Ripples of Threat

  Grey glanced at them, face composed. “Have a nice shower?”

  “Yes,” Ian said. “I see you found the popcorn.”

  Grey hid his smile, and Gabriel realized Grey had sent the boy into the bathroom on purpose as a joke. He approached the alpha and murmured, “Not funny.”

  Grey looked at him with wide eyes. “A little funny.”

  Gabriel shook his head but couldn’t help smiling.

  Josh grinned at the sight of Finny kicking his little legs excitedly. “Can I hold him?”

  “Sure.” Ian handed the baby over to the young man. Finny took hold of Josh’s dark hair with both fists and pulled.

  “Ow! No, no.” Josh gently untangled the baby’s hands from his curls. “That hurts, Fin.”

  “Sowwy,” Finny said.

  Josh smiled. “That’s okay.” He kissed the boy on the nose.

  Josh was good with his baby cousin. Gabriel suspected Josh was an omega and wondered why Roanan hadn’t said anything to Grey about it yet. Maybe the alpha hadn’t realized. Or maybe he didn’t want any focus placed on Josh, although Grey would never do anything to make the boy uncomfortable. No claims on mates below legal age were permitted in the pack.

  Later, after popcorn, when the boys had headed for bed and Gabriel had put Finny in his crib for the night, the omega mentioned it to Grey and Ian.

  “How can you tell he’s omega?” Grey asked, stripping off his shirt. His muscles rippled in the light of the moon coming through the window, pecs flexing and biceps bulging. Gabriel’s mouth went dry with lust.

  “Instinct, I guess,” he said, pulling his eyes away from his handsome alpha mate. “Josh just seems to know what Finny needs and how to settle him down. Also, Josh’s lack of leadership tendencies and the fact he hasn’t shown any beta-like interests point to him being an omega.”

  Grey shucked off his pants, and Gabriel couldn’t help but look. The omega was immediately distracted by the alpha’s gorgeous thighs, cock, and ass.

  “Well, if he is an omega, that’s great for the pack. I guess it’s a good thing we’re building the omega den,” Grey said.

  Gabriel nodded, dragging his eyes from the trail of hair leading downward from Grey’s navel and looking into the alpha’s eyes. “How long do you think it’ll be before it’s ready? I’m looking forward to going there.”

  Grey lay down by Ian, who was reading in bed. “Eager for a place to get away from us?” he teased Gabriel.

  “What? No! But omegas like to be together. They need it, really.”

  Ian looked at the alpha over his glasses. “Don’t you remember, Grey? When we had omegas before, they used to get together at one of their houses about every two weeks. I always wondered what went on.”

  Grey raised his eyebrow at Gabriel in question.

  “Well, we like to…” Gabriel bit his lip.

  “What?” Grey asked, reaching over Ian to rub the omega’s calf.

  Gabriel was sure his face was red as a beet. “Er, we like to…well, cuddle.”

  “Cuddle?” Ian put his book down.

  Gabriel nodded. “Omegas are very touchy-feely with each other.”

  A smile spread across Grey’s face.

  Gabriel poked Grey in his side. “Don’t make fun!”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Grey pulled Gabriel over Ian and on top of him. Ian shook his head and went back to his book.

  “Sure, Professor. Easy for you to act uninterested after having your way with him in the shower,” Grey said.

  “How’d you even know?” Gabriel asked, breathing in his alpha’s intoxicating scent.

  Grey pulled the omega’s face closer and said softly, “You think I can’t smell it every time you get even a little aroused?”

  Gabriel stared, mouth open. Smiling, Grey captured the omega’s lips in a kiss and gently tugged the braid from Gabriel’s hair. Vaguely Gabriel realized, unless the pack alpha had sprung two more hands, Ian had forgotten all about his book.

  Chapter 5: Christopher

  Perry asked Christopher to go for a walk with him after dinner, but the younger beta declined. Perry had been good company while eating, and Christopher had even laughed a time or two at the older beta’s jokes, but Chris was afraid if he spent too much time with Perry, the other man would get the wrong idea. He found himself glad for the couple months left before he turned eighteen. They’d be an excuse not to accept mating advances.

