyone does it on,” I whispered, and instantly I felt his anger. “Alpha Ed made us do it for money.” I pulled away from him and took a few steps back even though I knew it wouldn’t help. “There are not many options for the pack up here in the mountains. I work for Toby and help out, but the Alpha said we have to do that, too, and give part of the money to him.” “What?” he gasped as his eyes went wide. “Your Alpha makes you whore yourselves out?” I flinched at the word, tired of hearing it in reference to me. “Yes.” “Why not stand up to him? Or leave? You have to like it if you didn’t fight against it,” Cameron accused as he pointed a finger in my face. “And why did someone call you Horndog?” “Because I’m always horny,” I answered, telling him what everyone thought about me. This conversation was going south fast, and he was getting more and more upset. If I told him the rest, it would only get worse. “You’re not going to tell me what’s going really going on are you?” he shouted as he came closer. My pain went from mild to fullblown mind-numbing. “You’re going to stand there and fucking lie to my face after you said you’d make me happy, that you’d do anything.”

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“I can’t talk to you when you’re yelling,” I whimpered and went to step back more but hit the house. I slid along it as he stomped closer to me step for step. “You have to calm down, or I can’t think.” “It’s a simple question, Quaid! What aren’t you telling me?” “I–I’m different,” I mumbled as I reached the end of the house and started stepping towards the stream “No shit,” he yelled and threw his hands up in the air. “So how different? Nymphomaniac different? High testosterone levels? What?” “No, none of that,” I whispered and grabbed my head. His anger and rage was so overwhelming that my legs gave out, and I fell on my knees. “You are not seriously going to fucking ignore me and pretend you have a headache, are you?” “Not faking,” I groaned as my body started to shake. “Un-fucking-real,” he said, completely exasperated. “Fine, you want to play these games, you have a nice life. You want to tell me what’s really going on, then I’ll be at Toby’s.” I heard his footsteps stomp off, but the pain didn’t dissipate with distance. Once I started to feel it, it never went away. Unless I had an orgasm. That was the only thing that ever worked. I really wish I knew why, but no one ever cared enough about me to help me. I ended up crawling the short distance to the stream. If I couldn’t make the pain go away, at least I needed to rehydrate, with how badly I was sweating. Pain was a funny thing that way. It caused its own symptoms like a disease. I didn’t make it though, the exhaustion getting to me about ten feet away. “Quaid?” I heard Grady call out. There was no way I could reply right then. I was having enough trouble not passing out. If that happened, it wouldn’t go away when I woke up. It just wouldn’t be that bad, but I’d be useless for at least a day. He ran up to me then and touched my shoulder. “Fuck, Quaid! What’s going on? What happened?”

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“In pain,” I gasped out. After a moment, I decided to warn Grady, since he’d always been a good friend and was the Alpha’s son. “Your father is the only one who knows the truth. Uses it against me for sex.” “I knew something was going on there.” He growled and got angry. I cried out as the pain got worse than it had in a long time. “What can I do?” “Can’t be angry around me,” I mumbled as the edges of my vision went fuzzy. I heard him calling out my name, but he sounded so far away all of a sudden. Then everything went black as I passed out.

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Chapter 3 I knew I should have been talking to the members of the pack while I treated them, making an effort to get to know them. But I just couldn’t. Quaid had hurt me with his lies. Something was going on with him, and it wasn’t that he didn’t say he wasn’t ready to talk about it. No, he lied right to my face and then faked that headache. He had to be faking that, right? But then why had it looked like he’d been crying? I just didn’t know, and the more I thought about it, the more questions I had before I got a headache. “So you’re mated to Horndog, huh?” a young kid asked me as he sat down in Toby’s living room to start his treatment. “Hope he’ll actually be faithful to you. He doesn’t have partners or a boyfriend. He just constantly has sex. And it doesn’t matter with whom. Hell, I bet he’s either fucked or been fucked by the entire pack, men and women.” “Nice to know,” I said between my teeth. This was just getting better and better. “So he hops from person to person. He’s young and probably needs to sow his oats.” “Not person to person.” The guy chuckled and then shifted. I took his paw and searched for a vein. “It’s not like he sleeps with someone a while and moves on. He sleeps with everyone always. Hell, it’s not a party unless Quaid’s getting fucked in the middle of it. The man has no shame and is a kinky bastard. At least your sex life will never be boring if you can keep him leashed.” “Right, of course. Thanks for the info,” I mumbled, not really meaning it. I headed into the kitchen, where Toby and Randall were

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making out, and rolled my eyes. Great, Randall gets the good mate and I get the sex-crazed, lying whore. Just fucking great. I cleared my throat loudly, grabbed a pop, and plopped down on one of the chairs. I pulled out my notes and started a new page with instructions for everyone’s care. When they wouldn’t stop making out, I threw down my notes in frustration and retrieved my testing bag. Fine, if they wanted to suck face, I’d go get the samples I needed to figure out where the parvo was originating. Once I had what I needed, I walked out the back door and headed for the stream. I knew they had it plus the well for water sources, but since the last thing I wanted was to talk to more people about Quaid, I decided to start at the stream and then take some random soil samples. When I got there, I felt like I had walked into a nightmare. Quaid was sprawled out over Grady’s lap with his head on his shoulder, still naked. Grady had his head down, so that it was in the crook of my mate’s neck. I left him about a half hour ago and already he’d given himself to someone else? I was so out of here as soon as possible. Fuck this mating bullshit. Fuck this pack and their twisted values. And fuck Quaid! Not wanting to see any more, I left, deciding to come back for the water samples from the stream later. I didn’t want to interrupt the happy couple after all. Oh, that’s right, Quaid didn’t believe in being a couple, just fucking. As I stormed back past Toby’s house on the well, grumbling, Randall came out the front door. “Where’s your cute little mate?” he asked with a wide smile. “Having a post-sex glow by the stream in Grady’s arms,” I answered with a snarl and kept going. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. “What are you talking about?” “I went to go take samples of the stream since you and Toby were sucking face. And I get there, and he’s sprawled out naked over Grady’s lap as they cuddle. Oh, that’s after the kid in there,” I said, gesturing to Toby’s house, “told me that Horndog, my mate, has

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fucked everyone in the pack, and that was after Quaid told me that he whores himself out over the Internet.” “I know about the webcam business, but Grady said that’s because they have no other options for money.” Randall let go of my arm and shook his head in disgust. “The Alpha’s been keeping the money Toby gives to him for that pack. They have no other resources, Cameron. I don’t know about what’s going on with Quaid and Grady, but you need to give him a chance to explain on the other stuff.” “No, I don’t.” I laughed, and not in that happy kind of way. More like the hysterical I’ve-officially-lost-it kind of way. “I’m going to take the samples, give the rest of the pack the initial treatment, write out instructions for aftercare, and I’m out of here. You got lucky with your mate. I didn’t. Simple as that, and I’m leaving for the real world as soon as I can.” “Cameron, there’s something more to this,” he said as he stepped in my way before I could escape to the well. “While you were outside with Quaid, Grady was talking to us. He says that no one knows about his past. And that he uses sex to defuse hostile situations.” “More like he uses them as an excuse to get sex,” I scoffed and stepped around him. “It wasn’t easy with Toby, Cameron,” he said as he followed me. “No relationship is, okay? But I’m telling you, however this whole fate and mating thing works, it does work. Toby is perfect for me in every way.” “I’m glad for you, Randall,” I sighed and pulled up the bucket. “But not everyone gets their happy ending.” **** I woke with a groan in my own bed. My head and body still hurt, but it wasn’t as bad. When I rolled over, I saw Grady sitting in a chair asleep in a very uncomfortable-looking position.

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“Grady, wake up,” I said as I sat up. His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked a few times in confusion. “Oh god, you’re awake!” He gasped when he realized where he was. “How are you feeling? What happened? You scared the shit out of me!” “I will tell you everything as long as you promise me two things,” I answered, waiting for him to nod before going on. “You can’t get upset. No getting mad, or sad, or angry, or anything else. And you have to talk softly because my head is throbbing.” “Um, okay, I can try,” he replied after a moment. “But can we call Toby over, too? He’s just as worried as I am, and he doesn’t even know what happened yesterday. I mean, you were out like a light for like sixteen hours, Quaid.” “Yeah, okay, that’s fine.” I shrugged and stood up slowly. I was so weak from everything that had happened that I just wanted to sleep for a week. “Your father said he was going to tell everyone anyways, so you guys might as well hear the truth from me and not his version of it.” “What has he done to you?” Grady came closer to me as I yanked on jeans as he started to get upset. “Stop it, Grady,” I moaned and grabbed my head. “You can’t get pissed around me. Otherwise, I can’t talk about this.” “You feel it, don’t you?” he asked with a gasp, his eyes going wide. “You feel when everyone’s upset. That’s why you’re so quick to keep everyone happy and use sex to defuse fights.” “Yes,” I whispered as he calmed down. The pain was still there, but not the added pressure my body felt when they were feeling upset right then. “Getting off is the only thing I’ve found that makes the pain go away.” “Okay, wow, I’m going to need a minute with this one,” Grady muttered as we left my room and headed to the kitchen. “You drink a bunch of water, put on some coffee, and I’ll go get Toby. I’ll be right back.”

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“Yup, whatever,” I replied with a shrug. He gave me a quick nod and left. At this point in time, I didn’t really care anymore. Cameron was done with me and thought the worst. Grady was freaked out. I could feel it. Toby probably wouldn’t be any more receptive, since he was kind of socially inept and a computer geek. And Alpha Ed was going to tell everyone about me. I wondered if there was a deserted island I could go and live out my remaining days. If I was going to lose my only two friends after everything else, I might as well get to live in peace. After I’d done as Grady had asked, I got cleaned up and threw on a shirt. I walked into the kitchen as Grady was pouring coffee as Toby sat down at my table. They stared at me as if they were seeing me for the first time or I had circus freak written across my forehead. “And you wonder why I never told you,” I whispered as tears burned in my eyes. I turned away from them to grab some milk and sugar for the coffee. That and I couldn’t take the way they were looking at me. “I think we’re just in shock, Quaid,” Toby said in a quiet voice. At least they were trying to keep up their end of the agreement. “We’ve known you for years. You’re our friend. We’re not judging you, okay? Just tell us everything so we can understand.” With a loud sigh, I brought the milk and sugar to the table and sat down. I fixed my coffee how I liked it, and took a long sip as I thought where to begin. After a moment, I realized it was best to start at the beginning. So I did. It took a while. At least a good two hours. The entire time they did the best they could at keeping their emotions in check with only a few minor slip ups. When I finished, they both sat there with their mouths agape while I squirmed under their gazes. “You need to tell Cameron,” Grady said and cleared his throat. “Toby told me that he saw us by the creek yesterday and thought you

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cheated on him. And some of the pack have been running their mouths.” “He got so angry I couldn’t even think,” I replied, shaking my head in defeat. “There’s no way he could stay calm through all of that. Plus, he came to his own conclusions about part of it without even giving me the chance to explain. If he wants to believe that I’m a no good whore, then let him leave.” “Look, I’m not excusing his behavior, Quaid,” Toby said as he reached across the table and took my hand. “But he’s a good man. Cameron dropped everything when he found out about our pack being sick and helped us get the medicine. This is overwhelming for him, too. He had no idea about us or being mated, probably still doesn’t know too much. And then there’s a sick pack and drama with Alpha Ed and on and on and on.” “If nothing else, Randall needs to know so he can help protect you,” Grady whispered as he added his hand to ours. “I contacted the High Council of Shifters. My father’s being removed as Alpha in a few days. They’re sending Council guards up here to escort him to a shifter mental facility. It seems he’s not the only shifter who’s gone insane after losing his mate.” “What was his excuse before that?” I asked, my own anger boiling up. “What about when your mom was alive and he used me then?” “I don’t know, buddy,” Grady replied, shaking his head. “But he’s out, I’m in, and Randall’s going to help us figure out how to keep everyone safe. Let’s go talk to him and Cameron, and if nothing else, clear the air. We’ll be right there with you, okay?” “What do I do when they get angry and I can’t take it?” I whispered as the tears started again. “You saw how bad it got yesterday when I didn’t find a way to get a release. I didn’t cheat on him when it would have been so easy. Instead, I suffered more than I have in so long. I don’t think I’m strong enough to handle that again already.”

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“If it starts, I’ll get you out of there and then go beat Cameron up,” Grady said firmly and stood up. “Right, dude, you’re dreaming.” I snickered as I took his hand and joined him. Toby followed after, and while I could feel their worry, it didn’t hurt. That was the crazy thing about my freakish abilities. People being upset hurt me physically. And everything else, I just felt. Not good or bad. Well, I smiled a lot and felt happy when everyone was around me. It was one of the only times I was ever happy. I started to have second thoughts as we reached Toby’s door. Grady rubbed my back with his hand for a moment in a show of support. And while I wished it helped, it didn’t. It was like knowingly walking into something that would cause you vast amounts of pain. But if I could explain and end up with Cameron, would it be worth it? Yes. I didn’t even have to think about it. Yes, it would. I would take this chance to try and be with him and maybe find some happiness of my own. Nodding to Toby, he opened the door, and we went inside. Randall and Cameron were sitting in the living room, and they stood when they saw us. I could feel the scowl on my mate’s face more than see it. “What is he doing here?” Cameron asked with a growl as he started to get angry. I grabbed my head as the pain and clawing feeling got worse again. “Cameron, stop it,” Toby hissed, but kept his emotions under control. “You have to stay calm and not get pissed off. It affects Quaid.” “It affects me when my supposed mate runs into another man’s arms.” “I didn’t,” I gasped as his started to get more upset. “I was passed out from the pain. You left me there, and Grady found me.” “Oh yeah, I’m sure he made your fake headache all better,” Cameron sneered.

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“Please stop, doc,” Grady pleaded. “If you calm down, he’ll explain everything.” “Explain what? How he’s a whore?” My mate snorted as my heart broke. “I’ve already heard all about it from his own pack. Is there anyone on this mountain besides Toby and Randall that you haven’t fucked? Or at least offer you ass to?” “Grady, help me,” I gasped as my knees started to give out. He quickly lifted me up into his arms and headed for the door. Cameron’s rage and hurt were too overwhelming for me to handle. He raced to the creek since I told him it at least helped with the sweats I got from the pain and the cool water helped me relax through it. “Tell me what to do, Quaid?” he asked in a panic. “Calm down,” I gasped as my eyes stared to roll back in my head. Shit. Here I went again. “I’m so sorry. You were right. He won’t listen.” “S’okay,” I mumbled before the darkness swept over me again.

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Chapter 4 “Now I can get pissed,” Toby growled at me several moments after Grady and my mate left. “You think he was faking that, Cameron? He wasn’t! There’s so much you don’t understand, and I talked Quaid into coming here to explain it to you because I thought you were a good man!” “Don’t put this on me because he’s a slut and—” I started to yell back. But I got cut off when Toby bitch-slapped me across the face. “You have no idea what he’s been through,” Toby sneered as he looked me up and down. “You have no right to judge. You don’t deserve him!” I held my cheek and watched in shock as sweet, innocent, happy Toby stormed from his house after his friends. “I’ve never seen him pissed before,” Randall said, echoing my exact thoughts. My long-time friend narrowed his eyes at me. “Even I could see that Quaid was in real pain. Is that how he acted yesterday when you said he was faking a headache?” “Yes,” I whispered as it sank in how badly I’d just fucked up. “Then Toby’s right. You don’t deserve him.” Randall walked out the door before I could say anything else. I stood there for several moments like an idiot before I snapped back into reality. I was the only medical help for miles and miles, and it was my mate in pain. Whether or not I understood what that meant or what the hell was going on, I had to help him. Racing into the kitchen, I picked up my medical bag and followed them. I started in the direction of the town well, figuring someone

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there could tell me which was Quaid’s house. But then I remembered that I’d seen them at the creek yesterday and veered that way. Sure enough, Quaid was lying passed out in the creek as Grady and Toby knelt in waist deep water to hold him up. Or to keep him from floating away, I guessed. “How long has he been out?” I asked as I knelt next to Toby and set my bag down on the bank. I pulled out my stethoscope and thermometer. “Now you care?” Grady glared at me, and if looks could kill, I’d be struck dead. “Yes, I suck, okay? But I’m all you’ve got for medical attention, so let me help him.” “You can’t,” Toby snarled and elbowed me away. “That’s what he came to tell you. There’s nothing medicinal that can help him. He came to explain and tell his horrid past, which we didn’t even know and Alpha Ed has been holding over his head. He’s been taking advantage of Quaid for years.” “I will apologize and make this right when he wakes up,” I replied before listening to his heart and breathing. Then I stuck the thermometer in his ear and got a reading. “Do you guys normally run at human temp when you’re in man form, or do you always run around a dog’s temp?” “Human,” Grady replied, still eyeing me suspiciously but less like he was going to kill me. “Has he taken his meds today? This fever and extreme pain could be a symptom of the parvo.” “It’s not,” Toby grumbled and then sighed when Randall knelt in the water with him and hugged his mate. “Quaid is an empath.” “Seriously? Is that even possible?” I asked as my eyes went wide. Then I felt the color drain from my face at the implications of what Toby said. “Th–That’s why he got a headache because I was yelling yesterday, wasn’t it?”

