Breaking the Bonds

  “The place looks great,” Mark said after taking a drink.

  Josiah smiled. “Thanks. We’ve been working hard on it.”

  “It shows.” Mark could feel the strain between them and regretted keeping his break-up with Beth from his best friend. He knew he would have been hurt if Josiah had done something like that.

  They made stilted small talk until Sam called them to eat at the long dining room table. Mark had to admit the food was delicious. He’d eaten so many frozen dinners the past year, he’d forgotten what good food tasted like. Jaime wasn’t at the table, and Mark wanted to ask about the omega, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. What if Jaime had mated with an alpha or beta in the pack? What if he was in heat? Or both? The thought brought warmth creeping up Mark’s neck. He hadn’t realized someone had spoken to him until Josiah squeezed his arm.

  “You okay?”

  Mark nodded and tried to smile. “Just really enjoying this great meal.” He nodded to Sam, who flushed with pleasure.

  “Sam’s the best cook in the pack,” Leo said proudly. Mark had always found the alpha a little terrifying, particularly since Leo rarely smiled, but the infatuated look Leo wore for Sam cast the grim man in another light—one of a man deeply in love.

  Mark cleared his throat, nose stinging for some reason, and concentrated on eating. Conversation around the table revolved around the garden, the expansion of the chicken coop, and the occasional antics of the children.

  “How’s the new mare doing, David?” Mike, one of the formerly rogue alphas, asked.

  “Good. I’m looking at breeding her in June, along with Bess,” David said. “That way the weather will be getting mild when the foals are born.”

  The sound of the back door opening and closing brought Mark’s gaze to the porch. Jaime faltered in his steps. His hair was wet and curled at the neck. He closed the umbrella he was holding and set it by the door. It was painfully obvious by the look on his face he hadn’t known Mark was invited to dinner.

  Jaime smiled and nodded to Mark before taking a seat between Sam and Sandy at the large table. Mark strained to hear the Jaime’s words as Sandy appeared to be asking where the omega had been, but he couldn’t make them out over the laughter and general conversation at the dinner table with the added cacophony of the storm in the background.

  Sam announced he’d made apple pies, and Brooks got up to fetch them while betas Nate and Abram poured coffee for everyone. The kids lost interest in their meals and received permission to go play. The general domestic atmosphere had Mark yearning for something he’d doubted he’d ever have.

  Beth had been unable to conceive. Having Josiah’s twins with them for a time while River and Josiah were looking for a home for their small pack had underlined the couple’s desire to have children, and they’d looked into adopting. Good thing they hadn’t, as Mark’s feelings for Jaime would have caused an upheaval in their family.

  Now, Mark couldn’t see himself being happy with anyone but Jaime, and the idea confused him. Even if Jaime wanted him, could Mark really become romantically involved with a man? A werewolf?

  The omega seemed to be avoiding Mark’s gaze, looking everywhere but in his direction. Desperate to have those forest green eyes on him, Mark waited until everyone finished their dessert and coffee, and among the general clatter of cleaning up, pulled Jaime into a side room, which turned out to be River’s office.

  Jaime’s face was guarded.

  “I just want to talk to you a minute,” Mark said. “I’ve—missed you.”

  Jaime blinked, and his features softened. “I’ve missed you, too. I’ve just been really busy.”

  Mark ran hungry eyes over the omega. He wore jeans and a dark brown shirt, perfect for his coloring. His hair, which had grown longer and curled from the rain, had dried from a dark cinnamon to more of a nutmeg color. Mark’s fingers twitched with the need to touch.

  “Beth and I broke up,” he burst out, unsure how he expected the omega to respond.

  Jaime’s lips parted on a soft, “Oh.” Then he added, “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not,” Mark said, body responding to the proximity of the man he’d been thinking of practically non-stop for the past year and a half. What an awful thing to say, he thought. But it was the truth.

  Jaime met his gaze, and Mark’s skin tingled. “You aren’t?”

  Mark shook his head.

  “But you two were so good together.”

  “We were for a while. I just…I couldn’t stay with her.”