  Deep in thought, Christopher took the long way home, enjoying the crisp night air and starry sky. A few houses had been built along the strip of land between the nursery and Duncan’s barn since Justin had been attacked by stone there, making it less of a deserted area. Not that the pack had ever had trouble with violence before; in fact, Christopher realized it could be pure coincidence Grey chose that area for the new housing. He glanced toward the wooded area in the distance in which Xavier’s small cabin was ensconced and wished the alpha wouldn’t seclude himself from everybody.

  As Christopher rounded the bend near Duncan’s barn, he heard splashing and stopped mid-step, arrested by the incredibly arousing sight of X, large, muscular body naked and gleaming with water, diving off the pier into the lake. Christopher didn’t mean to pause and watch, but he simply couldn’t look away. X was a good swimmer with a lot of stamina, and he swam several fast laps from pier to dock and back again before walking out of the shallows and flopping down in the grass, at which point Christopher stepped behind a tree so as not to be seen.

  Great, I really am a creep, he thought.

  Christopher knew he should leave, but he stood a moment longer and admired the combination of lines and planes, bulging muscles, and dark hair that made up the magnificent alpha.

  Gods, he’s beautiful.

  Christopher’s heart thudded in his chest, and his hands became slick with sweat. He was so hard, he hurt. Pulling himself together, he resisted the urge to get himself off, because that really would reduce him to the rank of sick pervert. He ducked through a copse of trees to rejoin the path farther down from the lake. Pitiful how X could turn Christopher into one big raging hard-on just by taking off his clothes.

  Outside Tarz’s barn, London sat watching his son, Jed, make a pile of small sticks as the last reds, golds, and purples of the sunset faded on the horizon.

  Christopher paused to lean against the side of the barn.

  “I didn’t see you in the dining hall.” London looked up at the beta through the darkness.

  “I was there, but I didn’t eat with Tarz and London tonight. I was across the room sitting with Perry.”

  London’s expression turned sly. “Perry? Is he interested in mating you?”

  “I don’t know. He just asked me to eat.” Was everyone in the pack a matchmaker?

  “Which means he’s interested. Do you like him?”

  Staring off into the distance, Christopher caught sight of X walking toward his house in the woods. His cock twitched. “I don’t know.”

  London sighed. “What’s so hard about choosing a mate? The moment I saw Tarz, I knew I wanted him.”

  “I don’t think it’s that easy for everyone, and I’m a beta—much more level-headed than you omegas are.” Christopher realized it was the first time he’d ever said something positive about being a beta, and that stunned him. He also realized he really wasn’t all that level-headed where Xavier was concerned.

  “Yeah, well, sometimes it’s better to let instinct take over,” London said. “The other omegas that came with me from River compound were all atwitter about who was going to choose them, and who they should accept, but I just went with my gut.”

  Tarz’s voice, loud and gruff, called to London from their house several yards away. London stood up and stretched, dark hair falling about his sharp shoulders.

  He held out his hand to Jed. “Come on, Daddy wants us. See you later, Chris.”

  Christopher waved and turned up his face to gaze at the moon. When the beta had lost his parents, Tarz’s offer of hi
s barn as a place to live had been a godsend. It had allowed Chris a modicum of autonomy as well as a roof over his head. But as the beta reached adulthood, he felt the time was coming when he needed to stand on his own two feet. Sure, he worked for Tarz, but Christopher wanted to be more than someone’s stable boy. But what skills did he have? He wasn’t born to be a beta guard, and the only thing he knew was horses. If Perry wanted to mate with him, Christopher should be grateful for a place to live and someone to give him a child, yet he couldn’t imagine mating Perry.

  Alphas led and omegas reproduced. Sure, alphas and omegas had other qualities, but that was the core of it. What did betas do? They were supposed to use their good sense and talents for the good of the pack. So, what was Christopher’s talent? Every task he performed with the horses could be done just as well by someone else.