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Grady nodded and glanced at me with a pained expression. “When I found him yesterday, he had collapsed before he could make it to the creek. He was gasping for air and hot to the touch. And I’m not talking warm with fever. His skin felt like it was on fire. I was upset when I found him, and, of course, that made it worse for him. “When he told me that my father knew all this time and was using the knowledge against him, I lost it. And he blacked out. He slept for sixteen hours, and I could tell it was hard for him to even walk the short distance to Toby’s house.” “Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted as I tried to think of what to do. Then I looked up at Toby as my eyes started to burn. “I can’t help him, can I?” “Not this second, no,” he answered, shaking his head. “It would have been better for you to have heard this all from Quaid, but there’s no time for that. He said the only thing that’s ever helped him is having an orgasm.” I thought my jaw was going to drop off my face at that bombshell. But then a few pieces of the puzzle fell into place for me. The way he begged for me to let him come as if his life depended on it. How it looked as if he’d been crying and picked to have sex facing away from me. That he’d begged me to calm down. As I knelt there, feeling like the asshole I was, I tried to remind myself of one fact. How the fuck could I have ever guessed he was an empath? But then again I’d jumped to conclusions and judged him before letting him explain. No matter how I looked at it, I owed him a big fat apology. “Did passing out yesterday make it any better for him?” I asked, my mind reeling as to how to help him. “He said it was muted pain but still there,” Grady answered as he gestured we move Quaid out of the water. He wasn’t hot to the touch anymore, so at least we’d managed to break his fever. “So, when he wakes up, he needs to jack off,” I said with a nod, trying desperately to grasp his plight.

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“No,” Toby whispered as he grabbed my medical bag. I lifted limp mate into my arms and stared at Toby. “Can you get hard by yourself when you’re in intense pain? That’s why he’s always having sex. He said Alpha Ed intentionally went to him upset so Quaid would be in so much pain he’d be begging for our Alpha to fuck him. Maybe the endorphins during sex can numb the pain for him enough until he finds his release.” “Jesus,” I gasped as I got a glimpse at the horrid life my mate had lived. “Please, that was one of the calmest parts of what he told us,” Grady said, rolling his eyes as he led us to Quaid’s house. “Wait until he tells you what the werewolves did to him.” “Any chance you guys will just fill me in?” Sure enough, they both shook their heads as Grady opened the door, and I carried Quaid inside. “You need to learn to control your anger if you’re going to be his mate. I think listening to his story and knowing if you get angry during it, you’ll physically hurt him will prove if you give a shit about him or not. Or you could just be feeling guilt.” “Look, I get that I was unfair,” I said firmly, trying not to growl at them. “But I don’t know Quaid, okay? He mates me without talking to me first, pees on me, begs me to fuck him, and then does it again a little bit later. And then he lies to my face and was obviously keeping things from me. Could you cut me some slack?” “Fair enough,” Grady answered after a moment with a nod. I laid Quaid down in his bed and took off his shirt. “You got him now?” “Yeah, I’ll be taking care of him when he wakes up. I won’t fail him again.” “Good, because if you do, I enjoyed watching my mate smack you one.” Randall chuckled as he lifted Toby up and threw him over his shoulder. “Be good to your mate, Cameron. You wanted one, after all.”

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“I know,” I whispered, still staring down at my mate as I tugged off my shirt. They left then, and I crawled into bed with Quaid. I pulled him back against my chest and nuzzled my face in his neck. How weird was it that this was the longest I’d spent with him when we weren’t having sex and he was passed out? I must have fallen asleep because a soft whimper woke me up. My eyes snapped open when I remembered the pain my mate had been in. Quaid’s pretty eyes were open as he stared at me with such fear my heart started to break. “I can’t take anymore, Cameron. I just can’t,” he whispered as tears filled his eyes. “Your friends explained why you’ve been hurting me,” I said gently as I reached out to cup his cheek. “I know we have a lot to talk about, and I have so many questions. And I owe you a huge apology, baby. But please, please let me take away the pain for you first. I can’t stand to know I caused this and couldn’t help you before.” “Is the only reason you want to touch me because it will stop the pain?” he asked after a moment of searching my face. “No, simply the reason I want us to have sex before we talk. I don’t want you to think that us talking isn’t important to me, because it is. I want to understand this, understand you, baby.” “Well, we’re in a bed like you wanted,” Quaid said and gave me a hesitant smile. “Yes, we are,” I replied with a wink. I gave him a soft kiss before reaching over him to get his slick out of his night stand. I kind of assumed that’s where he kept it since that’s where I kept mine. It worked because I pulled it out seconds later. “And we’re going to take lots of time to simply make out after our talk, but I need to know you’re not in pain anymore.” “Then you might want to put me in a bubble.” He snorted and took of his jeans. Quaid took the lube from me and gestured to my pants. “Get naked, I can stretch myself.”

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“Fine, but I want to do it next time,” I grumbled and stripped as he slicked up his fingers. “I like that part.” “Good to know.” I froze for a moment as he pushed two fingers straight in without even teasing his opening. He must have understood because he looked away and explained. “The pain in my head and all over my skin is bad enough where I don’t notice some burning in my ass.” “I’m sorry, baby.” “For what?” he asked, glancing back at me from under his long lashes. “For lots of things I’m going to list for you later,” I answered, shaking my head as I pulled off my pants and knelt in between his legs. “But mostly for what you’ve suffered through. No one should have to go through that.” “How much did they tell you?” Quaid pushed in a third finger and I couldn’t help but watch them slide in and out of his ass. “Just that you’re an empath, that the pain goes away when you have an orgasm, and Alpha Ed has been exploiting that.” A thought came to me then. “Why are we having sex when I can just make you have an orgasm so you feel better? I mean, does it have to be sex or would a blow job work?” “I don’t know,” he whispered and pulled his fingers out of his ass. Quaid reached for my cock and used the remaining lube on his fingers to slick me up. “No one ever gives a crap if I get off unless they are, too. I’ve never gotten a blow job.” “I’ll give you a hundred of them if you can forgive me, baby,” I said gently as I moved to line my cock up with his hole when his hand slipped away. I pushed in slowly, groaning when his body sucked me right in as if welcoming me home. “I didn’t cheat on you, Cameron.” I gazed down at his face and saw his eyes begging me to believe him. “Mating is sacred to us, and while we didn’t have any spoken promises, I would never betray that.”

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“I know,” I said as I leaned down and brushed my lips over his. “Tell me what to do to get you off the quickest. You’ve had more than enough of your share of pain, and I want to make it go away.” “Sit back on your heels and pull me towards you as you thrust up,” he replied with the cutest blush I’d ever seen. It distracted me from what he was saying, and I had to think for a few moments about his suggestion. “Whatever you need, baby,” I said and moved into place. I grabbed his slim hips and started moving as he wanted. He let out a sexy whimper. “You.” “What did you say?” I asked, figuring I missed the rest of that. “I need you, Cameron. That’s all I want,” he said softly as he turned his head away from me. My heart sank at how he wouldn’t look at me anymore during sex and knew I’d do anything to get that back. My nostrils flared with desire when he reached down and started stroking himself in time with my thrust. “Come for me,” I grunted a few minutes later as I fucked him with everything I had. The irony in trying to get him off as quickly as possible when most men went for duration wasn’t lost on me. But I needed his pain to be over before I got to work on fixing the trust I’d broken. “Thank you,” he started chanting like the last time we’d had sex before throwing back his head and crying out my name. I followed him right over, pumping my seed inside of him. When I was done, I realized Quaid was smiling peacefully with his eyes closed. I pulled out of him, lowered him back to the bed, and flopped down next to him. He wiggled around and spooned back against my chest. I felt a small glimmer of hope at the gesture and decided not to waste this chance. I wrapped my arms around him after I pulled the covers over us. “I’m so tired, Cameron,” he whispered. “You have no idea how exhausting that kind of pain is.”

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“I believe you.” I nuzzled his neck as I ran my hands over his chest in a soothing manner. “We can wait to talk until you’ve rested and are better.” “I passed out from the pain two days in a row.” Quaid shook his head slightly as he spoke. “It will take days for me to recover from that type of stress on my body. Can I maybe just explain certain parts at a time? I figure if I break up the story I had to tell once already today, it won’t be that bad.” “Whatever is easiest for you,” I said gently, meaning it. After the quick glimpse I got into his life, I knew Quaid needed to feel as if one person cared. “Are you really okay with me being an empath, or are you able to mask your emotions somehow?” “My mother used to tell me when I was little that I wore my heart on my sleeve. So I seriously doubt I could hide my feelings from you even if you weren’t an empath.” I kissed his neck, loving the feel of him in my arms. “I never knew my parents. My first memories were of the werewolves who kept me.” “What do you mean kept you?” I asked, afraid I knew the answer. I quelled the anger I felt starting to stir. All that would do would cause Quaid pain, and it’s not like I could change his past no matter how much I wished it. “I stayed in pup form most of the time because they kept me in a dog cage,” he answered, a shiver of fear traveling through his body. “I’m actually pretty claustrophobic now, and I’m pretty sure that’s why.” “That would make sense.” “So yeah, they seemed to get off on keeping a puppy shifter as a pet and got pissed if I was in human form. And I had these abilities to read people’s feelings for as long as I could remember, so I learned early to just do whatever I had to so people wouldn’t be upset around me.”

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“How long were you held by them?” I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer when he wrapped his arms around mine. “Until I got old enough for them to start using me sexually,” he whispered, and I heard him sniffle softly. “Then they realized they could loan out my body to others and make money off of me. That’s when I realized that having an orgasm took away the pain. I mean, it’s not like I wanted to be used like that, but sometimes you just can’t help but get off if someone’s pushing all your buttons the right way. Plus, when I realized it helped me, I didn’t fight it.” “You know what I’m going to ask you next, baby.” I didn’t want to push him, but I needed to know what those monsters considered old enough. “Exactly what you think.” “Does my being sad about hearing that hurt you?” “It’s more like you’re trying not to, and it’s coming off as you’re pouting, so I’m okay.” Quaid turned his head and kissed me briefly. “Have you heard enough to want to run yet?” “Nope,” I answered and kissed him again. “None of that was your fault, and while I can be a complete idiot at times, I’m not callous enough to push you away because you suffered in your past.” “I’m glad,” he sighed, and snuggled back against me. “There was a nice couple who heard about what was happening to me, the dog who wasn’t just a dog who was caged like one by werewolves. Most of them thought that was quite comical. But the Reeds paid for my services and helped me escape instead of using me. They contacted our High Council and found refuge for me up here with the pack.” “What happened to them for helping you?” “They said they would come up with a story about how I shifted and ran away from them, and since they were older, they couldn’t give chase. I never really thanked them properly. I mean, it was the first time anyone had ever been nice to me and tried to help me, you know? I didn’t know how to respond to that.”

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“I’m sure seeing you get a chance to have a real life was thanks enough,” I said as I sat up. “Let’s get some nourishment in you. After what your body’s been through, you need to build up your strength.” “So, we’re okay?” he asked me hesitantly as he slipped out of bed. “We will be,” I answered as we both got dressed. “We’re going to talk, get a chance to explain everything to each other, and go from there.” “What happens at the end of the week when you’re supposed to go home?” My jaw dropped open as I heard his voice in my head. I was looking right at his lips, so I knew he’d not said it aloud. “You heard me, didn’t you?” He gasped as his eyes went wide. Suddenly, he launched himself into my arms. I caught him in time, even though I was in shock and hugged him back. “You’ve accepted me as your mate!” “Wait— huh? You’re an empath and telepath?” I asked as I pulled away so I could search his eyes for an explanation. “No, it’s only between mates after they fully accept their mate and give into the bond,” he answered with a smile so bright I swear he’d be wagging his tail if he was in pup form. “Okaaay,” I drawled as I pulled away and grabbed our shirts. I handed him his before putting my own on. “I think I need coffee before this part of the discussion, and you might want to start at the beginning.” “We can do that.” Quaid giggled, and my heart swelled at the sound. I couldn’t believe he was willing to give us a try after what I’d pulled. While I didn’t think I deserved that, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or gift puppy as it was. I followed him out of his room and into the kitchen, ignoring the spare room that’s door was open. That was another can of worms we could get to later. He made the coffee while I got out the fixings and scrounged up some grub. I was surprised that he had fresh croissants and homemade

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jam when he lived in such a remote location. Quaid must have seen the confusion on my face. “Some of the women of the pack bake goodies to sell to us. A few of them are wizards in the kitchen while others do canning. We can’t grow much up here, but what we do we don’t waste.” “They are good,” I moaned after biting into the buttery goodness of the bread. “I think maybe your pack will do just fine once Grady gets rid of his dad.” “Toby was talking about opening a store front in Wenatchee,” Quaid replied with a nod as he joined me with two mugs of coffee. “I was dreaming of the website I wanted to design for it when I was out. I figure we could list goods that people could order and then arrange for pick up at the store front. That way we wouldn’t always have to staff the store and maybe twice a week just bring down the orders.” “And have extras that people could also buy those days,” I said with a smile. My mate was a sharp little guy. “That’s a great idea, baby.” I reached across the table for his hand, which he hesitantly slid in mine. It wasn’t the solution to all of our problems, but I was hopeful that it was a good start.

