A New Beginning

  Josiah had seen the plantation house and thought it promising as a place for the pack to settle, but he wouldn’t get his hopes up. As River said, they couldn’t afford it, although every one of them who had found employment was storing away as much pay as possible. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a lot. Getting them clothed and fed had taken a large chunk of their first pay checks.

  “Maybe we should take Mark up on his offer,” David said.

  Josiah felt the growl rise in River’s chest before the sound escaped the alpha’s lips.

  “We’ve been through this.”

  “We could pay the Congress back,” David said.

  “I don’t want the humans’ charity. It’s bad enough accepting Jax’s.”

  “For the good of the pack, River.”

  River pushed Josiah aside and got in David’s face before Josiah could blink. The omega steadied himself on the winged-back chair, stubbornly resisting his innate urge to flee in the face of his alpha’s anger. As it was, he automatically tilted his head to the side, revealing his vulnerable neck.

  Low growls filled the room. Both alphas’ chests heaved and the muscles in their backs and arms bunched up. Josiah had never seen the two friends so angry with one another and wondered what would happen if it came to blows—or even worse—the two shifted and fought it out as wolves. Someone in the apartment building was sure to hear, and they might call the police.

  That was the last thing the pack needed.

  “Stop!” Josiah shouted as their ire escalated. Summing up all his courage, Josiah squeezed himself between the two enraged alphas.

  With a snarl, River snatched his mate up as though Josiah weighed nothing and slung him over his shoulder. The alpha carried the omega to the room where they slept and dumped him on the bed.

  “What the fuck, Josiah!” River demanded. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Josiah lay flat on his back on the mattress, still a bit disoriented from their abrupt exit, and if he was being completely honest, a little aroused. “A fight between you two would draw unwanted attention.”

  “So, you put yourself between two angry alphas? That was just plain stupid.” River paced the floor.

  Josiah’s mouth firmed. “You did not just call me stupid.”

  “Holy wolf’s bane, you’re impossible!” River stripped off the T-shirt he’d worn to work, and Josiah admired the view.

  “Admit I just saved us from possible trouble.”

  River snarled, and fuck, if that didn’t go straight to Josiah’s groin.

  “David and I were just having a disagreement,” River said through clenched teeth.

  Josiah rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes. God, that felt good. He hadn’t had to live long as a werewolf to appreciate the benefits of going barefoot.

  River stepped closer, and Josiah pressed the sole of his foot to the bulge in the groin of the alpha’s jeans, curling his toes and teasing the head. He was rewarded with a faint hitch in River’s breath. The alpha tore open his jeans, revealing his large, erect cock, and Josiah licked his lips.

  Everything else was soon forgotten.

  Chapter 2: River

  River gripped Josiah’s slim hips as his mate surged upward, sliding almost all the way off River’s engorged cock before falling back down to the base, lithe body trembling with desire and need. The alpha loved watching Josiah take all of him—making love to his mate was one of the few times the alpha could get his mind off his troubles, as had been clearly evident a week earlier when his omega had managed to distract him from his ire at David. His engorged knot throbbed, and River nudged it against Josiah’s sensitive rim, making the omega shiver and pant in the most delicious way.

  River ran his hands up the omega’s smooth torso, glorifying in the intense pleasure building in his loins. He bit his lip, cock swelling inside the moist, tight walls of his mate’s body. Josiah squirmed when River flicked his nipples, working the knot until it slipped inside the omega. Josiah shuddered through his first climax of the evening, pretty pink cock spurting onto River’s sweaty chest.

  Josiah’s brown curls had grown longer over the past couple of months, and they bounced every time the omega slammed himself down on River’s cock. Josiah’s face was flushed with heat and pleasure, his full lips slick from River’s kisses. A low growl escaped the alpha’s throat. He burned to claim his mate in the most feral, possessive way possible and began pistoning his hips, almost unseating his omega.

  Josiah’s heat had started earlier that afternoon, and Brooks had called River at the bar where the pack alpha worked as bouncer. River had had to claim a family emergency so he could leave. He hoped he wouldn’t be fired; that was the last thing they needed. The small remnants of his pack were barely hanging on as it was.

  Flipping them over so Josiah lay flat on his back, River pushed inside the omega as far as he could, grinding their groins together and watching Josiah’s eyes roll back in his head as a second, more intense orgasm raced through the omega’s body.

  “Fuck, yeah.” Josiah locked his ankles around River’s back, beads of sweat plastering curls to his forehead as he dug his fingers into River’s shoulders. “F-fuck me!”

  Perspiration rolled down River’s skin as he bent and sucked the sweetness from Josiah’s lips. Rotating his hips, River nuzzled into Josiah’s warm neck and sucked at the place of their mating bite, loving every response his actions elicited from the heat-charged omega. With well-practiced ease, they curled into one another to wait for the knot to break.

