Ripples of Threat

  “Sure, I’ll be working in the office.” Ian kissed Gabriel and headed for the nursery with the sleeping little boy.

  Chapter 2: Christopher

  Christopher stood brushing the sorrel mare’s coat, eyes repeatedly drawn to where Xavier stood, pitching fresh straw into a stall. The big alpha was shirtless, and the muscles in his broad back rippled tantalizingly under bronzed skin as he moved. Christopher’s cock pressed uncomfortably against the zipper of his jeans, and he tried to inconspicuously adjust it. The mare seemed to sense the beta wolf’s discomfort and nudged him with her nose. Christopher lowered his face to her neck, hiding his face and trying to think of anything that might soften his cock.

  The big alpha only had to walk into the same room as Christopher for the beta to get stiff; it was embarrassing. Every night Christopher jacked off to the memory of X’s evening ritual of stripping off half naked and sluicing himself with water from the barrel at the back of the barn. Almost every morning, the young beta awoke hard from a dream about the alpha. He’d spent too long fantasizing about the man.

  Did X know what he did to Christopher? Probably not, or the alpha wouldn’t continue working there. X saw Christopher as a little brother, and it drove the beta nuts.

  Gabriel was always quick to remind Christopher the beta was too young to be thinking about a relationship, but Chris would be eighteen in a couple of months—legally of age as far as humans were concerned, although Christopher didn’t see why it mattered as no humans lived on the compound.

  Christopher wasn’t sure what he was going to do after he turned the magic number, but he was going to do something. He couldn’t go on this way much longer. Maybe he’d throw himself at X and hope the alpha didn’t laugh in his face.

  Hearing someone enter the barn, Christopher looked over his shoulder to see Gabriel stop by the door to talk to X. For the millionth time, Christopher wished he was an omega who could drive alphas wild with his scent and give them numerous babies to prove their virility. Not that X would look at the pack alpha’s omega like that, but if Christopher were an omega, he knew he’d take full advantage of that allure when Xavier was around.

  Finished with the brushing, Christopher led Sasha to her stall near the front of the barn, where he could overhear Gabriel’s and Xavier’s conversation.

  “…no harm in it,” X was saying, chucking a pitchfork of straw into the adjacent stall.

  Gabriel crossed his arms over his pregnant belly. “That’s a typical alpha response. Of course there’s harm in it. How do you think Canaan feels being used to keep your dick happy?”

  X leaned on the pitchfork. “He seems to feel pretty good, judging from the amount of times he comes on my happy dick.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. Christopher’s heart had lodged somewhere in his throat, and he swallowed. Canaan? X was fucking Canaan? A beta, like Christopher, and not even a very nice one? Christopher and X had gotten to be pretty good friends in the past year and a half as they worked together with the horses, and X had never mentioned spending time with Canaan, much less fucking the guy.

  Of course X didn’t talk about things like that with Christopher as he probably thought he might deflower the beta just by mentioning sex. Christopher gave a mental eye roll as he stood, petting the sorrel, and frowned at the pornographic images of X and Canaan that had begun to run through his head.

  What did Canaan have that Christopher didn’t, besides age? Oh, yeah. Experience. Christopher’s mind might not be a virgin, but the rest of him certainly was. If X were to walk into the stall that moment and take his enormous cock out, Christopher wouldn’t know what to do with it. His cheeks flamed just thinking about it.

  “Hey, Chris,” Gabriel said.

  Christopher jerked around so fast, his neck made a cracking sound.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Oh, uh, that’s okay. How’re you?” Christopher hated the way nerves made his voice rise several octaves. He sounded like an adolescent wolf who’d never let out a good howl.

  “I’m feeling pretty well, thanks. Thought I’d do some work this afternoon. Got anything pretty easy for me, what with the baby bump and all?”

  “Um.” Christopher looked around. “You could brush Elsa and Shining.”

  Gabriel winced. “Grey would kill me for getting close to Tarz’s big stallion in my condition, but I’ll do Elsa. Maybe I can clean the tack, too.”