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Chapter 5 “You really like the idea?” I asked, searching his feelings and realizing he was happy and proud. Wow. When had someone ever been proud of me? “Yeah, I know I’d put in orders for and come on special days to pick up food this good,” Cameron said with a smile before stuffing the rest of the croissant into his mouth. “I’m sure Randall would use his truck to transport the goods, and we can use mine, too.” “You’re staying?” I gasped, my eyes going wide. “But what about your vet practice?” “I worked for the pound as their vet to help out,” he answered with a shrug. “The doc who is filling in for me is a good guy who just graduated school and could use the job and experience. Plus, I can help more up here with your pack and be close to you then. That is if you don’t mind me crashing with you.” “I’m going to fall for you so hard,” I blurted out without even meaning to. “That’s the idea.” Cameron chuckled and gave me a wink. “And I’ll fill you in on why the money doesn’t matter to me later, but I want to know more about hearing your voice in my head and pup shifters. When you’re rested more, you can fill me in on what happened after you joined the pack. I figure that gives us enough spacing out so you’re not overwhelmed.” “Yeah, that’ll work.” I beamed and let go of his hand to finish eating and get some more caffeine in my system. “Shifters are different in the way they have children. You share your parent’s looks like human offspring do. A blond-haired, blue-eyed couple would

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have a blond–haired, blue-eyed baby. In our human form it’s the same thing, but not on our animal side.” “Okay, so far I’m with you.” Cameron scrunched his eyebrows together in thought and gave a nod to go on. “Dog shifters have other dogs, but not the same breed of dog. Like, Toby’s dad was an Irish Setter but had a beagle pup shifter. Alpha Ed is a Bulldog, but Grady is a Chocolate Lab pup. Same with wolves. There are so many different breeds of wolves that it’s kinda just random on what type of wolf their kids are. The idea Grady read about in some books he found in his dad’s library was that fate fits the person with the best animal for them.” “So if there’s bird shifters,” he asked, and I nodded that there were, “then say a sparrow could mate a hawk, and their offspring could be a dove?” “Yes, exactly,” I answered with a smile. “That’s actually really cool.” Cameron chuckled and gestured his hand to continue. “This is all so fascinating to me. I mean, not just because I never knew shifters existed, but the veterinary in me is just amazed at how the genes of the parents can give different breeds of animal.” “Okay, but here’s the hard part,” I said slowly, trying to pick my words carefully so I didn’t make this more confusing. “Pup shifters are different than dog shifters. Toby’s parents were both dogs, but they had him, who’s a pup. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. No matter how old I get, I’ll never shift into an adult golden retriever, always a puppy.” “I’m still with you.” “Now, Grady is a bigger man than I am, so his puppy is also larger than mine. Our animals are to scale with our human size.” “Okay, I get the idea.” “Some shifters think that puppy shifters are special, something to be treasured because we’ll always share personality traits with a puppy. Others think there’s something wrong with us and we’re

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freaks because our animals never grow up, so to speak. So that’s why a remote pack was made for the puppy shifters up in the mountains.” “That’s why Randall’s so worried about protecting you guys,” he said, as if the light bulb finally went off overhead. “Yes,” I whispered, closing my eyes as I thought about how much help our pack needed. Cameron gave my hand a supportive squeeze and rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. It felt nice, comfortable even. Like we’d had difficult talks before as a couple and he knew how to be supportive. “Most shifters form their own small town because we’re able to shift from birth, but there’s a learning curve like anything else in life.” “So, to keep the secret safe, shifters always seclude themselves, just not as much as you guys do in the mountains.” “Basically.” I snickered and took another bite of breakfast before continuing. “So that’s the background. Now, about the talking in your head. When people started getting sick, Grady told me he snuck into Alpha Ed’s library to see if he can find some answers. He discovered a book from the High Council explaining traits and mating abilities for each species.” “I’m assuming you guys didn’t all know this.” “No, Alpha Ed taught us that mates were bullshit,” I replied and shook my head partially in anger at being lied to once again about something I’d deserved to know. “He thought if people knew, they’d leave the safety of the pack to go search for their mate and we’d be discovered.” “Or he’d lose his flock to keep making him money and rule,” he said with a snort. “I have a feeling he likes being the man in charge.” “Yeah, he does,” I sighed and pulled my hand out of his to rub both over my face. “So anyway, when Grady read the book, he found out about pup and dog shifter matings. That and the different traits of each species of shifter has, like how we can talk in animal form. Not all shifters can do that. And peeing on our mates to mark and claim them isn’t common either. Most have to bite their mate or such.”

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“Okay, so the talking in my head is one of the mating things?” “Yes, when our mate accepts the mating. You don’t balk at the idea of being my mate, do you? In your mind and heart you’ve come to understand and embrace it?” “Yeah, I don’t get all of this, but you’re mine, Quaid,” he whispered and lifted my hand to his lips. “That’s why it killed me when I thought you’d gone to Grady and had sex.” “So, when that happens, mates can speak telepathically,” I said, deciding not to bring back up what Cameron thought had happened. He knew the truth now, and there was no reason to rehash it. “The book also said mates of pup shifters will become increasingly strong since pups need the most protection and care from their mates. I think Grady said it was like twenty times their normal strength, and after the transition was completed, a pup’s mate could take on a bear shifter.” “There are bear shifters?” Cameron exclaimed as he stood to get more coffee. “Wow, bears, huh? Wait, shit! Did you— I mean, wait, I’m your mate, and you’re a pup. I’m going to get that strong? Is Randall? Shit how—I mean why? When does this—?” “Cameron, breathe,” I gasped as I felt his panic. I rubbed my hands over my arms because it was starting to hurt. “I’m sorry but you have to stay calm.” “Shit,” he swore when he saw my reaction. “I get why you were always having sex now. I’m surprised you were ever able to interact with people at all. I mean, no wonder you can’t have normal conversations.” My eyes started to burn as suddenly I was filled with hopelessness. Normal conversations. I know he didn’t mean that how it sounded, but it showed me how he saw me. “Why are you sad? I can feel that you’re sad, baby,” he whispered and set down his mug. I shook my head as I rubbed my arms. If I opened my mouth, I’d start crying. I knew I would. Instead, I pushed away from the table,

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turned away from his stunned expression, and walked out the front door. Cameron called after me a few times, but I didn’t go back. I felt like someone kicked my puppy, or really, me in this case. No, I wasn’t normal. Nothing about me was, from my conversations to being an empath to the way I could relieve the pressure from it. And that’s how even my own mate saw me, not normal. On instinct I walked away from everyone and their emotions, and headed to the creek. When I got there, I plopped my butt on the bank, wiggled my toes in the water, brought my knees up to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them while resting my head on them. It was my typical routine when I needed to stop dealing with everyone else’s emotions and finally feel some of my own. Sometimes I wondered if the creek truly ran with my tears since it seemed I spent so much of my time here crying. Maybe that made me a pussy or a wuss, but there just weren’t words for what I went through on a daily basis. But then again, I’d seen people tear up or cry when they got a migraine they could tend to. I couldn’t take a pill to make my pain go away. And it wasn’t like I always just ran to people to fuck me so I didn’t have to feel some pain, no matter what my pack said about me. Most times I fought it, the pain, the emotions, for my sanity, all of it. But I only had so much fight in me and broke down. Like right now. Okay, so I wasn’t crying, because the tears wouldn’t come, but maybe I was on the inside. For as much as I felt every single emotion of the people around me, I wasn’t a mind reader. So I never knew anyone’s intentions or thoughts. Normally I didn’t really care because I always had enough on my own plate without trying to understand everyone else. But this time, this one time with Cameron, I wish I could read his mind. Could he make a life with someone he considered abnormal? To be fair, I knew I was far from normal, so it wasn’t like I was judging his reaction. But that didn’t change the fact that it hurt. When Grady

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had told me about mates a few months ago, it was like the light at the end of the tunnel. What he’d told me about mates and being mated had given me hope that the rest of this crap, being an empath, the abuse, the whore status that kept me the laughingstock of the pack, didn’t matter. None of it would matter one day because there was someone out there for me that would love me, accept me, cherish me. But was Cameron trying because he thought he had to? Or maybe it was pity? I mean, he was right that we didn’t know each other, and suddenly he was talking about staying here. Could it be so he could help the pack and I was just a side bonus? And if I was, could I learn to be okay with that? Maybe some people just didn’t get a happy ever after. **** I stared at Quaid in shock as he shut down right before my eyes. What had I said wrong? All of a sudden I felt such grief and hopelessness that I was having trouble breathing around it. But it wasn’t mine. It was Quaid’s. “Why are you sad? I can feel that you’re sad, baby,” I whispered and set down my mug. I was afraid if I talked too loud I’d startle him since he looked so fragile right then. He shook his head as he rubbed his arms. I didn’t know what to say that would make this better! Quaid pushed away from the table, turned away from me, and walked out the front door. “Quaid? Where are you going, baby?” I called out and started to follow him. “Quaid?” What the hell had just happened? I started to go after him but then paused when I got to the front door and turned around. If he wanted to be alone for a while, I could respect that. Then I turned again and braced my hands on the door while my thoughts swirled. But it had to

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be something I’d said that had upset him like that. If I didn’t talk to him and find out what that was, I couldn’t fix it. Deciding to go with that, I booked it out the door and headed right to the creek. There might have been a lot I didn’t know about my mate yet, but his place of comfort wasn’t one of them. I froze when he came into view. My sweet Quaid looked so lost it hurt my heart. I had no clue what I’d done to upset him, but I wouldn’t just leave him to sulk like this. Not when he had me now to help him. I didn’t say anything as I approached him. He glanced up at me without moving his head off of his knees, as if just waiting to see what I’d do. I think I surprised us both by sitting down behind him, moving my thighs to either side of his body, and leaning my head on his shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him. “Please, please tell me what I did, baby,” I whispered as I felt him start to shake. Was my adorable mate crying? “Quaid, don’t cry, sweetheart. I’m sorry for whatever I did, okay? Just tell me what I did wrong, and I’ll never do it again.” “You didn’t do anything wrong.” He sniffled and tried to pull away from me. I wasn’t having any of it. Instead, I tightened my arms around him, refusing to let him go. “You can’t help the way you feel, Cameron.” “How do I feel? What did I say that made you get upset?” “I’m not normal,” Quaid cried softly and buried his head into his knees. “I’ll never be normal or have normal conversations or be a normal mate to you. Why would you stay for that? Is it pity?” I was silent a moment as I back played what happened in the kitchen. And then the imaginary light bulb went off overhead. “Normal is boring, Quaid. I don’t want normal, I want extraordinary. I want you.” “W–What?” He gasped and lifted his head up so fast the back of his head connected with mine. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry.” “It’s okay.” I chuckled and grabbed my forehead. I flopped down on the grass, out of the way, so we didn’t do that again. Quaid turned

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around and straddled my lap. “It was well worth it to get you to straddle me.” “Oh, I um, yeah,” he mumbled as he glanced down at his hips on mine. “That wasn’t my goal. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you.” “I’m fine,” I whispered gently as I sat up and took his face in my hands. “Are you? I wasn’t picking on you when I said you couldn’t have normal conversations, Quaid. I just meant I was starting to see how difficult life is for you.” “Did you mean what you said about me being extraordinary?” he asked, his eyes pleading with me to say yes. Instead of answering, I rolled us over and mashed my mouth down to his. Quaid let out the hottest little whimper and submitted to me. I thrust my tongue into his mouth, taking possession of what was mine. My mate tasted sweet and not from breakfast. It was all Quaid. I pulled back finally when air became necessary, pleased that his eyes were glazed over with lust as he panted. “Why? Why me? I’m a freak,” Quaid asked, his eyes filling with tears. “You are a lot of things, baby, but a freak isn’t one of them,” I replied gently as I ran my fingers through his soft blond hair. “And next time you disparage yourself like that, I’m going to get very angry and spank my little mate until he promises to never doubt how special he is again.” “Can you spank me anyway?” His eyes went wide, and I saw the mischievous twinkle in them. This was the Quaid I’d started to fall for from the moment he leapt into my arms, announced who he was, and said we should have sex. This was the hot man who had a big heart and a fun-loving side I wanted to explore. “Does my baby liked to be spanked?” I playfully growled as I rubbed my growing erection over his. “That’s fucking hot.” “Yeah, I’ve done it a lot on the webcam,” he said as his cheeks heated with embarrassment. He gasped then as he realized what he

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had admitted and then cringed as if he was ready to feel the effects of my anger. “We need to talk about that webcam, Quaid,” I replied evenly, swallowing down my feelings. “I’m not mad at you, okay? I’m trying to stay calm because I want to rip your Alpha into shreds. If people want to do the webcam, that’s their business. But them having to do it for money because there’s no other option isn’t right. I know Grady, Randall, Toby, and I are going to try our damndest to find other ways for them to provide for themselves.” “What if I just like doing it?” He whispered and started to shake as he looked away from me. “Do you like doing it?” “Sometimes,” Quaid replied with a shrug. “Sometimes it’s fun to know that people want to watch. I know people run their mouths about me, and most of it isn’t true because they don’t know about me being an empath and all of that. But what they said about me being an exhibitionist is true. “I don’t like just sitting there and playing with myself for strangers to watch like that though. That’s kinda creepy. But like when Slade and I used to play around in front of it and all these people would watch and wish they were there to join in, yeah, that I liked.” I cleared my throat a few times as I tried to get out what I’d decided to say. It was hard for me, but I knew if it was something Quaid wanted, I’d go for it. “Maybe we could try it together for fun. I’m not comfortable with the idea of people paying to watch, but if you say it’s a rush to have people watch, I’m willing to try it. But I think I have some rules and restrictions we need to talk about.” “Of course,” he exclaimed and kissed me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t believe you are going to do it for me!” “Well, I’ll try, okay? I can’t promise I’ll like this, Quaid.” “I know, but that’s so much more than I ever hoped for.” He licked my chin, down my neck, with that soft tongue of his as he

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squirmed in my lap. I gave over to the sensations for a moment, thrilled he was happy again, until it started to lead to the loss of coherent thoughts. “Plus, sometimes it was the only way I could get hard when I was in pain so I could find a release.” “You have me for that now, baby,” I said gently as I traced my fingers over his cheekbone. “I know you said you’d never cheat on me, and I believe you. But I won’t stand for people playing in the webcam room the same time you are, and I don’t want you doing it if I’m not there. Is that fair?” “I can do that,” Quaid said excitedly as he threw his arms and legs around me. “So you really want to keep me, huh? This isn’t about pity or because I’m easy? I mean, I guess it’s okay if you think I’m easy because I’m your mate and I should be easy. But I don’t want you to keep me if it’s because you feel sorry for me. That I wouldn’t like—” I shut up his ramblings with another kiss as I squeezed his ass firmly until he moaned. “It’s not pity. Never think that, baby. There’s something here besides just hot sex, and I want to explore it. I won’t say that I’m committing to you forever, because it’s only been a couple of days and we need to get to know each other better. But I want to try. I’m willing to jump in the deep end with you and try. Can that be enough for now?” “Oh yeah,” he whimpered and licked my jaw. I’d never been into licking, always thought that leaving trails of saliva was gross. But my little pup mate was changing my mind real fast with his attention. “Tell me about you, Cameron. We’ve only talked about me, and I’m tired of it.” “You expect me to have a coherent thought while you’re doing that?” I groaned as he started sucking on my neck. I tilted it to give him better access. “Well, I could stop.” He snickered and gave me another lick. “Besides, I figured you had medicine you needed to give out to the pack.”

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“Shit!” I cussed and pulled us to our feet, keeping him wrapped around me. “You’re upset. Why are you upset?” He gasped and held onto me tightly as I raced back to Toby’s. “Because you’ve been passed out and we’ve been dealing with other stuff, you’ve not been taking it. We need to start your treatment over with the IV and get you on schedule with the pills then.” “Right, okay, but could you not be angry or upset about it please?” I swallowed my annoyance with myself as he whimpered. “Sorry, baby,” I whispered in his ear. “I’ll take care of you in a second, okay? I’ll get you off, and then we’ll get you your medicine. You just relax and let me handle everything.” “Okay, I trust you, Cameron.” Quaid said it with such conviction that I melted. I almost stumbled and dropped him as it hit me: he was it for me. I’d never leave him or let him go. Holy shit! I pushed the thought aside to deal with later when he wasn’t around. I yanked open the door for Toby’s house where I’d left all the supplies and raced right by the confused expressions of my friends, holding up a hand to stop them. Kneeling down in the corner of the living room by my supplies, I immediately undid his zipper and thrust my hand in his pants. “They’re right in the other room listening to us, Quaid,” I purred in his ear as I stroked his soft cock. I knew I couldn’t take offense to that, since it was hard to be turned on while in pain. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t pull out all the stops to get my man off when he needed it. “How about I call them in here to watch? Would that help get you hard?” “No, I just want you, but I don’t care if they hear,” he answered as he slid his legs off my hips and knelt in front of me so I had better access. “Just being with you is more than enough to get me hard.” “What about if I promised to give you that blow job we talked about later?” That got my mate hard instantly and humping my hand.