  River closed his eyes, thoughts roaming to memories always just behind conscious thoughts that tormented his waking moments and ruined his sleep. The bloodshed and fear. Grief and hopelessness. The terrible moment he’d realized he’d have to sacrifice in order to keep his pack safe.

  When the group had set out to find a new home, River had had high hopes despite the difficulty he knew awaited them in the wild. He’d soothed his wounded pride at being ousted from his pack by telling himself he would form a new one, this one better than the last. But things hadn’t worked out that way, and now he struggled with the effects of that decision. They had no real home, and everywhere they looked was the enemy.

  River hadn’t thought of humans that way before—not all of them, anyway. But his tolerance had only brought sorrow, and lately he’d been rethinking things.

  With effort, River pulled his mind from his troubles, replacing them with the memory of an hour earlier and Josiah on hands and knees, naked and waiting for him when River had charged into the apartment. Brooks had locked himself with Josiah and the twins in the bedroom, only opening the door at the pack alpha’s arrival, relieving the anxiety that had plagued River since he got the message Josiah was in heat. An apartment full of alphas so close to his heated omega was akin to a nightmare. Fortunately, while Josiah lay panting on the bed, Brooks had managed to get Sadie and Sophie to sleep.

  Pants pooled at his feet, River had buried himself deep inside his omega before Brooks could fully close the door behind him.

  Josiah moaned, swiftly bringing River back to the man impaled on his stiff cock.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered into Josiah’s ear, nipping around the rim as he began to shallowly thrust, his knot rubbing inside Josiah in a way that made the muscles of the omega’s stomach quiver beneath River’s hands. Prickles of pleasure skated up the alpha’s legs and gathered in his groin. In all other respects, the alpha felt impotent—unable to provide security or reassurance, but in this one way, he could fill his mate’s needs.

  Josiah cried out, and River covered his mate’s mouth with his hand so as not to awaken the twins in their crib across the room.

  Being silenced aroused the omega, and Josiah licked at River’s palm, bucking up, inner muscles squeezing around River’s engorged cock. Josiah’s legs spread wantonly wide on the bed, his slim cock red and angry. River growled and quickened his short thrusts until Josiah shuddered through a third climax. River wanted to come so badly, but
his knot was stubborn.

  When the omega finally settled, River positioned their bodies more comfortably. Josiah was tired, and River fought to control his urge to thrust. He could feel Josiah’s rapid heartbeat slowly returning to normal against his hand and sighed in relief when the omega closed his eyes for a brief period of rest.

  The oscillating fan made a sweep of the room, sending a waft of warm air over the alpha’s damp skin. River rested his head on the pillow, breathing in the arousing tang of his mate’s sweat mixed with the heady sweet scent of omega slick. He bent and sucked beneath Josiah’s arm, enjoying the potent tang on his tongue. Across the room, one of the twins whined in her sleep.

  Being with the girls again was the only bright spot in this whole mess. The day they’d sent the girls away with Mark and Beth had been the hardest in their lives to date. River had missed them fiercely, and although Josiah had tried to put up a brave front, River knew his mate had been heartbroken every moment they’d been away from their babies.

  Muted sounds of slapping flesh accompanied by lusty cries drifted through the walls. After living in close quarters for so long, the omegas’ heats had adjusted so they fell at roughly the same time; within an hour of Josiah going into full heat, Sam and Briar had followed suit. Fortunately, both Leo and Kane had been at home. River hoped the following month they’d be in better circumstances to handle the situation. Having his omega in heat in such close quarters to other alphas made River want to howl his rage. He nipped sharply at Josiah’s inner arm, and the omega whimpered in his sleep.

  River trailed his hand down the curve of Josiah’s back, skimming over the swell of buttocks to where their bodies connected. Josiah’s rim stretched snuggly around River’s cock and trembled when River ran his finger over it. He pushed his groin closer to River.

  “Please…”

  Wrapping his fingers around Josiah’s stiff cock, River gently stroked until he brought a fourth release from his mate. Josiah sighed and settled again.

  In the next room, Sam’s moans of pleasure were closely followed by Leo’s hoarse cry of completion.

  Leo had a job waiting tables in an Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away. River knew it was unlikely he’d be able to show up to work the following morning, as leaving Sam in heat was not an option. Before long, they’d lose their jobs, and then what would they do? Their future was uncertain. River had to find a place for them to settle, and the fact it would most likely be in the human world was something he hadn’t fully processed yet. The old plantation he’d found, with its privacy and outer buildings, was ideal, but how long would it remain on the market? They needed money fast.

  They kept the air conditioning turned off to save money. Fortunately, the warm-blooded werewolves had no problem taking cold showers, but Jax grumbled about it constantly. Sometimes River wondered if the human regretted his decision to stay with the werewolves, but other times the obvious love Jax showed both David and Brooks reassured the pack alpha the human was exactly where he wanted to be.