  “Sounds good.” Christopher closed the sorrel in her stall and brushed Shining while Gabriel brushed Elsa. When the beta finished, he started sweeping the aisle. By the time he’d gotten through with that, X had taken the horses out to graze in the paddock. Christopher turned to where Gabriel sat on the bench, busy cleaning tack.

  Christopher took up a cloth to wipe the lather off the saddle Gabriel had just scrubbed. “Is X really rutting with Canaan?” he asked as casually as he could manage, not taking his eyes off his task.

  Gabriel glanced up from soaping the stirrup leathers. “Yeah, and has been for a long time. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, but I think he’s being unfair to Canaan.”

  Christopher shrugged. “Can’t Canaan take care of himself?”

  “I think X is playing with his feelings. If Canaan cares about X, he’ll get hurt because X is only in it for the sex.”

  Christopher’s pulse quickened. He didn’t look up, giving all his attention to drying the saddle. “Are you sure about that? I mean, that X doesn’t want more with Canaan.”

  “It’s pretty obvious. They’ve been at it on and off for over a year, and X’s made no move to mate Canaan. I really don’t think he’s over Trace, to be honest.”

  “He’s not.” Christopher was certain about that. “X talks more and more about Trace now than when he first came here, but I can tell he’s still hurting pretty badly.” It killed Christopher to think of X having a heart-to-heart with him and then going over to Canaan’s to fuck.

  “Chris,” Gabriel said softly.

  Christopher realized he’d stopped drying the saddle and sat staring at it. He looked up to see understanding in the omega’s light blue eyes. “Don’t.” He held up a hand. “I don’t want your pity.”

  “I don’t pity you. I just think you’re wasting your time when you should be paying attention to guys your own age.”

  “Maybe I don’t want someone my own age,” Christopher said.

  “You should.”

  “Why? Look at you—Grey’s older than you, and Ian’s way older.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How?”

  “I’m almost twenty-eight years old! You’re just a kid.”

  “I’m not a kid!” Christopher threw down the cloth. Like a kid. He sighed. “I need some air.” He turned and left the barn, striding quickly away from the paddock and ignoring X calling to him, leaving his clothes in a pile and shifting before taking off through the fields.

  The sun beat down on Christopher’s wheat-colored coat, the wind stirring his fur as his muscles strained to run as fast as he could. As the minutes past, the hurt in Christopher’s chest lessened, and he began to relax into the familiar numbness that came with shifting and running. He knew he had more than a crush on X—that he loved the alpha. And it was hard seeing the man day after day and not being able to do anything about it.

  Unrequited love. The words echoed in his mind as he ran. So deep was he in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the big black wolf following him until X tackled Christopher to the ground. The two wolves rolled several feet before coming to a tangled halt. Wind knocked out of him, Christopher lay on his stomach while X shifted. Having a naked man on top of his wolf felt weird, and not in the way Christopher would have liked.

  “Would you shift, please?” X said gruffly.

  Christopher did.

  Oh. This was much better. Xavier’s body hair bristled against Christopher’s smooth skin in the most fantastic way. The big alpha dwarfed Christopher, but instead of feeling suffocated, the bet
a only felt safe. Unfortunately, X backed off before the beta could reap enough enjoyment from the experience.

  The early afternoon sun kissed Christopher’s skin where he lay too exhausted to move, watching a grasshopper make its way from blade to blade of grass.

  “Mind telling me why you ran away like you had a bear on your tail?” X asked.

  “I just needed to be alone,” Christopher muttered.

  “Did Gabe upset you?”

  Christopher shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “If he upset you, tell me, and I’ll have a word with him.”

  “He didn’t.”

  A warm hand touched Christopher’s back. “Hey. You know you can talk to me, right?”

  Christopher closed his eyes. “Yeah.” But not about this.

  “I mean, we’re pals.” X nudged Christopher’s arm with his bare knee. Christopher didn’t dare look over at the alpha.

  “Is it a romance problem? You can tell me. Honestly, Chris, I’ve laid enough on you since we met.”