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“Really? You’d want to suck me off?” Quaid moaned and licked my neck. “I think I’d like that.” “I want to taste my sweet mate,” I growled possessively. The idea that I’d be the only man to ever please him that way thrilled me. “I want you to come for me now, baby. I’ll spank you and blow you if you’re a good mate now and give me what I want.” “I’m trying,” he whimpered. “Don’t think about it. You’ll just put pressure on yourself, just enjoy what I’m doing to you and let go.” I stroked him faster as I squeezed him harder. Quaid gasped and stared into my eyes as he panted. He was close. I just needed to push him over the edge. “Tell me what you need, baby. What would make this better?” “Bite me,” he begged so perfectly. “I–I like biting with you.” “Me, too,” I moaned and leaned over to sink my teeth into his neck. It worked. Quaid went stiff in my arms before crying out and coming all over my hand. I grunted as I released his skin from my teeth and licked the sting away. “That’s it, my mate.” “Thank you,” he yelled as he kept climaxing. “Such a good mate,” I cooed as he came back down from his orgasm. Quaid went limp in my embrace, and I slowly lowered him to sit down and lean against the couch. Then I whipped off my shirt and cleaned up his cum on him and my hand. “I promise to reward you later, baby.” “Okay,” Quaid said with a smile as his chest heaved while his eyes were still closed. I moved around quickly to get the IV and port. “I need you to shift for me.” He did as I asked immediately, getting a smile from me as to how much he was the obedient pup at times. I pulled him out of his clothes, set him on the sofa, and got the IV started after I found a vein. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more diligent with your health, Quaid. It won’t ever happen again, I promise.” “It’s okay. You remembered when I wouldn’t have.” “Care to explain?” Randall chuckled from behind us. I stood up and hung the bag of meds on the IV pole before facing them. Sure

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enough, Toby was standing in front of my friend, pushing his ass back against Randall, letting me know they’d seen the whole show. “We were talking by the creek when I realized that he’d not been getting his medicine with everything going on.” I sat down on the couch and pulled my gorgeous golden retriever pup onto my lap. “I got upset with myself, which of course Quaid felt, and you can figure out the rest.” “Glad you’re taking care of him as you should.” Toby giggled and gave me a wink. “I approve of you being mated to my friend now.” “You don’t get a vote,” Quaid said firmly. “I didn’t get a vote on Randall, and Cameron’s a good mate to me.” “It’s okay, pup. He was just teasing,” I replied as I scratched his ears. It warmed my heart that he was so quick to defend me after everything I’d screwed up. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve this loyalty from him, but I knew I wouldn’t throw it away. Just then the front door opened, and Grady walked in, looking several years older than the last time I’d seen him. “Good, you’re all here. We need to talk,” the man said with a loud sigh. Randall and I exchanged a this-can’t-be-good look as Toby settled his friend in his over-sized chair. I felt Quaid start to shake in my lap, and I was worried for him. What was going on now? Couldn’t we just get one fucking day of peace?

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Chapter 6 “It’s okay, he’s not hurting me,” I said as Cameron went stiff under me. “He’s holding back his emotions enough to where I don’t feel them. I can just tell from his posture that something’s wrong.” “A few things actually,” Grady muttered and then thanked Toby for the can of pop he handed him. “I talked to someone from the High Council again. They want to make sure everything is in order before they come to arrest my dad tomorrow.” “Alpha Ed being gone is good news though,” Toby said, and I could feel his confusion as he plopped down on Randall’s lap. “I mean, I know he’s your dad and all, so that sucks. But it’s what’s best for the pack.” “It is, and while it’s hard, I’m dealing with it,” Grady replied with a nod and took a long drink. “When I was listing everything that my father had done wrong with the pack, they focused on a few things. One being the webcam site. They are pissed that we’ve been exposing ourselves that way. Not because of the sexual nature but because we could end up having some crazed stalker-fan try to track us down and figure out what we are.” “Yeah, we’ve been talking about how to get rid of it,” Cameron said as he kept stroking my fur. “I know Randall and Toby had talked with you about setting up a store front. Quaid said he came up with an idea for a website for it. He thinks, and I agree, that people could place orders for goods and we could have certain pick up days in town. That way there could be extras made that customers off the street could come in a buy as well.” “Great idea, Quaid,” Toby exclaimed with a wide smile.

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“Yes, it is, but we’re out of time,” Grady replied as he set his drink down. He leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees, and rubbed his hands over his face. “All the money my father has been hoarding is not in the pack bank account or his personal one. The Council said they can get their people on locating it, but it will take some time. Until then, the pack is broke. So, not only am I concerned on how we’re going to survive for the next few months, but we can’t afford to open a store front.” “I can help,” Toby said quietly as he squirmed on Randall’s lap. “I have money, Grady.” “I know you do, my friend, and I would expect nothing less than you to offer to help. But I’m afraid this time it will be more than you can help with. The taxes are due on the land, we owe the Council our pack dues, and we need help feeding the pack since we’re almost down to zero supplies besides what you brought. Spring is here, and we’ve no seeds for the crops we can grow, and depending on Cameron’s tests as to where the source of the parvo started, we don’t know what we need to fix.” “Taxes on this much land are going to be a pretty penny,” Randall said with a whistle. “Yeah, they are,” Grady sighed. “I have some hidden money, too, Grady,” I said. “I was keeping it hidden from your dad in case I found a place to run away to one day. It’s not much, but it can help.” “Thanks, Quaid, but even if we figure out a way to cover all of what we owe, we’ll have nothing to survive off of. Not to mention opening a store front so we can start bringing income into the pack. The Council suggested we vacate the land. There are packs that would love to have this remote location, and the parvo wouldn’t affect them.” “Where would we go?” Toby gasped as I thought the same question.

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“We’d split up and get reintegrated into other dog packs,” Grady answered with a pained expression. “But wouldn’t you have the same problems as before? Which was why this pack was formed?” Randall asked as he hugged Toby tightly to him. “There’s got to be another way than to send pack members to the wolves, so to speak.” “I’m rich,” my mate blurted out suddenly. I rolled over on his lap, careful of the needle in my paw, and looked up at him. “Cameron, I’ve been to your house.” Randall snickered and gestured around Toby’s house. “It’s only a little bit bigger than Toby’s house and decorated the same way. There’s nothing expensive or lavish there.” “I like comfortable and basic,” he replied with a shrug. Then he glanced down at me. “I was going to tell you, but we’d not gotten around to it. Remember how I said it was okay for me to stay here and that I didn’t need the money I made working at the pound? I just worked there because I liked helping the animals and it felt like I was doing something with my life. But, yeah, I don’t need the money.” “You’re serious?” Randall asked. “We’ve been friends all this time and you never told me?” “Please,” Cameron replied with a snicker. “We’ve been in-passing friends, and I used to have a crush on you. We weren’t all that tight until everything happened with Toby and the pack needed help, Randall. Besides, I don’t tell anyone. There’s no easy way to tell someone that I have a trust fund the size of Canada.” It was probably the wrong time to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. I burst out into peals of giggles as I rolled from side to side in his lap. “Care to share with the class, pup?” Cameron asked as he tickled my belly. “I totally landed a hot, rich doctor as my mate,” I exclaimed and started laughing again. “Glad you are so happy about it,” he replied with a wink and went back to petting me sweetly. “I’m hot, huh?”

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“Pleeeease,” I drawled as I stared up at him. “You totally know you’re sexy as all get out.” “Can we focus back on the doc being rich and how this helps the pack?” Grady asked, breaking into our fun. I wanted to snap at him, but when I saw the bags under his tired eyes and the worry on his features I let it go. I hadn’t been the only one under stress lately, and he didn’t have a mate to help him. “It, um, means you could, well, owe, um,” Cameron stuttered as he looked anywhere but at any of us. I rolled to my paws and climbed up his chest, licking his chin. He glanced down at me then. “Don’t make me use the tongue on you to get the information I want,” I teased gently, giving him a quick bark and a growl. “You don’t have to help, Cameron. But no one here will judge you or be mean. If they are, I’ll bite them and pee on them and not in the nice way to claim them like I did you. I will just pee on them every time I see them for being bad to my mate.” “You are too fucking cute.” He chuckled and lifted me up. Cameron rubbed his nose against mine for a moment before I licked him again. He rested me down on his chest so my face was in the crook of his neck. In a way it reminded me of a scared child holding his favorite stuffed animal for comfort, but I didn’t mind. If this is how I could help my mate and be there for him, I had no problem with snuggling. “Promise you’ll still want me if I’m rich?” “Yeah, I might be dense, but I ain’t fucking stupid,” I said with a snort. “Who gets rid of someone because they’re rich?” “More people than you’d think,” he muttered under his breath so only I could hear. Then he turned back to Grady, took a deep breath, and dropped the bomb. “It means as long as the total debts don’t exceed half a million, it won’t even make a dent in my portfolio.” “Fuck me sideways,” Grady gasped, and I had to agree. “What if we borrowed the money we needed until we get the funds back from my father?”

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“Whatever works,” Cameron said with a shrug. “I’m not about to just throw money around, but I won’t sit by and do nothing while innocent people of this pack have to leave their homes because of one man’s actions. And I need is to take those samples and get them sent out so we can get some answers.” “You’ll come back though, right?” I asked quietly. “I was hoping you’d come with me,” he answered as he nipped my ear gently. “I don’t think I’d like being separated from you. I can get my replacement set up for the pound, and we can look at possibilities for storefronts.” He glanced up at Grady then. “Can you get me the account number for the pack, and I’ll wire money into it while we’re in town?” “Yeah, umm, that would be great,” Grady replied hesitantly. “Well, that takes care of that, thank god. But I also wanted to talk to you guys about our security problems. The Council had an idea, and I talked to the Seattle coven, but I need your input.” “Coven? As in vampires?” Cameron asked as I watched his jaw drop. “I’m never going to have a dull day around you guys, am I?” “Nope, I like to keep you on your toes.” I giggled and received a swat on the butt for that comment. “You’ll get used to our world.” Grady snickered before getting serious again. “The Council suggested we go outside to other shifters for help. Because there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t come in and take over without the Council’s knowledge. But if we had people from the outside, they’d be too afraid to piss off our council to screw with us.” “Makes sense,” Randall said firmly. “But how does protection only at night help you guys?” “That’s a myth,” Grady replied with a snort. “Vampires are daywalkers just like us, and they’re not turned. They’re born that way. And they are huge. They stay secluded as we do but for other reasons, they don’t look very human. They’re gorgeous and big and just don’t fit in and draw attention to themselves if they’re in public.”

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“But can we trust them? I mean, I get they wouldn’t want to piss off your council, but what could we give them that would keep them in line?” My smart mate asked. “Blood,” Grady answered and cringed. “There’s fighting going on in the West Coast covens for power. The Seattle coven is in favor with the High Council of Vampires and ours, since they’re not the troublemakers. But they relied on one of the covens who is starting the trouble for their blood supply and has been cut off. They approached our Council for help since they can last much longer on shifter blood between feedings.” “So, they’d be willing to trade protection for blood,” Randall said slowly as if mulling over the idea. “How much blood would one coven need? I mean, we’re not going to drain the pack keeping them fed, are we?” “We’d need to get a pint out of everyone in the pack every three weeks,” Grady answered as his shoulders relaxed. It seemed he thought we were immediately going to shoot the idea down. “And I looked it up. Medically, humans can donate every two weeks, so since we heal faster, three weeks is no biggie.” “And how many vamps would that get us? They’d come live here, right? I mean, we wouldn’t want a rotating door for them to trade shifts and draw attention to us,” Randall replied, and I was impressed with Toby’s mate for asking good questions. He truly seemed to understand the situation the pack was in. But then again, he was Sheriff. He knew how to get things done. “They said if we gave them that, they would give us four unmated males and help us by airlifting whatever building supplies we needed. I told them the situation with the parvo, but they said it doesn’t matter to them. The building supplies are so they could build a place of their own and we could update some of the houses that desperately need it. I mean, some of them still have outhouses and no running water. Toby, Grady, Slade, and I are the only ones with power.” “I didn’t know that,” I said as my eyes went wide with shock.

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“Yeah, neither did I,” Grady sighed. “It seems everyone was too afraid of pissing off my dad, so they never complained or told anyone. But, like sweet, little old Mrs. Boyd, who bakes most of the breads and cakes for the pack, has holes in her roof the size of my head.” “We’d also have to feed the vampires who stayed here,” I said suddenly as the thought hit me. “I’ll take care of that,” Grady said firmly. “They can feed from me until either they make friends of their own here or hell, a mate.” “Okay, any more issues or bombs to drop?” Randall asked after we were all quiet for a few minutes as we mulled these new developments. “Fuck, I hope not.” Grady chuckled, though not in a happy way. I felt his fear and weariness, but again, those wouldn’t hurt me. “So here’s the plan,” Randall said firmly as if putting his Sheriff I’m in charge hat on. “Cameron and Quaid will get to work on the samples and hand out today’s meds to everyone. Grady will tell the Council the money is coming and set them up to track down the money from Alpha Ed’s accounts. And make the deal with the vamps. I think what their asking for is nothing compared to what they’re willing to give, agreed?” “Yeah, I can donate blood, no big deal.” I snickered and everyone nodded as well. “Toby and I will start going door-to-door and make a list of the most immediate improvements that are needed. Tomorrow is when they’re coming for Alpha Ed, right?” “I was told they would be here before nightfall,” Grady said with a nod. “Then they’ll swear me in as the new Alpha and you as my Beta. Everyone needs to be here for that.” “Fine,” Randall replied and turned to my mate and me. “Then, in the morning, you can head down to town, get the samples sent and whatever else you need to handle, and be back here by the afternoon. I don’t want either of us gone too long until we get Ed out and

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protection in. Toby and I can go to town the day after for what we need to do.” “Thank you,” Grady whispered as his eyes filled with tears. “I know we’re in this mess because of my dad, and I was naive enough to trust him, but none of you have questioned me taking over and have jumped in to help.” “You’re the right guy for the job, Grady,” Toby said gently as he reached out to pat our friend’s hand. “Every good leader needs a support team, and that’s what we are.” “The last thing is the webcam site,” Grady replied as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I need to be able to tell the Council it’s being shut down.” “I will handle it tonight,” I said firmly. “I need to refund the prebought credits to our subscribers, but then I can shut it down or maybe sell the site so we can get that revenue back.” “We’ll still figure out a way to work with your exhibitionist side,” Cameron replied as he kissed my nose. “I can’t leave my mate unfulfilled.” I smiled and licked his cheek. I had the best mate ever. **** After we finished up at Toby’s, everyone broke up to handle their assigned tasks. Cameron and I stopped at my house to take a quick shower, after I was done with my medicine and shifted back to human form. I had trouble not laughing when my mate bitched about the lack of hot water, trickle of water stream, and the well-water smell. It seemed he was going to be adding several things to his own list to get my house updated. Once we were cleaned and re-dressed, he grabbed his sample kit, and we headed out to the next task. We took several soil samples around our mini-town, but the look on Cameron’s face when he saw the outhouses told me that he had an idea where the source of the

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parvo was coming from. Cameron was taking samples from the well and scrapings from the bucket we used before we headed to the creek. “Think you’re a changed man now that you’ve mated?” Alpha Ed sneered from behind me as he got closer. Fuck! I’d been so wrapped up in enjoying the day and spending time with Cameron I’d not been paying attention. My arms had started tingling, but I figured it was from the early spring breeze in the mountains. Now that he was right here by me, I could feel his rage. “You can’t hurt me anymore,” I whimpered as I turned around and backed away from him. I darted a quick glance over to Cameron, who was several yards away, and I cursed myself for walking so far away from him. Before I could yell out for help or focus enough to use our mating link, Alpha Ed grabbed me around the throat and that didn’t help the pain starting in my head. “You belong to me, boy,” he growled in my face and grabbed my ass hard as he lifted me up to my toes. “This ass is mine, and no fancy vet is going to take what I have prior claim to.” “Leave him alone,” someone shouted, and his anger hit me like a wave as the knives in my head got worse. Suddenly, we were drawing a crowd, and I couldn’t focus enough through the pain to see where Cameron was. “Now you all care about Horndog?” The Alpha sneered and shook me. “None of you even know why he’s always dropping to his knees and begging for sex!” “Please, don’t,” I gasped as his hand squeezed my throat tighter. Then I was having trouble breathing through the pain. “He’s a freak!” the Alpha bellowed as he spun around with me. “He’s a fucking empath and feels our emotions. He’s a sneak who can see inside your heads and uses it against us. Why do you think I’ve always kept him under my thumb since he got here?” “Not true,” I croaked out as everyone erupted into shouting. My head spun so badly as my skin felt like it was being clawed off. I was also pretty sure I was about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