  “Why not?”

  Here it was; the moment of truth. Mark could make something up to get him through the awkward moment, or he could come clean with feelings he didn’t even understand.

  He licked his lips, gaze never leaving Jaime’s. “I…I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  Mark relaxed. No matter what happened from that point on, he’d admitted his feelings.

  Jaime moved a fraction of an inch closer to Mark, causing the hairs on Mark’s body to stand up and his cock to twitch in his pants.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Mark wasn’t hard, but the potential was there, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He’d thought of Jaime sexually plenty of times, but the idea had always been obscure. Standing in front of the man, Jaime’s scent tickling his nostrils and the warmth of the omega’s body a temptation Mark wasn’t sure he could withstand, the fact that Mark’s cock was responding told him how real this was. He was likely bi-sexual. He definitely wanted Jaime, and the fact Jaime was an omega werewolf made things very complicated.

  Mark shook his head. “I don’t fully understand either. All I know is I want to kiss you. And more.” He winced. “I’m doing a really bad job of this.”

  “You really broke up with Beth because of me?” Jaime asked, eyes huge in his pale face.

  Mark nodded slowly. “After we became friends, my feelings for her began to change. Looking back, I don’t think I ever felt about her the way I do about you.”

  Jaime still stood temptingly close. He didn’t move forward or away. “And how is that? How do you feel about me, Mark?”

  Mark let out the breath he’d been holding. Now that he’d started being honest, he wouldn’t stop. “Fuck, I don’t know. I like you. I want to touch you. I think about you all the time. I-I’ve never been interested in a man before. I don’t know what to do with these feelings.”

  Jaime slowly blinked, eyes dilating. He clenched and unclenched his long fingers, as though itching to touch Mark. Mark could see the omega’s erect nipples through the light material of his shirt. He couldn’t help himself; he reached out and ran his thumb over one.

  “Please say you at least like me a little,” he whispered, elated at the way Jaime shivered at his touch. “Josiah thinks you might.”

  The omega pulled in a breath, whether at the words or touch, Mark wasn’t sure. Maybe both.

  “Of course I like you,” Jaime said. “I like you a lot. I just didn’t want to get between you and Beth, and let’s face it: being with me will complicate your life.”

  Mark stepped forward, nerves tingling with the knowledge his feelings were reciprocated. “Maybe I want a complicated life.”

  The air between the two men charged, and Mark wanted to kiss Jaime.

  “Mark?” Josiah’s voice came through the closed door. “Are you in there?”

  “Be out in a minute,” Mark called to his friend, eyes never leaving Jaime’s. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against the omega’s once, twice. He rubbed their noses together before pulling away an inch. A sweet aroma filled the room.

  Mark sniffed the air. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was standing in the middle of a room full of ripe, juicy peaches. “What is that?”

  “I…” Jaime blushed to the roots of his hair. “It’s, uh…”

  The door opened, and Josiah stepped in. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing if you don’t get out of here,” Mark said ir
ritably.

  Josiah looked at Jaime. “I need to speak with Mark.”

  Jaime glanced at Mark, nodded, and walked out. The sweet smell hung in the air, and Mark couldn’t help but draw it into his nostrils.

  Josiah closed the door and glared at his friend. “What are you doing?”

  “What did it look like I was doing?”

  “It looked like you were making the moves on Jaime.”

  Mark laughed. “Making the moves? Is this a 70s movie?”

  Josiah scowled. “Do you know what that scent is all over this room? It’s slick. Omega slick. Jaime’s body responding to yours.”

  Mark’s cock reacted to that piece of information like it had been stroked by an unseen hand. “It is? You mean, he wants me?”

  “Yes, he wants you. Do you even know what to do with that? As long as I’ve known you, I’ve thought you were straight. You were with Beth. You were going to get married. Then suddenly I find out you haven’t been together for a while. And you didn’t even tell me.”

  Mark ran a hand through his hair. Did they have to have this conversation now? “I knew you’d want an explanation, and I don’t have one, other than what I had with Beth suddenly didn’t seem so good anymore, and I just can’t stop thinking about Jaime. I hurt Beth; I know that, but I can’t help what I feel.”