  Christopher wanted to yell at the alpha that, yeah, it was a romance problem. Christopher was in love with him. Now, solve that. But he could well imagine the look of horror on X’s face if he did such a thing. The beta swallowed while choosing his words carefully. “I just like someone and…I don’t think he likes me.”

  “Really?” X sounded surprised. “What makes you think so?”

  “He just doesn’t notice me,” Christopher said, eyes still trained on the grass.

  “I’ll bet he does, and you just don’t realize it. You can be pretty obtuse, you know. Besides, you’re cute as hell.”

  Christopher rolled over, glad he’d been too tired to pop a fucking boner at the alpha’s proximity. He stared into X’s eyes, wishing he had the guts to lean up and kiss the alpha, but again, the thought of X’s reaction kept him from doing it. “You think so?” He tried to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.

  “Of course. Hell, if I was fifteen years younger, I’d be all over you.”

  Evidently Christopher wasn’t all that tired, because his dick stirred at X’s words. He sat up and brought his knees to his chin. “Thanks for saying that.” What was the big deal about age, anyway?

  “You should definitely talk to the guy. Put yourself out there.”

  “Okay. Maybe I will.”

  X grinned and got to his feet before holding out a hand to help Christopher up. As much as Christopher wanted to touch the alpha and to walk home with him, he thought it better to wait until his erection subsided.

  “You go on. I just want to sit here a while.”

  X nodded. “You sure you’re okay? Just guy problems?”

  Christopher nodded and managed a smile. He watched X shift and the big, black wolf run back in the direction of the barn before flopping onto his back in the soft grass again. What the fuck was he going to do? He was crazy for a guy who didn’t want him, and now he’d implied he was interested in someone else.

  Better than have X leave, he told himself. Throwing his arm over his eyes, Christopher ran through the list of guys his age. As he liked alphas, he immediately tossed out the betas, but, although there were some cute prospects, none of them did anything for him. Not like X did. He was fucked.

  “Always lie around out in the middle of nowhere stark naked?” A voice came from above as a shadow fell over the beta.

  Christopher, who must have been on the verge of falling asleep, shot up in alarm, heart racing. Perry stood looking down at him.

  “You startled me,” he said irritably.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I made enough noise, but you were someplace far away. What are you doing out here?”

  “Thinking. What about you?”

  “Just went for a quick run. I go every day about this time.”

  Christopher looked over Perry’s slim, muscular body. The older beta only wore a pair of tight, navy gym shorts. “You weren’t running in your wolf form.” It wasn’t a question. If Perry had shifted with those shorts on, there wouldn’t be anything left of them.

  “I like running as a human sometimes.”

  Boner finally gone, Christopher stood and brushed himself off. He noticed Perry looking him over with approval. Interesting, as Perry was at least as old as X. Obviously, the beta didn’t have the same hang-ups about age.

  “I guess I’ll shift, since I’m naked,” Christopher said, cheeks beginning to pink at the perusal.

  Perry chuckled. “Yeah, not so comfortable running with your cock flopping around.” He waved and took off at a sprint.

  Christopher waited until Perry was out of sight before shifting and trotting toward the compound.

  Perry wasn’t an alpha, but he was good looking and nice enough. Christopher didn’t feel anything for the other beta, but maybe he could with time. Gabriel had said Chris shouldn’t be wasting his time with X, and maybe the omega was right. X hadn’t looked the slightest bit annoyed when he’d thought Christopher was interested in someone.

  When Chris reached the barn, he was surprised to see Perry standing in the paddock, talking to X.

  Christopher skirted the fence, heading for the pile of clothes he’d left by the barn. Quickly, he shifted and pulled them on.

  Perry smiled at Christopher when the younger man approached. “Hi, again.”

  Christopher nodded to him and smiled back.

  “Want to go get something to eat with me at the dining hall?” Perry asked.

  Christopher hesitated. Did he? He was hungry, and it was nice to be asked. He glanced at X. The alpha watched them, eyes narrowed. “Sure. Let’s go.”