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“Let him go,” Cameron roared and punched Alpha Ed in the face. The man dropped me, and I crumbled to the ground. “Randall, handle him!” “I got him,” Randall said, sounding far away to me. “Baby, come on, stay with me,” Cameron said as he moved me into his arms. “Don’t pass out again. I’m worried what it would do to you, okay? Let me help you.” “How?” I managed between deep gasping breathes to get air back into me. I felt less like I was going to pass out since I could breathe again, but the pain was so intense from everyone around me getting so upset. “Grady, get people back in their houses or to calm the fuck down!” he barked out and lifted me up. “I’m sorry, baby, this isn’t how I wanted this to go for our first time.” “What?” I asked, completely confused since my head was already spinning with shooting pains. He set me on my feet, leaning me against the stone edge of the well and dropped to his knees. It clicked for me then. “Here?” “I can’t think of what else to do,” he replied in a higher octave than normal. Cameron undid my jeans and yanked them off my hips. “S’okay, my mate, calm down,” I said, not to chastise him, but this wouldn’t help if I kept feeling his panic. “It’s just you and me.” “I don’t care if the entire state of Oregon was here witnessing this,” he replied softly as he licked the head of my cock. I whimpered at the sensation as my dick started to take notice of what was going on over the pain. “That’s it, Quaid, be a good pup for your mate. You like this, don’t you?” “Yes,” I hissed and then yelped as he swallowed my hardening cock down. I was able to focus enough through the pain to stare down into his bright eyes. “Thank you.” Cameron gave a grunt of acknowledgement since his mouth was otherwise occupied and reached up to squeeze my sac. I groaned, loving how this felt. We’d so have to do this again when I wasn’t in

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pain. He used his tongue to run around the head of my cock each time he moved up it, which sent a thrill of pleasure through me. “This is fucking amazing,” I whispered as I ran my fingers through his hair. My mate gazed up at me with such relief in his eyes that he was pleasing me and about to take away the pain that I fell the rest of the way in love with him. I didn’t even need to think or sort through my emotions, I knew how I felt without a doubt. I just figured right then wasn’t the time to tell him. “Coming,” I cried out seconds before my orgasm washed over me. I yelled Cameron’s name as I threw back my head and gave over to the pleasure my mate gave me. He didn’t back off or slow down. Instead, he swallowed down everything I gave him as he kept sucking me. It was fucking awesome! When I was finally spent, he pulled off my spent dick with a loud pop and cleaned me up. I was panting as the last of the pain left, and I was filled with nothing but peace. Never had I ever been able to come as fast as I did with my mate. He was like my own special aphrodisiac that could get me wound up like no one else could. I started to sag against the well as my body went limp. Cameron stood up, tucked me back into my jeans, and set my clothes to rights. Before I could even say anything, he swept me up into his arms and got us out of there. “Everyone didn’t leave, and I won’t risk them hurting you again,” he said by way of explanation. “I love you, Cameron,” I whispered as I buried my face in his neck, too scared to see his reaction. “Really, pup?” he asked, his voice filled with emotion. Instantly, I felt his happiness and joy. “You really love me?” “More than anything,” I answered honestly and licked his neck. “You didn’t care about anything or anyone else except helping me, my mate. How could I not completely love you? You’re here, helping strangers of my pack, and not just as a doctor. You decided to leave

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your life, without a backwards thought, to come live here with me. Do you realize how awesome that is?” By the time I was done talking, we were in my house, and Cameron carried me to my bedroom. He didn’t say anything as he gently laid me on the bed. I smiled up at him as he lay down between my legs, careful of his weight as he braced himself on his hands. “I love you, too, baby,” he whispered as his eyes filled with moisture. “You are so fucking amazing, Quaid, and you don’t even realize it. Not to mention you’re so sexy and seem to have been made for me. The way you respond to my touch thrills me like nothing else could. Even when you’re in so much pain and you just give yourself over to me with such trust it melts me.” “I am yours if you’ll have me,” I replied with a smile as I reached up to cup his cheek. “Hell, I’ll tattoo it on my forehead whom I belong to if that would make you happy.” Cameron searched my eyes for a moment before a wide, devilish smile spread over his face. “It’s not your forehead I would put that on. Did Toby tell you about the tattoos they got?” “No, why?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Cameron leaned over slowly, pushing his hard-on against my now-filling cock and licked the shell of my ear. “Well, Randall got a tat of a beagle pup with Toby’s name,” he drawled, and while that was a sweet idea, I knew that wasn’t what had my mate so hard. “And Toby got Randall’s name inked on his lower back with vines that go down over his ass so it’s very, very clear exactly what belongs to Randall.” “Would my mate like that?” I asked, my own wicked smile starting. He groaned loudly and started nibbling on my ear as he reached down and squeezed my ass with one hand. “Would you get one like Randall, too? Where did he get it?” “Over his heart,” he whispered in my ear and then trailed kisses down my neck. I tilted it back to give him better access. “He said

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Toby wormed his way into his heart, just like you have in mine, baby. But I’d get it anywhere you’d want.” “I think the over-the-heart is sweet and all,” I said slowly, trying to pick my words carefully so I didn’t hurt his feelings. “But I love your smooth, firm chest as it is. My vote would be on your shoulder.” “Right here?” he asked as he leaned back so he was on his knees. I shook my head as he pointed to his back where his shoulder blade was. “No, right above your bicep, where your arm meets your socket,” I answered as I reached up and moved his hand to where I was meaning. “When I first met you and we had sex, you whipped off your shirt, and I swear I just about swallowed my tongue you were so hot. And I love several things about you, but I thought I’d never seen hotter arms and muscular shoulders. I didn’t know I was into muscles until I met you.” “I could get a golden retriever pup on one, and your name on the other.” Cameron wiggled his eyebrows at me and leaned back down. “Is that a fair trade for you to get a tramp stamp with my name?” “D–Does it make me a tramp to have one?” I stuttered, not liking the idea of another label being added to my already long list. “No, baby, it’s just what it’s called,” he said gently as his expression softened. “We’ll call it something else, okay? How about my own personal sexy stamp? Would you get my sexy stamp on you?” “Yeah, I totally would.” I giggled, my heart swelling at how quickly he made my worries go away. “Think we’ll have time tomorrow in town to get them done?” “We’ll make the time,” he growled as he started taking off my clothes. “And I need to thoroughly inspect the place they’re going to put it.” “I’m okay with that,” I said, and then laughed at his antics. I didn’t care what he called it or where he wanted to ink me. If it made the man I loved this happy and playful, I’d let him mark up my entire body with his name. And if that made me a sap, fuck it, I didn’t care. I had Cameron.

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Chapter 7 The next morning we drove down to town in my truck as my gorgeous mate bounced in his seat with excitement. He hadn’t even complained when I’d woken him up at sunrise to head out. After everything that had been going on since we met, I was thrilled beyond belief that Quaid was so happy. We had the samples and a list of errands we needed to get done quickly so we could have some fun and get back before late afternoon. “I’ve never been to a real store,” Quaid said with awe as we drove through town to the pound. “Never?” I asked, glancing at him with wide eyes before focusing back on the road. “Nope!” He giggled. “I went from being held by the werewolves to the pack. And Alpha Ed never allowed us to leave the mountain.” “Oh, then we have another few stops to add besides the tattoo parlor.” I smiled, as I knew exactly where I’d take my adorable man. “This is where you work?” Quaid’s eyebrow shot up to his hairline as we pulled into the parking lot. “Yes, but remember what you have is contagious to the dogs here, so you can’t come into contact with them, okay?” “I’ll be good, I swear, Cameron.” We hopped out of the truck, and I made sure to grab the samples I had finished grabbing yesterday while Quaid had taken a nap. As I went to unlock the front door, he timidly gripped the elbow of my other arm. I smiled at him reassuringly and took his hand in mine once we got through the door and I retrieved my keys.

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No one was around yet, so at least we had the place to ourselves. I was filled with pride at the small town pound I’d helped grow into an impressive vet clinic when I heard his gasp and saw his eyes go wide. He wandered around and checked everything out as I started bagging and tagging samples for shipment. It took about an hour to get that done, and during that time, Quaid had gotten on the Internet and helped me transfer money from my account to the pack’s. Then, at my request, he transferred some from my savings, cashed in a few of my stocks, and put it all in my checking account. I was impressed how efficient he was with the computer. Which worked for me since I hated the damn thing, always had. “Oh my god,” he gasped and jumped out of the chair he was sitting in. “Oh my god! Holy shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” “Care to share?” I asked, wondering what the hell he was looking at that got him so excited. Without a word he grabbed my hand and dragged me over to his e-mail as he hopped from one foot to the other as he pointed to the screen. “Someone wants to buy the webcam site.” “Yeah, for twenty thousand dollars,” he exclaimed in a shrill voice. “I refunded the money and put it on disable, but I sent out feelers to other sites that we were looking to sell. This site said if we sell them the site as is with our member list, they’ll pay us twenty grand!” “So that’s way over what you had to pay in refunds, right?” “Yes!” Quaid jumped into my arms, and I returned his firm hug. “I’m glad it worked out, baby,” I whispered and kissed his neck. When we broke apart, he went back to the computer to accept the offer while I finished up, left instructions, codes, and keys for my replacement in a big envelope. The office staff would start coming in soon, and I wanted to get the handoff ready and get us gone so there wasn’t a chance for a big to-do. Sure enough, at half past seven people started trickling in. I talked to the doc who was filling in, stating I had a letter of recommendation

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for him to get the job since he’d interned for me while going through school and I knew he could handle it. I explained about the samples I was sending out and how to contact me with the results as soon as he got them, even though I’d put on the order forms for the lab to call me directly. I said my good-byes, got a few tears from one of the techs who I’d worked with for years. Then I grabbed my man’s hand, and we headed for the door. “You okay with this? I mean, you’re giving up people who care about you and a job you love, Cameron?” he asked hesitantly as he tugged on my hand to stop me. “We’re not moving to Mars, Quaid.” I chuckled and reached out to cup his cheek. “I can still see everyone when we come into town and maybe bring by some treats. Also I’m going to be doing the job I love, just with a new twist, and I couldn’t be happier.” “You’re quitting?” My receptionist exclaimed in a shrill voice as I cringed. Damn! The one time she was a few minutes early for work. She was the one I wanted to avoid. I knew rumors would be flying, but I didn’t want to announce it directly to the town gossip. “Yes I am,” I said before kissing Quaid on the forehead and giving him the keys to the truck. She was a mean old coot, and I didn’t want to subject him to her emotions. “Go wait in the truck for me, honey, I’ll be right out.” He gave me a quick nod that he understood, took them, and booked it. “You’re gay?” she screeched. “No.” I snickered and waved off her concerns. I rolled my eyes when she sighed with relief and grabbed her chest. “Of course I’m gay! You just heard me call another man honey and kiss him.” “I thought I knew you, but you’re a sick man,” she sneered as her mean eyes raked over me. “It’s good that you’re quitting. I hope you leave town, too.”

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Now I was pissed. I stepped towards her, using my full height as intimidation as I leaned over her short frame and got right in her face. “You dare judge me? I save and help animals for a living while you take long lunches, sneak out early constantly, and use work hours to make personal phone calls and spread rumors. You go to church every Sunday to gossip! And that church teaches to love everyone and acceptance.” “God only knows what you’ve been doing to those animals if you’re willing to sleep with a man!” “Oh for fuck sake! Now I’m molesting animals and into bestiality?” I couldn’t help but laugh at her bullshit comment. “You’re married to a man. If anyone should understand being attracted to one, it should by you!” “Cameron, am I currently in charge of the staff during this interim position?” my protégé asked me. “Why, yes you are,” I answered, smiling widely because I had a clue as to what he was about to do. “Good,” he replied and then turned to the receptionist. “Dr. Dalton let you get away with all that shit while he was in charge, but I’m not as nice as he is. And you’ve just harassed a good man in my clinic, so I’m done. You’re fired. I’ll have one of the techs pack any of your personal shit and send it to you. Give me your keys and vacate the premises.” “You can’t do that!” she screeched in a higher octave than I’d even ever heard from her. I gave my replacement a wave and left him to it. As much as I wanted to see the bitch squirm, I had better things to attend to. “Everything okay?” Quaid asked quietly as I climbed into the truck. “Are you still wanting to get inked with my name?” “Of course,” he answered with a smile. “Then everything’s perfect,” I purred as I leaned over to get a quick kiss from my mate.

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“Good, because we have an appointment with a Realtor to see a few possible store fronts.” “When did this go down?” I asked as I started up the truck. He handed me a slip of paper with an address. “I made a call while you were saying some of your good-byes. As soon as the lady heard we were looking for a year lease or to purchase a store property, her calendar suddenly cleared up.” “Welcome to capitalism.” I chuckled and headed to the address. I felt all the pieces of our plans falling into place when I realized where the place was located. It was a block from my house and was the old bakery that shut down a few months ago when the owners retired to Florida. Everyone had been sad to see it close down, but with the economy, no one was willing to take the risk of taking over a business. “Oh, this will work nicely,” Quaid said brightly as we pulled up in front of it. “Right?” I replied, feeling almost giddy myself. Why hadn’t I thought of the bakery? The members of the pack who baked could come here on certain days and fill orders with professional equipment instead of their run-down homes. “Pack members can stay at my house a block away while we renovate houses. We’ll just have to get a few cars, and some will have to get their drivers licenses.” “This is so cool!” he exclaimed and jumped out of the truck. I took his hand as the Realtor introduced herself and opened the place up for us. It was perfect! With a little tender loving care and some elbow grease, the place would be exactly what we needed. There was even an extra show room that the old owners never used that the pack members who made crafts and furniture could use for their items. “We’ll take it,” I announced as I hugged Quaid to me. “Well, we have a six month or year lease,” she said as she looked over her file. “How much to buy?” I asked, chuckling when Quaid gasped.

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“I’ll have to ask the current owner, but I can call you later today with an answer if you like.” “That would be wonderful,” I said as we shook hands. “The vet who became a baker.” She chuckled as we left before she locked up. “Actually, I know the bakers, so I’m just the investor. My fiancé’s family lives up in the mountains and makes the most wonderful baked goods. They’ve been looking for a way to branch out. And the additional space will work for some of his uncles who make furniture.” “That will be a wonderful addition to our town!” We talked a little bit longer about how I would transfer funds, how long until taking complete ownership, et cetera. Luckily, I’d saved her dog last year when he’d been hit by a car, so she had no trust issues with giving me a second set of keys so we could start cleaning the place out. We said our good-byes and got back in the truck. “Where to next?” “The grocery store.” I chuckled as we headed that way. I knew they had supplies delivered every so often to their pack, but Randall had told me it was the basics so they could make their own food. Plus, they had some animals for the essentials like eggs and milk. I couldn’t wait to see Quaid’s expressions as he got to see the selection a store would have. A few minutes later after we’d parked, gotten out, and grabbed a cart at the store, I wasn’t disappointed. My mate was like a kid in a candy store. And I’d never, ever seen anyone so excited for fruit. “We only have a few apple trees and grow strawberries up there,” he said as he put a watermelon in the cart. “I’ve always wanted to try one.” “You need to try these,” I said as I picked up a bag of red grapes. “They’re sweet and juicy, a great snack.” “I do like sweet and juicy,” Quaid purred at me with twinkle in his eyes that let me know he was talking about anything other than fruit. I

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gave him a sharp smack on the ass as we headed to vegetables. The little imp held up a cucumber and wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I had to bite my lip to keep in the laugh. But even though his antics were drawing a few stares, I didn’t care. I’d never seen Quaid so lighthearted and full of life that I wanted to see more. We skipped over the bakery, of course, but stopped at the deli counter. Quaid explained while they had meat delivered, it was always roasts, steaks, and items that could be frozen. So we got a few pounds of various deli meats and cheeses. When we moved on to cereals, I swear I thought he’d fill the rest of the cart with boxes of just those. He picked three after I reminded him that we’d be back. He wanted to try making pasta, so we grabbed the ingredients along with some ground beef and lots of other items along the way before calling it quits. We quickly paid and loaded up the truck before heading over to the tattoo parlor. It was lucky that it was still cooler since it was early spring, but I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. Who goes to the grocery store before they spend a few hours getting tattoos? Riiiight. Quaid went off on his own to look at the different designs, trying to figure out what he wanted. I found mine almost immediately, as if it was fate that the picture was right there for me to see. It didn’t escape my notice that the bigger, nicely inked-up guy announced he’d take care of my mate and followed Quaid around. I was having trouble not picking my mate up, throwing him over my shoulder, and growling at the man that Quaid was mine. I sat down with the gal who was doing mine and pulled off my shirt. She gave me an appreciative glance since I kept myself in shape but then laughed when she saw that I was watching my man like a hawk. Yeah, I was off the market. “All done,” she announced proudly about an hour later. I turned to look in the mirror after she wiped my shoulder off. She did a fantastic job. On my right shoulder was a perfect golden retriever pup who looked just like Quaid. On my left was his name made up of always

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for the lines of the letters. It couldn’t be seen from a distance, but closer up someone could see it was always written over and over again, and it was exactly what I’d wanted. I thanked her, grabbed my shirt, and headed for the curtained area where they did more revealing tats and piercing. It took me everything I had to bite back the snarl that was forming in my chest when I saw the big tattooed dude palming my mate’s ass as he worked. Sure, Quaid would have to lower his jeans because of the placement of the ink he was getting done, but his jeans did not need to be past his ass and on his thighs. And the guy really didn’t need to be copping a feel when he was working on my man’s lower back. “How goes it, baby?” I asked, swallowing back my festering emotions so I didn’t hurt him. I moved to the front half of the dentist chair he was lying chest-down in and squatted down so we were at eye level. “Does it hurt, sweetheart?” “It scratches and tickles mostly,” he answered as I ran my thumb over his bottom lip. “Why does he keep rubbing his hand over my butt? Is that how he holds me still?” “No, babe, he’s taking liberties on my man,” I said gently through our mating link. “Maybe I should distract my man so he doesn’t feel the evil needle? How about moving you a little so I can stroke that gorgeous cock of yours? But could you stay still enough for that?” “No, no I couldn’t,” he panted as he licked his lips seductively. “But this position puts me at perfect level to please the man I love if he wanted.” “Who could refuse an offer like that?” I growled as the other guy gaped at us. I wanted to snarl in his face, “See, bitch, he’s mine!” Instead, I leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips with mine. “Will you be a good pup and not ruin your ink if we play?” “I promise,” he whimpered prettily. “Otherwise, you can spank me when we get home.”