  Slumping against the barn, Christopher rubbed his eyes. He was tired. He knew he’d better get to bed because sunrise came early, and X wouldn’t be doing his work for him a second morning in a row. He checked on the horses before heading up into the loft, where a decent mattress and warm blanket awaited him.

  * * * *

  Christopher yanked on his pants. He could tell by the position of the sun leaking through the cracks of the barn it was late. How had he overslept? And why hadn’t Tarz come and yanked him out of the loft by his ear? He could hear the reverberating clink clink of the alpha’s hammer hitting the anvil, but no complaining snorts from the horses below.

  When his feet hit the floor at the bottom of the ladder, Christopher realized the stalls were empty. Hurrying to the barn door, he saw the four horses already out in the field. He almost jumped out of his skin when X spoke from behind him.

  “I already fed them. I’ll help you clean out the stalls.”

  Hand to his rapidly beating heart, Christopher stared at the alpha. “What are you doing here so early?”

  X shrugged and scratched his scruffy chin. “Woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. You were snoozing like a baby, so I did the work for you.”

  “You should have tried harder to wake me up!”

  “Everyone deserves a sleep-in once in a while.”

  X ruffled Christopher’s hair and turned to the first stall. Christopher followed, stepping into the second stall and began throwing the clean bedding over the railing and the dirty into the wheelbarrow out in the aisle.

  “Well, thanks,” he muttered grudgingly when he and X met at a second wheelbarrow to empty their shovels of manure.

  “No problem,” the alpha said. On their next empty, Xavier glanced up at Christopher. “You have a good time with Perry last night?”

  Christopher turned back to his stall to shovel the last bit of horse droppings from the floor. “I guess.”

  “You just eat, or did you go somewhere after?”

  Christopher’s face reddened as he remembered watching X swimming in the lake. “He wanted to walk, but I wanted to get home. Talked to London for a while outside before heading to bed. I don’t know why I was so tired.”

  X grunted and began sweeping his stall. They finished close to the same time and moved on to the third and fourth stalls. Christopher hadn’t realized the steady clinking sound had stopped until Tarz strode into the barn.

  “I’m bringing in a new horse today,” the alpha said without preamble. “She’s a paint. A guy from Echo Valley pack’s bringing her over this afternoon. Get a stall ready for her, will you, Chris?”

  Christopher nodded, and Tarz left the barn.

  Christopher turned back to his chores, excited about the new horse. He’d never seen a painted horse but heard their coats could be beautiful. He wondered what this one looked like. He glanced at X to find the alpha smiling at him. “What?”

  “You just look so happy about the horse.”

  Embarrassed, the beta shrugged.

  “I’m not making fun of you; I think it’s cute how you get all worked up over them.”

  Christopher frowned, face flaming. “I do not!”

  “Hey, I said I’m not making fun. I think it’s great how you love the horses.”

  Christopher grumbled and turned away from the alpha, putting all his energy into cleaning out the stall. Obviously, Xavier saw the beta as a cute little boy, and it made Christopher want to throw something. Sweat dripping in his eyes, he tugged his shirt over his head, wiping his face with the garment before laying it over the side of the stall. He let his mind go blank as he performed his duties, and by the time he finished cleaning and had a stall ready for the new horse, he’d completely forgotten about X. Looking around, Christopher realized the remaining stalls were clean and the big alpha wasn’t in the barn anymore. He heard whistling outside and, grabbing his shirt, walked out to find Xavier scrubbing out a trough.

  Christopher washed himself off under the pump before slipping on his shirt.

  “I’ll get our breakfast,” he told Xavier when he turned to find the alpha watching him. Without waiting for a reply, he headed toward Tarz’s cave. Smoke curled from an opening in the rock and as Christopher drew closer, he could smell frying mutton on the morning air.

  “You’re late this morning,” London said when the beta stepped into the kitchen. Jed sat on the floor playing with plastic toy wolves, his dark head bent over them and face screwed up in concentration.

  “Overslept,” Christopher said.

  “You never do that.”

  “I know. Guess I might need the alarm clock you offered after all.”

  “I’ll get it. Plates are covered on the table.” The omega disappeared around the corner, and Christopher approached the food.