  “Great. We can swing by my place, so I can change.”

  Before Christopher could follow Perry, X grabbed the young beta by the arm. Turning to Perry, X said, “You go ahead. Chris’ll meet you at the dining hall.”

  Perry looked from Xavier to Christopher and then shrugged. “Okay. See you there, Chris.”

  “What’s up?” Christopher asked when Perry had gone. He pulled his arm from X’s grip.

  “Is he the guy you like? I thought you meant someone your age.”

  “Why are you so hung up on age?”

  X put his hands on his hips. “I’m not hung up on—Look. I don’t want to argue. I’m just trying to watch out for you, that’s all. With all the young guys around, I don’t know why you’d go for someone so much older.”

  Christopher huffed. “He’s not that much older. You’re not my dad, X. We’re just going to eat.” Christopher turned away, pausing at the open doorway of the barn to call goodbye to Gabriel, who was hanging up the tack and getting ready to go home. Christopher didn’t turn back to look at Xavier before heading for the dining hall.

  Chapter 3: Xavier

  Xavier didn’t know why he cared so much. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair, watching Gabriel walk away, cute little ass swaying.

  Yeah, he knew why; Christopher was a good kid, all alone in the world, and he deserved someone nice as a mate. And the boy was so damn cute. He’d be snapped up as soon as he turned eighteen, and X would hate to see some older alpha or beta take advantage.

  Gabriel walked out of the barn. “Heading home.” He paused. “You doing okay, X? You want to come over for dinner? I’m sure Ian would love to see you. I’m not sure if Grey will be home.”

  X shook his head. He’d become casual friends with Ian after the beta had spoken to X on a moon run over a year ago. X had been distraught, thoughts of his dead mate weighing heavily on his mind, and Ian had shown the alpha real compassion and friendship. They’d wound up finishing the run together and had spoken many times since, although X purposely kept some distance between them. He didn’t want to forge strong ties with anyone. It only led to heartache.

  “Maybe some other time. You look tired, anyway. I’ll just go to the dining hall.”

  Gabriel smiled. “If you wait for me not to be tired, you’ll be waiting a long time. This baby sucks the energy right out of me.”
/>
  X used the water pump to wash off before pulling on a shirt.

  “Thanks for thinking of me. Want me to walk you home?”

  “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

  X glanced over Gabriel’s shoulder. “Looks like I’m too late anyway. Here come your escorts.” He laughed at Gabriel’s dismayed and incredulous expression when the omega caught sight of Grey and Ian coming their way, pushing Finny in the stroller.

  “Da!” the little boy called out, opening and closing his fist in a backwards wave.

  Gabriel waved back, murmuring to X, “What do they think is going to happen to me just walking home?”

  X shrugged, amused. “After your close call the last time, I’d say they’re just being cautious.”

  X had heard the ruckus outside Milo’s house when Justin had gone into labor, and word had quickly spread that something was wrong with Gabriel, too. He’d offered to get Grey and Ian, and X wouldn’t soon forget the looks of worry and fear on the two men’s faces as they’d raced to be with their omega mate. X knew he would have felt exactly the same way if it had been Trace. As always, pain swelled inside him at the thought of his dead mate, but he realized the sharpness had waned a little over time, and he was able to put the hurt aside more quickly when it hit.

  Gabriel waved goodbye to X and greeted his mates and son. Ian put his hand on the omega’s belly, and a wave of intense regret and longing washed over X at the sight. He turned away and started walking toward the dining hall.

  During the time he’d wandered alone in the wilderness, X had thought if only he’d be lucky enough to come across The Turned, he’d rip their heads off one by one with his bare hands. How he hated the soulless creatures who’d taken his love from him. He’d even tried to track the beasts, uncaring that a confrontation with the feral pack would certainly lead to his own death. Killing even one of the creatures would be worth it. He would have welcomed death back then. With surprise, X realized that wasn’t the case anymore. At some point over the past year and a half, he’d decided he wanted to live.