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“You’d enjoy that too much.” I chuckled as I stood back up and looked at the guy. “You don’t have a problem with this, do you? I mean, since you’re groping his ass and all that, I thought you’d enjoy the show.” “Do you share?” “No fucking way,” I snarled and noticed the guy moved his hand where it should have been. “I’d think the fact that you’re inking my name where you’d like to play with my man, you’d get that.” “Yeah, gotcha loud and clear,” the guy said quickly and then cleared his throat. “Go ahead, I’m working on the last part of it and filling in. So we should be good.” “Yes, please, please let me suck you, Cameron,” Quaid begged but stayed perfectly still. “You little exhibitionist.” I snickered and undid my jeans. “You know I love it when you beg, baby.” “I do, but I don’t tease you with it or be mean.” It was true. He didn’t. He whimpered again and pulled my cock out. Quaid opened his mouth as he pleaded with his eyes to let him have fun. “Who do you belong to, baby?” “You, only you, Cameron,” he whispered, and I saw such truth and conviction in his eyes that it made my stomach flutter. “I only ever want you.” “Right answer,” I purred and moved my dick over his tongue. He moaned softly as he licked the slit of my cock before running it around the head. “Oh fuck, sweetheart, you do that so well.” “Anything to please you,” he whispered in my mind as he took the head into his mouth and sucked hard. I hissed in pleasure and not just from his mouth. I knew my mate understood my need to show whom he belonged to with this guy eyeing Quaid up like he was dessert. “Do you have your plug in like a good little pup?” I asked with a groan as he worked my dick. We’d agreed that he’d always be ready to go until we talked to the pack and explained about Quaid’s gift in case there were any issues and I needed to make him come quickly.

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“Yes, he is,” the guy hissed, but kept working. “Good pup,” I cooed as I ran my fingers over Quaid’s cheek. “I have a special treat for you then when we’re done here.” He made confirming moans as he sucked me, careful to never move. I got the idea and started thrusting gently so I didn’t ruin his ink. Reaching down, I started tugging on my sac as my mate pleased me. “I love you, baby,” I said softly as I got close. His eyes sparkled at the admission, and he doubled his efforts. “I’m there, Quaid.” “Give it to me, Cameron. I need to taste you.” “Oh, fuck,” I groaned at his demand and shot my load. Quaid swallowed it down greedily as I bit my lip to keep from announcing to everyone in the shop what we were doing behind the curtain. My legs felt like jelly when I was done coming. I pulled out of his mouth gently and knelt down in front of him. I licked the drops of cum that had leaked out of his mouth. “I need to come,” he whimpered when I was done. “As soon as your tat’s finished, babe,” I whispered in his ear. “I’ll take such good care of you that you won’t be able to walk straight.” “Yes, please.” “Um, he’s done,” the guy said after clearing his throat. I moved to see it and gasped. “Is he your sub?” “No, he’s the love of my life,” I answered honestly as my gaze never left the ink. “You like it?” Quaid asked hesitantly as the guy wiped it off before applying the cream. “Yes,” I said so quietly I barely heard myself. I was so overwhelmed with emotions and love for my man part of me wanted to bawl like a baby. Quaid smiled at me as he moved to see it in the mirror. I knew he could feel my emotions and understood. I quickly thanked the guy and pulled back the curtain as he put the bandage over it. Then I went and paid while watching my man like a hawk. The dude said

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something softly in his ear, but Quaid just laughed and shook his head. I could only imagine what he was trying to talk my mate into. We left without a word as my emotions swirled inside of me. Instead of heading toward the center of town where Quaid’s surprise was at, I drove to the outskirts where we could be alone and pulled off the side of the road. I jumped out, ran around the truck, opened the door, unbuckled his belt, and yanked my mate out and into my arms. “What’s going on, Cameron?” he asked gently as I walked him to the bed of the truck. “You know I wouldn’t go off with that guy. I don’t want him. I want you.” “I know, but I need you,” I growled, unable to explain what was going on in my head. I needed to dominate my mate. I had to hear him say he belonged to me. I needed to fuck him within an inch of his life so he’d never, ever want another man. And I had no clue where this almost scary possessiveness came from, but I couldn’t fight it.

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Chapter 8 “Who do you belong to, Quaid?” Cameron growled as he set me on my feet and spun me around. “You, Cameron, always you,” I answered gently as he lowered the tailgate and bent me over it. I didn’t have a clue what was going on with my mate. I just knew he needed me and I’d do anything for him. “I love you more than anything.” “Mine!” he snarled as he undid my jeans roughly and pulled them down to my knees. “This body is mine. This ass is mine! You are only mine forever, Quaid.” “Yes, god yes, I’m yours,” I moaned as he pulled the plug out. I could feel his possessiveness and love for me, but I couldn’t understand what else he was feeling because it was conflicting. I’m not sure he understood what he was feeling. “Take me, my mate. I give myself to you always.” “I know, I saw the tat,” he whispered as I heard him undo his jeans. “I’m sorry, baby. This isn’t going to be gentle, and I have no fucking clue what’s going on with me, but I know if I’m not inside of you in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to lose my mind.” “Do it, fuck me hard,” I begged, giving him what he needed. “Dominate my tight ass.” “Oh, fuck,” Cameron groaned and slammed into me, bottoming out in one thrust. I cried out at the slight burn but mostly from the overwhelming pleasure. “Did he ask you to leave me and go with him?” “Yes,” I hissed as he took me hard and fast right off the bat. I would have told him in a different way, but I’d never lie to my mate.

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“He said he could find someone to get the tat removed and I could be his instead.” “And what did you tell him?” He grunted as he pounded into me. “That I loved you and would never leave you,” I whimpered, already so turned on from the blow job that my nuts were begging for release. “Please, Cameron.” “I’ll always give you what you need, baby,” he said firmly as he leaned over and stroked my cock. Normally I would have done it, but I was busy keeping us from moving up the tailgate and smashing my bits and pieces against the metal. “Haven’t I given you everything you’ve needed since we agreed to be together? Then I stopped being an ass, and I started being a good mate, right?” “Yes, Cameron,” I moaned as I was close to coming. “I only want you. I need you.” “I’ll never let you go, baby,” he grunted as he licked my neck. “You’re mine, and it’s even permanently inked on you whom you belong to. Never leave me, Quaid.” “I won’t,” I whispered, tilting my neck for him. I knew he needed to mark me again. While he wasn’t a shifter, it was a dominant thing, and since I healed so fast, the mark he’d left yesterday was already gone. “Yes,” Cameron hissed and bit my neck hard. I screamed as my orgasm slammed into me so hard that lights burst behind my eyes. Somewhere in the distance, I heard Cameron shout his love for me before he flooded my hole with his seed. We road our climaxes together, him wrapped around me as we lay over the tailgate. “Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.” “Cameron, it’s okay,” I said as he pulled out of me. He was panicking, and I didn’t know why but he was really upset. Which of course started to hurt me physically. “Cameron, I need you to snap out of it. Tell me what’s going on?” “I’m a monster,” he whispered and lifted me off the tail gate. He closed it up, carried me back to my side of the truck which was out of

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view from the road, and set me on my feet. “I’m so fucking sorry, Quaid. You didn’t deserve any of this!” “Any of what? Great sex and lots of fun with my mate today?” I tried to be gentle when I spoke, but I was starting to hurt, and he wasn’t making any sense. He gave me a pained look and dropped to his knees. Then he buried his face in my shirt, gripping it tightly and started crying. “Cameron, tell me what’s going on.” “Randall told me that pup shifters were special and meant for mates who’d had a lot of pain in their past.” “Yes, that’s true,” I said slowly, wondering who’d hurt my mate this badly. “My birth parents sold me,” he said with a wail. “They sold me to my parents, my adoptive parents, to pay off their debt.” “Fuck,” I whispered as I ran my fingers through his hair as I tried to figure out how to comfort him. But what did someone say to that? “When I saw how much that guy wanted you, I freaked out that you might leave me after how big of a dickhead I’ve been. I didn’t mean to be a jerk and have you blow me in front of him and then fuck you like this. I mean, I did, but it wasn’t right for me to treat you that way, and I’m so sorry—” “Cameron, stop it!” I said so fiercely I don’t know which of us I shocked more. He stopped crying and looked up at me. I wiped away his tears as I tried to deal with the pain. “I love what you did at the shop and just now, and I love you. I’m sorry your parents did that to you, and I want you to tell me everything, Cameron, I really do. But if you don’t calm down, I won’t be of any use to you and pass out.” “Oh my god,” he gasped as he realized his freaking out was hurting me. He yanked off my jeans and sneakers before gently lifting me into his arms. I moaned as he slid back inside of me and braced me against the side of his truck. Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I peppered his face with soft kisses as I tried to swallow the pain and focus on my mate. “I love you, Quaid.”

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“I love you, too,” I whispered as he thrust up into me again. “I’m sorry you can’t express yourself fully around me, I really am.” “You’re worth it to me. You’re worth everything to me,” he said firmly and buried his face in my neck. I felt his panic recede as he started to feel at peace. “I was scared the only other person I’ve ever loved other than my parents, would leave me. I shouldn’t have doubted you, and I don’t, but I don’t get why you’d want to be with me.” “And I have no clue why you’d choose to be with Horndog who’s full of issues,” I replied and hung on for the ride. “But we’re just going to have to start believing each other’s love.” “You’re my forever, baby. I know I said we’d see before, but you’re it for me. I changed my mind.” He started thrusting faster as he talked and then there were no more words. We let our bodies say what we couldn’t and climaxed together. “Can you talk to me about it without getting so upset?” I asked when we were both breathing normal again. As much as I wished he could express himself however he needed, I just couldn’t physically handle that. “Yes,” he answered with a smile and kissed me. “So we’re okay? You’re not mad I went all possessive brute on you?” “I fucking loved it.” I giggled as he lowered me to my feet. “Does that mean I can put the plug in you before cleaning you up?” Cameron’s cheeks heated up, and I understood what he was asking for. “I want to keep your seed in me,” I answered with a wink and braced my hands on the side of the truck. He smiled widely and pulled the plug out of his pocket. I moaned as he slid it back in before he kissed each cheek of my ass. Then he gently re-dressed me, kissing me everywhere as he went. “So does this mean you like the ink?” “For more than one reason.” He chuckled and pulled off his shirt. I watched in confusion until he took off the bandage on his left shoulder. “Great minds think alike, baby.”

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“Oh, Cameron,” I whispered as I traced my name. He’d gotten my name spelled out with little always like I had with his name on my back. Each line to form the letters had the same word over and over again. “No wonder you were so happy and overflowing with emotion. It’s perfect.” “You’re perfect,” Cameron replied and gave me another kiss as he tucked himself back into his jeans. “And it’s time for your surprise.” “The hot, kinky, roadside sex wasn’t it?” I winked at him as he jogged around the front of the truck as I hopped up into my seat. “Nope, that was just a side bonus.” He snickered as he got in. We buckled up, and he took my hand before starting the truck and heading out. “The Daltons were my adoptive parents. I guess my birth parents were in a lot debt with them. I never found out all the particulars of it, and honestly I didn’t care, you know?” “Yeah, I can understand that,” I said as I used my other hand to rub his, joined to mine. “When they went to collect the debt, my mom said she saw me and fell in love,” Cameron explained quietly and cleared his throat. “They couldn’t have children and had been waiting for years on an adoption agency list. I guess they hadn’t known until later in life that they couldn’t have kids. So my mom offered my birth parents the option to trade me for the debt, and they jumped at the offer.” “How old were you?” “Six months,” he sighed as he pulled into a parking lot and shut off the truck. “I found out when I was fifteen and freaked out. I overhead them debating how to tell me I was adopted, but they never meant for me to hear the whole story like that. I screamed that it wasn’t true, called them liars and all kinds of hateful things only an upset child could. They let me run to my room like a brat and left me with the babysitter because they had some charity event that night.” “What happened to them, Cameron?” I asked gently after he’d been silent a few minutes.