  The angry look melted from Josiah’s face, leaving his features soft. “I get it. I do. But you’re a human—a human confused about his sexuality. And Jaime’s a werewolf. An omega, like me. We need certain things. Things a human can’t give us.”

  Mark frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Josiah sat down on the small brown sofa against the wall and looked up at Mark. “Omegas are highly sexual.”

  Mark nodded slowly. “I’ve read enough about them to know that, yeah.”

  “I thought I knew about it, too, but when I went into heat—Oh, my God.” He shook his head, brown curls loose and bouncing.

  Mark didn’t know if it was his newly found awareness in his sexuality or what, but in that moment, he realized his friend was attractive. Not just good-looking, but truly pretty. Mark wasn’t sure if it had always been there, and he’d simply had never looked long enough to notice, but for the first time, as Josiah looked up at Mark with big, blue eyes, Mark saw his friend in an entirely different light. And it made him uncomfortable.

  “It’s difficult enough for a virile alpha to fulfill our needs when we go into heat. They have to—well, you know, repeatedly. Do you really think a human could have that kind of stamina? Sure, you’re young, but you won’t always be. And you don’t have a knot. The knot is what we crave.” Josiah’s cheeks grew pink, and he cleared his throat. “Anyway, humans and werewolves usually don’t work out together unless one takes the bite.”

  “Your parents—”

  “Mom wasn’t an omega.”

  “But still, nobody said it isn’t possible.”

  Josiah leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling, and Mark got a glimpse of the faint mark on Josiah’s neck where River had bitten him when they’d mated.

  “It would be an uphill battle,” Josiah said, meeting Mark’s gaze. “I’ve seen the way Jaime looks at you. He could so easily fall in love with you.” Josiah got to his feet. “He’s an omega in my pack; therefore, I’m in charge of him. Don’t hurt him, Mark. You don’t even know what you really want.”

  Mark almost opened his mouth to say he wanted Jaime, but he understood where Josiah was coming from. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Jaime the way he’d hurt Beth. What if Mark got in bed with Jaime and couldn’t get fully hard? Difficult to imagine, judging by his fantasies about Jaime, but the fact remained he’d never been with a guy before. Maybe he could get hard, but what if he couldn’t keep up with Jaime during the omega’s heats? And what if, by some miracle, he could keep up, but Jaime wished Mark had a knot? Would Jaime want Mark to accept the bite and change? Could Mark do that? Doubt poured over him as he realized starting something with Jaime would be setting them up for a colossal fall.

  “I see you’re thinking more now, so I’ll leave you alone. I’m glad you came over tonight. I’m sorry if I haven’t been there for you lately,” Josiah said softly.

  Mark met Josiah’s gaze. The man was still the same Josey Kimbrel Mark had grown up with, but in so many ways he also wasn’t. Josiah was a werewolf, half-omega half-human. If Mark were to get involved with Jaime and decided to take the bite, he would become more werewolf than Josiah.

  Unease danced up his spine, and he swallowed hard.

  “I’ve just found a new place, and I plan to move in next weekend. Maybe we can have dinner there next time.”

  Josiah smiled softly. “I’ll help you move. I’ll bring River and some of the others, and we’ll have you squared away in no time.”

  “Thanks. Uh, I guess I’ll just say my goodbyes.”

  Josiah nodded and opened the door.

  Mark thanked Sam for the wonderful meal and said goodbye to the others. He wondered if Jaime had gone to the omega den, but when he stepped out onto the front porch, he found the omega sitting on the swing.

  “What did Josiah say?” Jaime asked.

  Mark leaned against the railing, looking out into the darkness. “That he doesn’t want you hurt.”

  Silence surrounded them, broken only by the intermittent croaking of frogs in the nearby creek.

  “I meant what I said to you,” Mark said quietly. “But it’s all so complicated. I don’t want to hurt you like I hurt Beth.”