  Raising the plastic covering, Christopher took a deep breath of the meat and eggs.

  “Here you go.” London returned.

  Taking the small battery-operated clock, Christopher thanked the omega.

  “Tarz says you’re getting a new horse today,” he said as he picked up the plates.

  “Yeah. He hopes to expand the barn soon, too. Hope you haven’t any plans to go anywhere. Plenty of work ahead.”

  “Where would I go?” Christopher asked, his thoughts of the night before shadowing his mind.

  “I don’t know. You might mate, but you could still work here, I guess.” London paused in cleaning the table, an odd look on his face.

  “What’s the matter?” Christopher asked, but he suddenly realized as a faint, sweet scent began to take over that of the mutton in his hands.

  “Could you tell Tarz to come?” London asked, swallowing hard.

  “Sure. I’ll take Jed with me.”

  “Drop him at the nursery, if you don’t mind.” London’s eyes were beginning to glaze over as the omega’s heat came upon him. “Tell Tarz to hurry.”

  Christopher nodded. “Come on, Jed,” he said to the little boy. “Let’s go see the horses.”

  Jed lifted his arms, but Christopher couldn’t carry him, the food, and the clock, too. “I need you to walk, baby. In fact, would you hold this for me?”

  Jed was more than happy to have the responsibility of carrying the alarm clock and followed Christopher down the stairs one at a time, carefully holding onto the railing with one hand while clutching the clock to his chest with the other.

  Christopher didn’t want to alarm Jed by shouting for Tarz, but he knew London would be getting desperate as his heat intensified. He heard a window open behind him and caught the sweet scent of omega again.

  Almost immediately, a howl went up from the direction of Tarz’s forge, and a moment later, the alpha wolf ran by Christopher and Jed in a blur of black fur.

  “Guess your daddy figured it out himself,” Christopher said to the little boy. When they reached the barn, X was standing with his nose to the wind.

  “London’s gone into heat,” Christopher said needlessly, watching the big alpha’s chest rise and fall in agitation. “Here’s breakfast.”

  Jed had run over to the fence and was pointing to the horses out in the pasture. “Dare is Shining
! Elsa! Sasha, and Star! Dare dey are!”

  Christopher smiled at the boy. “Yeah, they’re all out enjoying the sunshine.” He sat on one of the wooden chairs, opened his food, and started eating. It was delicious. London was almost as good a cook as Henry, and had even tried copying the beta’s most popular recipes, although Henry was close-lipped about some of the ingredients and London had to improvise.

  After a moment, X sat down and picked up his food. The beta could clearly see the alpha’s arousal through the thick denim of his jeans and wondered what it might be like to be able to drive men lust-crazy like omegas could. He’d never know.

  “Tarz needs to close the window,” X muttered between bites.

  “I’m sure they’re too busy to think of that,” Christopher said. “If they haven’t by the time I get back from taking Jed to the nursery, I’ll do it.”

  Xavier finished eating and washed his hands under the pump. Christopher rinsed off the plates and picked up Jed.

  “Let’s go see who’s at the nursery, little fella.”

  As Christopher walked, he passed the new omega den where a few werewolves finished construction. Christopher recognized Craig up on the roof, and when he looked around, he spotted Vincent, or Vince, sitting under a tree with his son, Jasper, and Craig’s son, Ryan. He walked over to them and put Jed down by Jasper.

  “How’s it going?” Chris had gotten to know the omega a little bit when Vincent came to show Jasper the horses. Once close to his twin, Vaughn, the normally outgoing omega had become reclusive and quiet since mating Kale and Craig, and Christopher got the idea he led a lonely existence. The omega hadn’t said anything about it, but Christopher had heard Kale’s beta mate, Craig, didn’t accept Vincent and hadn’t given him a mating bite.

  “Okay,” Vincent said. “Kale sent us with Craig. It’s nice out today.”

  Christopher agreed and explained he was taking Jed to the nursery for London. Jed and Jasper were having fun playing with Ryan, so Christopher sat under the tree, leaning back on his hands and watching the orangey-yellow leaves of the bald cypress above flutter in the wind.