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“They got into a car accident that night and died,” he whispered as he closed his eyes. I felt him quelling his pain, so it was more like a pout than full-fledged grief, and he was doing a good job of it. I unbuckled my seat belt and scrambled over to straddle his lap, hugging him close to me. “The police came that night and told the babysitter what had happened. Everything else was pretty much a blur after that until I got sent away to boarding school a few weeks later.” “Didn’t your parents have any relatives to take you in?” I asked, my heart breaking at how the story kept getting worse and worse. “No, they didn’t have any living relatives that could take care of an angry teenager.” “You know that they didn’t believe what you said that night, right? They had to know that you loved them.” “It took me a while, but yes, I know that now,” he said as he kissed me. He sighed and nuzzled my neck as I rubbed his back. “I withdrew into a shell and kept everyone out. After losing them and what I learned about my birth parents, I decided I was done with people. I’d always liked animals. They responded to me. And they never hurt anyone, you know? You love them, and they’re good to you and never stab you in the back.” “Especially us puppies.” I giggled, trying to crack a joke. It worked because I felt his chest rumble as he chuckled. “And I had just realized I was gay before everything happened and they died, so I was all-around screwed up. But when I was at boarding school, I decided I wanted to be a vet and threw myself into my studies. I had a few dates then, and some hookups in college and after, when I got a job. I’ve just never been in a real relationship before you. I never wanted to get attached to anyone and risk the pain of losing anyone again. And that’s why I freaked.” “I love you, Cameron,” I said firmly but softly as I held his face in my hands before giving him a deep kiss. “You’re my first real relationship, too. While it’s new for both of us, mating is forever. And that possessiveness you felt wasn’t just about your past, though I’m

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sure it didn’t help. You’re mated to someone part-animal, which is a possessive animal, so it’s understandable you’d react that way when your turf was threatened in your eyes.” “I just didn’t want you to feel I didn’t respect you, especially when he asked if you were my sub. I realized I was treating you like that.” “No you weren’t.” I chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. “You were marking your territory, not treating me like some leashed sub boy who you whip and collar. You can dominate me like that again any time you want, okay?” “And spankings?” he asked, that twinkle in his bright eyes back. “Lots of spankings,” I purred and squirmed in his lap. “Thank you for sharing all of this with me. It does explain a lot to me, but you need to know I’m not your parents, either set. I’d never sell you off or keep something important from you. The worst I’d ever do is tell you once you’re calm and able to handle it, and you know why.” “That’s fair,” he said and opened the door as he took off his seat belt. “And now that I do know why, I’m fine with that.” Cameron gave me a wink as we got out of the truck. “No more serious stuff, back to fun day and your surprise.” “Shut up!” I gasped when I saw we were at an honest-to-goodness candy store. It was an old-school chocolate shop where everything was made there by hand. I had no clue that places like this even existed beyond stories and movies. “You like?” he asked as he grabbed my hand and led me to the door. “Good thing I have my debit card with me.” I giggled as we walked inside. “I’ve never used it besides online, but I brought it just in case. I’m going to spend sooo much money here.” “That’s what we like to hear when people walk in,” an older woman behind the counter said with a chuckle. “I’m Miranda, and this is my store, so if you need help with anything, you just let me

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know.” She must have seen my mate then. “Oh, doc! I heard you quit!” “Wow, that was fast.” He chuckled as he went over to shake her hand. “Miranda, I’d like you to meet my partner, Quaid. Quaid, this young lady is a goddess.” “You sweet talker.” She giggled and patted Cameron on the cheek. “I also heard you bought the old bakery. Am I getting competition?” “No, ma’am,” I answered as I stared at the fudge in the display case. “My family lives up the mountain, and they’re going to do special-ordered baked good, jams, preserves, and handmade furniture my uncles make. Oh, and some crafts. My one aunt makes the best blankies and afghans.” “I might be your first customer.” She smiled and pulled out a sample tray, much to my delight. “I’ve got another grandchild due soon, and I’ve just not had the time to make anything for my daughter in Boston.” “Girl or boy?” I asked and then moaned as I popped a piece of fudge in my mouth. “Oh my god, Toby would love this, Cameron. He’s a peanut butter addict! And who knew white chocolate would work with peanut butter? I have to get at least two pounds of this.” “We will be coming back here again, Quaid.” I chuckled. “Don’t discourage the young man from buying.” Miranda snickered and cracked Cameron in the chest. “And to answer your question, a girl. She’s due in a month. Is that enough time to put in a blanket order?” “Plenty,” I answered and snagged another piece of fudge. It was chocolate caramel heaven. I moaned and practically melted against the counter as I ate it and licked my fingers. I heard Cameron clear his throat as he stared at me with such heat in his eyes I shivered. “We’ll take a pound of that fudge, too,” he said huskily, and Miranda burst out laughing.

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“Still honeymooning are we? I remember when my husband gave me those kinds of looks,” she said with a snicker as she started bagging things up for us. “Woman, I still give you whatever looks you’re talking about,” a man shouted from the back room. We all just laughed and shook our heads at that comment. After we were done perusing the fudge, I tried rock candy for the first time. Which was basically flavored rock sugar on a stick, and it totally rocked. Pun intended. Then it was chocolate-covered everything anyone could think of. I was partial to the cherries myself. We spent a good half an hour shopping before Cameron smiled at me and pointed to his watch to remind me we had to get back. I paid for our purchases, while my mate pouted playfully before we grabbed our bags and left. “You bought the groceries and paid for the tattoos,” I said firmly as we climbed in the truck. “I can at least get the treats. I loved my surprise, Cameron.” “Do I get to know what you two were whispering about?” he asked and wiggled his eyebrows. We pulled up in front of the post office so Cameron could ship out the samples overnight, but I was going to wait in the truck and guard our purchases. “She was showing me the chocolate sauce and had a few suggestions on how to use it.” I blinked at him innocently as I rubbed my groin so he knew exactly what I was talking about. “Well, shit,” he hissed as he got out. “Our sex life will never be boring, thank god.” He closed the door before I could reply, but even if he hadn’t I was laughing too hard to say much. I was still laughing a couple of minutes later when he returned, and we set out. My mate let me pick where we could grab up some food before heading back up the mountain to the pack. I chose Taco Bell. I’d always seen ads for it online and had wanted to try it.

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“If you get anything with beans I’m sleeping in the living room,” Cameron threatened with a wink as we pulled up to the drive-thru. I laughed so hard but met his request. I decided to go with basic tacos, and they were everything I’d hoped they’d be. Cameron laughed as I stuffed one after another in my mouth as we drove home. “This has been the best day ever, thank you,” I said as we got closer to home and I cleaned up my mess. “Yeah, for me, too,” he replied and took my hand. “Thank you for wanting to come with me. It meant a lot to me that I got to share this adventure with you.” “I’ll always want to go with you, no matter where you’re going.” And it was the truth. For the first time in my life I felt a part of something great. Cameron and I would make it. I no longer had any doubts of that.

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Chapter 9 As we pulled up to the pack, I saw a crowd around Quaid’s house. Thaaat couldn’t be good. I parked toward the back of Toby’s house and ordered my mate to go inside where he wouldn’t have to feel whatever the mob was. When I jogged around front, I saw Randall and Grady talking to them, but it was falling on deaf ears. “We want the Horndog gone,” someone shouted. “Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I grumbled as I moved by my friend. Then I raised my voice for all to hear. “What’s going on here?” “Alpha Ed said Quaid could know what’s in our head and put thoughts there. Quaid tricked everyone into doing the webcam site, and now the Council’s pissed,” a very pissed-off woman said. “Bull-fucking-shit,” I shouted, and that got everyone’s attention, so they shut up. “Quaid’s an empath. That means he can feel your emotions, not read your minds. And he really can’t make any of you do anything you didn’t want to.” “See, I told you guys,” Slade growled as he moved up to Grady’s side. “Haven’t we learned not to trust Alpha Ed? He was cheating on his mate when she was alive and has been stealing pack funds!” He shot Grady an apologetic look before turning back to the group. “We still want the freak gone,” a man shouted with his arms crossed over his chest. “Says a pup shifter who lives in a secret pack because others of his kind think you all are a fluke of nature,” I replied and threw my hands in the air. “If anyone should understand what Quaid is feeling,

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it should be all of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves! We just spent the morning getting supplies for you guys and finding a storefront to sell pack goods at Quaid’s request.” “But he can read our feelings and who knows what else,” another woman said, not looking as certain in her conviction as when this all started. “You know what, fuck you all,” I said firmly, staring them down before turning to Grady. “I’m sorry. We were willing to help the pack after everything Alpha Ed did. But if this is how the pack treats one of their own, they’re not worth saving. I’m taking my mate, along with the help we were going to give, and leaving. If they’re going to be judgmental assholes and not even listen to everything Quaid’s done for them, then we’re out of here.” “What has Quaid done? Is he okay?” the same woman asked, grabbing my arm as I went to walk away. “I don’t want him to leave. I just want answers and to know what’s the truth, doc.” I glanced around and saw several nods of agreement. So maybe it was just a few who jumped the gun and wanted Quaid out, while others were just confused. “You ever see him grab his head when people are fighting?” I asked her, loud enough that everyone else could hear. “Yes, several times now that you mention it,” she answered slowly. “It’s because he feels when other people are upset like a physical pain. The only way he can alleviate that pain is through sex for some reason. Either it’s the only time he can relax enough to let the pain go or distract himself, I don’t know. But Alpha Ed knew what Quaid was when he joined and exploited it to his advantage.” “Sweet Jesus,” Mrs. Boyd gasped as her hands moved to her throat. “How can we help the poor pup?” I knew I liked her and not just because she brought me treats when I handed out everyone’s meds. “Control your emotions around him. He can feel when people are happy, but that doesn’t affect him

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physically. It’s when people are upset, whether it be sadness or anger or fear.” “Does anyone have any actual questions instead of demands or accusations?” Grady asked after a few moments when no one said anything. It seemed the crowd was starting to calm down and pull their heads out of their asses. “Did the doc really mention a store?” The man who’d earlier been on the bandwagon to get rid of Quaid asked, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. He looked properly chastised for his comment. “That depends,” I answered, scanning the crowd. “Are you guys done trying to run my mate out of the pack like he’s the devil?” “Yeah, um, Slade was right,” he replied, clearing his throat. “We should have known better than to listen to Alpha Ed.” “Then yes, there’s an old bakery about a block from my house that we talked to a Realtor about,” I said after a moment of searching the group. I could forgive them for a little misguided talk, but if they pulled anything with my mate, I would get him and our help out of here so fast the pack’s heads would spin. I filled everyone in on what we’d found, the samples being sent out, and the other ideas we’d cooked up. After we were done, Mrs. Boyd said we should bring Quaid out so we could all celebrate the new direction the pack was taking before the Council guards came. Randall went to get Toby and my mate while I talked to Grady about the particulars. We were coming up with ideas of how to transport the furniture already made down to the store and decided we could use my house as partial storage while we cleaned out the new place. Suddenly, I was slammed into from behind and let out a grunt before realizing it was my mate. It seemed someone wanted to play horsie with me. “I love you,” Quaid whispered as he wrapped himself like a monkey on my back and peppered my neck with kisses. “I love you

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so much, Cameron. What can I do for my mate? Would you like some naked fun? How about we try out the chocolate sauce?” “Why am I being thanked?” I chuckled as I moved him around to the front of me so I could look at him. “Not that I don’t appreciate the chocolate offer, I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.” “Randall told me what you said to the pack and that you would take me away from all of this if I wanted,” he said softly as he nuzzled my neck. “I’d do anything for you, pup,” I replied, burying my face in his soft hair. “If they’re going to be jerks and not appreciate how great you are, then we’ll go live on some deserted beach where we can take turns being each other’s Cabana boy forever.” “Cabana boy, huh? Someone’s got a secret fantasy they’ve not shared?” Quaid giggled as he waggled his eyebrows at me. “If I say yes, will you prance around in a thong for me when it gets nicer out?” I growled playfully as I massaged his ass. He moaned and rubbed his groin against my stomach. “Yes, but we’d have to find one for me first. I don’t own any underwear.” “Sweet fuck, pup,” I groaned and was about twenty seconds from dragging him away to take him up on his chocolate sauce offer when several SUVs pulled up. “It’s just the Council,” Grady announced quickly as he glanced at Quaid. I appreciated his efforts to keep everyone calm so it didn’t affect my mate. “We’re looking for Grady Fletcher,” a very large man said after several guys exited the vehicles and walked towards us. If I had to guess, I’d say this man was some type of large cat shifter the way he moved gracefully. “I’m Grady,” he said as he stepped forward and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Evan Flanagan,” Evan replied firmly. Yeah, this guy meant business. “We’re here to escort Alpha Ed to the Council for trial and induct the pack’s new leadership.”

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“This is my Beta, Randall Markins,” Grady said as he gestured him over. “But he’s human,” Evan replied with wide eyes after sniffing the air. “Yes, the Council knows this. He’s mated to one of us and that makes him pack.” “Fair enough,” Evan said with a nod and shook Randall’s hand. “Nothing personal, it’s just not common for humans to take leadership of a pack.” “That’s understandable, but I’ve been in law enforcement for years, so I know what’s needed to protect the people here.” “My father is up at the house, locked in the study,” Grady said as he handed over a key and pointed the way. “Your men are more than welcome to take him away. I have nothing to say to the man.” Evan passed the key off, whispered some instructions, and three men headed to Grady’s. Quaid slid down off of me as he stared at Evan as if trying to put something together in his head, almost as if he recognized the man. “You’re hiding something,” Quaid said as he moved next to Grady. “What aren’t you telling us?” “And you would know this how?” Evan asked with a raised eyebrow and gestured to his face. “Because I know how my expressions give away so much.” “Quaid’s good at reading people,” I said quickly, taking his hand. If this guy was hiding something, then he wasn’t someone we wanted to know all our secrets. “Well, the pup is right,” Evan replied with a nod. “I was just curious because my own men can’t read me most of the time.” Then he turned to Grady with what I could call an apologetic look. But Evan had been right. He didn’t show much or fluctuate in his facial expressions. “This is not my call, so don’t be pissed at the messenger, okay?”

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“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Randall grumbled, and I had to agree with him. “My men will be leaving with your father, but I’ll be staying.” Evan cleared his throat, and his lips thinned in a grimace before he continued. “The Council wants someone to report back on the status of the pack and the changes they were told are being implemented. They want to see firsthand that this land is being used wisely when other packs would love to have it.” “Yeah, well it’s only land that would be wanted now because I paid to get electricity and Internet up here,” Toby said fiercely, and I wondered if this guy might get bitch-slapped as well. “We made this place to what it is, dug the well, and built the houses. It was just land when we got here. Yes, it needs repairs and some improvements, but we’re working on that.” “Then that’s what I’ll report,” Evan replied as he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Look, they wanted me to come up with some other excuse to stay and just spy on y’all, but that’s not the way I roll. I’m also staying for a while because the vamps are coming. And yes, I know that was the Council’s idea, but it’s the first time we’re doing any joint venture with them. They want someone from the Council here to make sure the vamps know that we’re just not leaving you here alone for them to do as they wish.” Quaid eyed him over for several moments, rubbing his arms before addressing Grady. “He’s telling the truth.” I’d have to ask my mate how he knew that later. Maybe he could feel someone’s guilt when they lied? “All right, we have nothing to hide,” Grady said with a nod. “I was honest with the Council, and we would even appreciate any feedback you have. But I have rules.” “Fair enough,” Evan replied and I saw his shoulders relax. “What are they?”

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“I don’t want you cornering any of my pack and interviewing them without Randall or me present until they feel comfortable with you. They’ve been through enough stress, and I won’t add to that.” “I’m down with that,” Evan said immediately. “I’m not the enemy, and you’ll see that.” “You stay in the background as an advisor when the vamps get here.” Grady stretched his neck as if he was trying to stay calm at this new development. “They need to understand that I’m Alpha and they’ll report to Randall as Beta and head of pack security. You won’t do us any good if you undermine that.” “Again, I’m cool with that.” “Then you’re more than welcome to stay as our guest,” Grady said and extended his hand in a gesture of good will. I saw a small Weimaraner pup approach Evan out of the corner of my eye and sniff the newcomer. “Thanks, I appreciate—” Evan started to reply and then growled. “Why am I being peed on?” “Guess you’re not just visiting.” Randall snickered as we all tried not to laugh as the Weimaraner with big ears was lifting his leg and peeing on Evan with his tongue hanging out. “Welcome to the pack, Evan.” “Wait—What?” Evan gasped as he looked from Grady to the puppy. “Noooo, you can’t be serious? This is how you claim your mates?” “Yup.” I laughed, hugging Quaid to me. “Oh it’s so much funnier when it’s someone else getting peed on.” “Stop that,” Evan snarled at the pup. The poor thing yelped, turned tail, and ran, whimpering as he went. “Un-fucking-real.” “Nice way to treat your mate,” Quaid said as he grabbed his head. “Shit, he’s angry.” “Evan, we’ve got a problem,” one of his men called out as he jogged over. Evan took a few steps back, still staring at the leg of his

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black cargo pants in shock as the guy leaned in and whispered something in his ear. “It’s okay, baby, let’s get you out of here,” I whispered in his ear as I rubbed his shoulders. We gave Grady a look, who nodded and gestured for us to get gone. “You have an empath here?” Evan growled, narrowing his eyes at Grady. “Alpha Ed’s going on and on about trading the empath for his release. That’s not happening, but shifters with abilities are to be immediately brought to the Council for protection.” His eyebrows shot up to his hairline as if he had a sudden thought and turned to Quaid. “That’s how you knew. You’ll have to go with my men to the Council.” “Fuck that, you’re not taking a member of my pack,” Grady yelled and got in Evan’s face. I had to give it to the man. He might be a pup shifter and mostly passive, but he was fiercely protective of his people. “It’s Council law, Grady,” Evan shouted and threw up his hands in the air. “This isn’t up to me.” “We didn’t know it was law,” Grady replied with a snarl. “You can’t just take someone like they’re a possession!” Randall roared. Quaid cried out as he grabbed his head and started to collapse. I caught him in time and swung him up into my arms. “You are not taking my mate,” I said firmly, but careful to keep my anger under control. “I will fight you, and you don’t want that. I have money and power, not to mention Quaid belongs to me!” “Y–You didn’t say he was mated,” Evan stuttered as he glanced from me to Grady. “That supersedes Council law.” “Cameron, help me,” Quaid whimpered. I looked down at him and saw such pain in his eyes that it broke my heart. “Everyone’s so upset, and I’m going to pass out.”