  “I’m a grown man,” Jaime said, and Mark was surprised at the anger in his voice. “I’ve spent the past year trying to bury my feelings for you, and you come here and raise my hopes only to dash them back to the ground? That is what you’re about to do, isn’t it?”

  Dismayed, Mark opened his mouth to speak, but Jaime was off the swing and down the steps, striding across the lawn before Mark could get a word out.

  Maybe it was better that way.

  Chapter 5: Jax

  Blake looked extremely pleased with himself. “Here we are, my love.”

  My God, what is this place? Jax had had suspicions, but the reality was so much worse. Since Blake had insisted upon blindfolding Jax on their journey there—under the guise of it being a romantic surprise—he had no idea exactly where they were, only that it had taken at least forty-five minutes to get there and they’d descended to what felt like the bowels of hell.

  He blinked in the dim light of a long hallway, struggling to reorient himself now Blake had removed the covering from his eyes. The place was cold, and flickering sconces lined the walls

  Jax struggled to keep his tone light. “Is this some kind of medieval dungeon?”

  Blake smiled. “All part of the ambiance.”

  Jax had known this would be difficult, but now it was really happening, he was filled with repugnance. He’d suspected for a while Blake and his father were involved in omega trafficking, but the only way to know for sure was to get his husband to share the information with him. Blake still had reservations about trusting Jax, but he’d brought Jax there, and that was something.

  But how will I get through the night without doing what Blake expects of me? Jax asked himself. How can I fuck a defenseless omega and look at myself in the mirror tomorrow?

  Glancing around, Jax took several deep breaths to regain control and hoped Blake saw his actions as excited anticipation rather than the revulsion Jax was really feeling. He’d become pretty good at hiding his feelings over the past year and was fairly confident nothing but interest showed on his face.

  “Come on, babe.” Blake led his husband down the dark corridor. At a large double door, Blake knocked a pattern that Jax committed to memory. The doors opened, revealing a large, muscled, bald man wearing only a swath of red silk over his genitals like a fancy loincloth. While Blake spoke to the man, Jax leaned forward to inspect the carvings in the wood of the door. He was disturbed to find they were of werewolves in various le
wd sexual positions, all in subservient positions to humans with whips. Some were chained or kept close to the humans by leashes. All were obviously omegas, with dripping assholes, hard cocks, and backs arched in need. A few were half shifted into their wolf forms.

  “Ready, babe? I’ve got a night to remember planned,” Blake said, eyes dancing with excitement.

  Jax thought he would be sick. How was he going to get through this without revealing his ruse? He was far from finding out everything he needed to know. He suspected there were still a few of the anti-werewolf faction remaining at the Congress. Blake had hinted as much, but Jax had been unable to completely gain the man’s trust, even after a year of marriage. His performance that night might very well be what tipped the scales in his favor.

  Inside the double doors was another world, one where lascivious men and women gathered to satiate their darkest desires. It wasn’t difficult to spot the omegas in the large group, as they were naked and wore cock cages. All were leashed. Some served the humans, and some knelt by couches and chairs at the humans’ sides. All appeared to either be drugged or in the throes of heat. Maybe both. A couple omegas served as tables for the guests, their backs rigid and lined with cocktail glasses. Shockingly, a few were half-shifted, as in the depictions on the door, with wolf tails and ears. Jax had never seen that during his time with River Wolf pack.

  Blake squeezed Jax’s hand. “What do you think?”

  Swallowing the bile rising in his throat, Jax schooled his features, and answered with appropriate awe. “Amazing. But how is it some are half-shifted?”

  “We have the means to block, initiate, or halt the shift. I find the omegas with tails and ears particularly arousing, don’t you?”

  Jax remembered a day, long ago, when David had fucked him in the forest and half-changed in the middle of it. The moment had been both frightening and titillating, but that was David. How was he ever going to get hard and go through with this with a captured omega? Blake would see how disgusted Jax was and put two and two together. All his work, all the time away from David and Brooks, would have been for nothing. He would be killed, and his werewolf family would be next. But he was going to have to do it; too much depended on his performance, including his life.