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“Everybody calm down,” Randall said gently as he held his hands out in a sign of surrender. “We just need to talk this out, okay? It hurts Quaid.” “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,” Evan whispered as he took a deep breath. I could tell he felt bad. “What do we do?” “You don’t do anything but stay calm,” I replied as I moved to sit on the side of the well. “Can you make it home, or are we doing this here?” “Now, please now,” he begged and fumbled with his zipper. I helped him pull down his jeans before opening my own. “I love you, Cameron.” “I love you, too, baby,” I whispered as I pulled out his plug. He was still stretched and slicked up from our last session, so I knew I wouldn’t hurt him. I turned him on my lap so he straddled me and lowered him onto my cock. “Ignore everything else but me, Quaid.” “Okay,” he whimpered as I bottomed out inside of him. He laid his head on my shoulder as I lifted him back up and moved so I could thrust up into him. It was uncomfortable, and the stone of the well bit into my ass, but he needed me. “That’s how he gets rid of the pain?” Evan asked, his eyes on us along with everyone else. “It’s complicated,” Grady sighed and pulled the man away to talk. Randall and Toby moved so they were blocking us from the strangers as I took my man as fast as I could. “Touch yourself, Quaid,” I grunted as I thrust as hard as I could, nailing his sweet spot. He did as I asked and kissed me passionately. Quaid went stiff before crying out into my mouth as we kept kissing. I felt him fill the space between us with his seed before I followed him right over. When we were done, I moved so we didn’t both fall over since my legs felt like jelly. “Thank you,” my mate panted as he hugged me tightly. I could feel his fear so strong that it was almost debilitating. “Please don’t let them take me from you. I don’t ever want to leave you.”

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“You’re not going anywhere, baby,” I replied gently. I met Evan’s gaze over Quaid’s shoulder as I pulled off my shirt. The man nodded before turning away and giving us some privacy. I used my already dirty shirt to clean my mate up before setting our clothes to rights. Standing with him still in my arms, I kissed his eyes and brushed away the tears. “I’m sorry, little one,” Evan said softly as moved to us and brushed away another tear I’d missed. “I didn’t mean to make you hurt. I was concerned for your safety.” “Bite me, you big brute,” Quaid growled and smacked his hand away. “You hurt my friend, too!” “Your mate is fine,” he replied, looking confused. “The Weimaraner pup is my friend Slade! You tried to take me from my mate and broke poor Slade’s heart and scared him. So you can go drown yourself in the creek for all I care. Slade’s awesome, and you don’t deserve him.” “I–I didn’t mean to,” Evan mumbled as he dropped his hand. “I was just shocked.” “Are you going to fix it?” Quaid asked, his features softening, so I guessed Evan was feeling pretty bad about how he acted. “I’m going to try.” “Fine,” Quaid said with a nod. “Then you’ll find him in the strawberry field. That’s where he goes when he’s sad.” “Okay,” Evan replied before turning back to his guys. “Get the old Alpha out of here and report the empath is mated. We’ll do the ceremony after I go find my mate I guess.” “Good luck, man.” One of his men chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder before they headed out. “You’re going to need it,” Toby said firmly as he stood in front of Randall and crossed his arms over his chest. Then he looked over at us. “You guys go unload the truck and get cleaned up. We won’t start without you.”

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“Thanks, Toby,” my mate replied. I carried him back to the truck and cringed. It was still cooler out since it was early spring, but I wasn’t sure what of the supplies were ruined. Maybe the bags of ice I bought in town kept it all cold enough. “I can walk, you know.” “I like you in my arms,” I purred and nuzzled his neck before setting him on his feet. “As soon as we’re done unloading, I’m going to pick you right back up and carry you to our shower.” “I like that,” he whispered and kissed me. “What, baby?” I smiled down at him. “That you called it our shower,” he answered with a blush. “It lets me know that you’re really staying and consider it our house now.” “I’m staying wherever you are.” We grabbed as much as we could carry and headed to our house. Quaid was right, it made everything feel more permanent when I thought of it that way. Yeah, I had lots of improvements in mind for our houses, starting with that pathetic excuse of a shower. But this was home now. Quaid was home to me.

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Chapter 10 It ended up that Grady had run to town with Evan and pick up a ton of party food and drinks. Randall had told me that it was Evan’s peace offering after the confusion and damage he’d done instead of the help he was supposed to bring. I told Cameron as long as he got Alpha Ed gone and made things right with Slade, I was cool with the guy. He couldn’t have known his anger would hurt me and after all, it really was just a misunderstanding. After we unloaded the truck, showered together, my horny vet made love to me. And then demanded we get a new bed, too. I laughed so hard at how he was trying to frown over the bed with a post-sex-glow smile on this face. Then we brought Toby the fudge we’d gotten him. One bite and he jumped me, peppering my face with playful kisses as we rolled around his living room… much to the displeasure of both our mates. Cameron and I stood hand in hand later like proud parents at the Alpha ceremony. It didn’t take long since it was a simple event. Grady and Randall basically recited an oath that they would lead the pack to the best of their ability and always protect their people. Once that was over, it was time to party! The food was amazing, and I discovered I was in love with hot wings and beer. Yeah, I really liked beer. And it seemed to like me back. Oh, and I found out I couldn’t dance worth shit, but I had fun doing it anyway. Randall opened the doors to his truck and turned up some rock music he had in his CD player. The only downer was Evan. Slade wouldn’t talk to him or anyone else for that matter, so he seemed to want to drown his sorrows in a

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lot of booze. But at least he sat on the edge of the party and didn’t really bother anyone. “I love you, my mate,” I blubbered to Cameron when I found him talking to Mrs. Boyd. I went to hug him and tripped, falling into his arms. “Yeah, and you’re going to love the toilet later tonight or tomorrow morning.” He chuckled as he lifted me into his arms. Then he took the bottle of beer from me and set it down somewhere. I couldn’t focus enough to see where. “Why would I love the toilet?” I asked, confused as to why I’d like such a thing. “Oh, you’ll find out, sweet boy.” Mrs. Boyd snickered. “Bad Quaid. You shouldn’t have drunk so much!” “Was I bad, Cameron?” I so hoped he said yes. “Yes, very bad mate,” he purred and kissed me. Yeah, that’s what I wanted, lots of lovin’. “I need to be spanked then, don’t I?” I whimpered and squirmed in his arms. “Are you going to punish your naughty mate?” “I so didn’t need to hear that,” she groaned and then laughed. “You boys have fun.” “I will. Cameron’s awesome in bed and—” I started to say, but Cameron covered my mouth with his hand. I wasn’t sure what I said wrong, but I licked his hand anyways. “Now you really are going to get spanked, baby,” he whispered in my ear as he carried me to our house. “And maybe I won’t even let you come when we’re done and just jack off in front of you.” I whimpered, pathetically pleading he wouldn’t do that to me. Cameron seemed unable to resist me as much I could him, so I didn’t think so. He opened the door, keeping his hand over my mouth as I started rubbing my erection through my jeans. My mate’s nostrils flared with desire as he kicked the front door closed and headed to the bedroom.

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“Get naked,” he growled and tossed me onto the bed. I quickly scampered off it and yanked my clothes off in drunken movements. “Aren’t you getting naked, too?” I asked as I pulled off my jeans after toeing off my shoes and socks. “I’m not sure if you deserve that yet,” Cameron said calmly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Let’s see how you take your punishment, and then I’ll decide.” “Okay,” I yelped when he tugged on my arm so I was sprawled over his lap on my stomach. “I really do love your tattoo, Quaid,” he whispered as he traced the letters on my back. “I like yours better,” I purred. I was able to see both shoulders when we showered together earlier. It was so beautiful, and I had been so overcome with emotion and need for my mate that I’d begged him to take me. Hence the lovemaking before the ceremony. “We can agree to disagree.” Cameron chuckled and then started massaging the cheeks of my ass. “Hmm, you are wearing your plug like you’re supposed to. Maybe you don’t deserve to be spanked after everything you’ve been through lately.” “But I let Toby kiss me, remember?” I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me or not while buzzed, but I wasn’t going to miss my chance to finally get spanked by him. “You weren’t happy that we were rolling on the floor playing.” “Oh, that’s right.” Before I could even think, his hand slapped my ass hard. “Sweet hell,” I moaned and started to squirm. It was so much better with the man I loved than any time I’d ever been spanked before. “Stay still,” he ordered and smacked me three more times. I froze on his lap, biting my lip to keep quiet. “But I still want to hear you make those pretty little noises.” “Okay,” I whimpered as he rubbed away the sting. This was the part I liked. Yeah, the slapping was fun, but when it was massaged

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away and the heat radiated out to my sack and cock, that’s why I did it. “Can I ask for harder?” “Oh, my kinky pup.” Cameron chuckled and spanked me several times on each cheek, much harder this time. “How was that, too hard?” “Perfect, it was perfect,” I panted, trying my best to keep still. It was quite difficult since Cameron moved my leaking cock in between his thighs and his jeans were rubbing me off. “You think Evan and Slade will figure everything out?” he asked quietly as he rubbed away the sting. “I hope so,” I sighed and turned my head so I could see him. “You think I’ve had it rough, but Slade’s right up there with me. He only talks to me, Grady, and Toby. And he doesn’t do well with authoritative figures. It worries me that Evan seems to be some big Council guy. Slade would never survive around a lot of people or in that setting.” “Wow, I was kinda hoping for a simple yes. I didn’t mean to spoil the mood.” “It’s okay, we can talk about it later,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows as well as my ass. “You have the hottest bubble butt I’ve ever seen, baby,” he replied with a groan. “And when it’s wrapped around my cock, I swear I’m in heaven.” “Well, you have my permission to feel heaven anytime you want.” I giggled. That earned me a few more smacks, which had me moaning and leaking more pre-cum on his jeans. “I’m loving how my handprints look right under my name on your body.” “I’m so glad,” I purred and then cried out as he flicked the end of the plug with his finger. “Oh, fuck me!” “I think I will.” He chuckled and started to pull it out. But then he let it slide right back in, teasing me horribly. “You’re being so good taking your punishment like this.”

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“I try.” “Maybe I should let you pick the position then?” He teased me as he pulled the plug out all the way and dropped it to the floor. As I went to reply, he slid three fingers into me, taking all the air out of my lungs. “Let me hear you, Quaid.” “So good, so fucking good,” I moaned. “Please let me move!” “Go ahead, your punishment’s over. Now it’s on to the pleasure.” “Thank you,” I cried out as he rubbed over my sweet spot. It only took three thrusts of my hips against his rough jeans before I screamed out his name as I came. I had to say it was one of the best orgasms of my life. Don’t get me wrong, it was always spectacular with my mate, but most times we were rushing since I needed to get off. We didn’t have much time for teasing and making me hold off from my release. “I will never get tired of witnessing that,” he whispered reverently when I was done. “I’m a big fan of it myself,” I gasped, trying to get air back in my lungs. Cameron lifted me up and laid me in the middle of the bed before stepping back and slowly removing his clothes. I knew he was giving me time to recover and build up the anticipation. It was perfect. Then he added a little silly to our intimate moment by flexing his arms and shoulders for me, drawing attention to his new ink. I purred with delight as my cock perked right back up. The fact that he not only got my name marked on his body, but my pup as well made my heart soar each time I saw it. “Make love to your mate,” I whispered seductively as I held out my hand to him. “Like I could say no to such an offer,” he said huskily as he eyed over my body. I felt it like a caress and licked my lips as he took my hand. Cameron crawled between my legs, laying over me before mashing his mouth to mine. God, could my man kiss! Our tongues explored each other, taking their sweet time.

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He sat back on his heels and slowly pushed my knees to my chest. My mate gazed at my naked body with such possessiveness and awe that I felt truly treasured. If I’d ever doubted how much he’d loved me before, the look he gave me would have told me otherwise. But I never did doubt him because I could feel it. “You are all mine, Quaid Sedgwick, now and forever,” Cameron whispered as he lined up his cock and slowly pushed in. “I’ve never loved anyone as I love you, and I never will again. You are my whole world, baby.” “I feel the same way, my mate,” I said just as softly. I wrapped my legs around his hips as he leaned over me. Cameron slid his forearms under my shoulders as I threw my arms around his neck. “No regrets?” he asked hesitantly as he started moving. “Never, Cameron,” I answered against his lips and kissed him. “I found the man of my dreams. I found my vet.” “I’m so glad you did,” Cameron said with a sniffle. I saw the tears on his eyelashes before he buried his face in my neck. “I know I didn’t make this easy for us, and I’m sorry for that. But I will always love and take care of you. You won’t regret giving me another chance, Quaid.” “I know, Cameron,” I replied and kissed his neck. “Nothing worth having is ever easy, and I think we did better than most. We’ll always have ups and downs, but at as long as we handle them together, we’ll always be okay.” “You really believe that?” He must have liked what I said because he started to pick up the pace. “I do, and I believe in you without ever a doubt. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and this pack. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but damn I’d do it all again to have you.” “I feel the same way, baby,” he moaned. Cameron raised his head and kissed me. I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts, and did my mate ever like that. Our bodies started moving faster in a wellchoreographed dance filled with love and desire for each other.

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I threw back my head and shouted his name for anyone to hear as I filled the space between us with my seed, my proof of how he made me feel. Cameron followed me right over, yelling out that he loved me as he filled me with proof of his own. We rode out our orgasms together until we were a sweaty, panting, spent pair with goofy grins on our faces. “I’m going to be bad so often just to keep you on your toes.” I chuckled as he rolled us over so that I lay all over him. “I’d expect nothing less.” He snickered and slapped my ass. Which of course had me moaning and squirming over him. “God, you’re a horndog.” “Yes, but I’m your horndog,” I said with a smile. Cameron burst out laughing, and I joined him as we hugged each other tightly. And I knew in that moment that no matter what life threw at us, as long as I had my mate at my side, we’d be deliriously happy. I was pretty sure that made me the luckiest, most loved pup in the world, even if I was the horniest one of all time.

THE END WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joyee Flynn grew up in Chicago living in the same house all her life until she left for college. She loves to get lost in fantasy that only books could bring. Her wide interest in reading was reflected in her writings. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Ann Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series. She dreams of one day living with enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee’s all about them in any form in her books. Vampire, werewolf, military, doesn’t matter at all as long as they are hot, hard, and sex fiends!

Also by Joyee Flynn Ménage Amour ManLove: North American Dragon 1: Dragon Mine Ménage Amour ManLove: North American Dragon 2: Dragon Ours Ménage Amour ManLove: North American Dragon 3: Their Dragon Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 1: Micah Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 2: Remus Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 3: Stefan Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 4: Victor Ménage Amour ManLove: The O’Hagan Way 1: A Dillon Sandwich Ménage Amour ManLove: The O’Hagan Way 2: A Caleb Footlong Ménage Amour ManLove: Purrfect Mates 1: Here Kitty, Kitty Ménage Amour ManLove: Purrfect Mates 2: My Little Kitty Ménage Amour ManLove: Purrfect Mates 3: Our Sexy Tiger Ménage Amour ManLove: Purrfect Mates 4: My Angel Cheetah Siren Classic ManLove: Hiding Hounds 1: Sheriff Found Ménage Amour ManLove: Resistant Omegas 1: Tristan Ménage Amour ManLove: Resistant Omegas 2: Carson Siren Classic ManLove: Sons of Thanatus 1: My Maven, My Everything Siren Classic ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 1: Isaac Dragos Siren Classic ManLove: Midnight Matings 1: Squeak and A Roar

Also by Stormy Glenn and Joyee Flynn Ménage Amour ManLove: Delta Wolf 1: Chameleon Wolf Ménage Amour ManLove: Delta Wolf 2: Mating Games Ménage Amour ManLove: Delta Wolf 3: Blood Lust

Available at BOOKSTRAND.COM

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