  Josiah stirred and moaned against River’s chest. River clenched his teeth as an incredible surge of pleasure zipped through his groin, and his knot swelled to full capacity. Josiah jerked and groaned as the bulge pressed hard on his prostate. Then the knot broke, and everything around River whited out for long, blissful moments as his seed released into his mate’s body.

  When he came to himself again, River eased out of Josiah. The overflow of semen dribbled from his mate’s body, and River rose from the bed to get something with which to clean them up. Sophie murmured in her sleep, and he walked on rubbery legs over to the crib. The girls were lying on their sides, face-to-face, dark curls damp. The city was fucking hot; River missed the compound in the mountains. He adjusted the fan so the air would better circulate, then glanced back at the bed.

  Josiah had fallen into a doze, delectable ass on full display. River pulled some baby wipes from the box on the table and wiped himself and Josiah up before pulling on underwear and walking out of the bedroom to the kitchen. He was surprised to find David sitting at the table.

  “What are you doing up?” River asked, crossing to the cabinet to get a glass.

  “Couldn’t sleep. It’s hard when Jax isn’t here.” David and his two mates had volunteered to sleep on the pull-out couch, as they didn’t have an omega in their union. Jax had gone to visit his parents, probably eager to get out of the crowded apartment.

  “Is he glad to be back in the city?” River asked conversationally, pouring a glass of juice and crossing to the table to refill David’s. He and his second-in-command had pushed their altercation over accepting help from the Congress aside. Their friendship was too old and solid for petty differences.

  “I don’t know. He’s been pretty quiet after…everything.”

  River nodded. After what had happened in the wild, he’d half-expected Jax to abandon them. River was keenly aware that without Jax, the small pack would have nowhere to live, but he didn’t like to be reminded of it. He would get them out of this situation soon, no matter what he had to do.

  David stared into the contents of his glass. “It’s been over two weeks. Where could X have gone?”

  “He probably just needed time alone. He’ll come back when he’s pulled himself together.” River had no doubt the big alpha could follow their scent. Whether X wanted to or not was another thing altogether. Losing Trace had decimated him.

  David nodded. “I can’t get it out of my mind. I keep thinking about the conversation I’d had with Patrick hours earlier. He wanted to have a baby as soon as we found somewhere to settle.”

  River sat down across from David and fixed his gaze on the far wall, refusing to let his thoughts slip back to that horrific night or to let the guilt struggling to get hold of him win.

  “Sid’s asleep with Foster,” David said after a moment of silence.

  “I’m glad he has someone to comfort him.”

  The beta had been too quiet since losing his mate. For all River’s complaining about Jax not understanding the werewolves, River was only too aware of how his own mate didn’t entirely embrace their way of thinking. As pack alpha, it was River’s responsibility to offer to take Sid as a third mate, but with Josiah’s human way of looking at polygamy and River’s promise not to take another mate without Josiah’s consent, the alpha’s hands were tied. It felt like one more way he was letting down his pack. Sometimes he wondered if he should have stayed on the compound and fought for what was rightly his. The fact he hadn’t done so made River feel like a coward, in spite of Josiah’s reassurances that the growing dissension would have eventually broken the pack. Most of the members of the old River Wolf Pack were now against maintaining relations with the humans, and River’s half-human mate and female children weren’t welcome. Winning the position of pack alpha back wouldn’t have changed that. Better they start fresh.

  David drained his glass and set it down. “Maybe I should mate with Sid.”

  “Don’t you have your hands full as it is?”

  At Jax’s urging, David had taken Brooks as a third mate. The odd threesome somehow worked, but adding a fourth to the mix could be too much for them right now.

  “I do, but…”

  “It’s okay, David. We’ll work something out. Is worry about this what’s keeping you up?”

  David made a face. “Sounds of my little brother and Kane having sex make it difficult.”

  As though on cue, a low moan traveled down the hall followed by Briar’s voice calling out for more.

  River took a long drink. “At least Kane doesn’t have a job to lose.”

  “He’ll miss his interview tomorrow, but since it’s at the Congress, I’m sure Mark can arrange another.”

  River tried to hide his reaction, but David must have caught it.

  “You really don’t approve of him working there?”

  River shrugged in answer and was glad when David seemed to decide to let it alone.

  “Were you fired wh
en you had to leave tonight?”

  “No, but I may be when I can’t go back tomorrow,” River replied.

  “You told them you had a family emergency, right? Those can’t always be cleared up quickly. Tell them the twins are sick.”

  “What about next time? They won’t be pleased when I have to take off several days every month.”

  Brooks walked in, sleepy-eyed.

  “Hey,” David said softly and turned his face up for a kiss from the beta.

  Brooks sat down beside his mate and took a sip from David’s glass.

  “Can’t sleep either?” David asked, watching him fondly.

  “Who can sleep with all the noise?” Brooks smiled crookedly. Another moan from down the hall punctuated the question. It wasn’t Josiah, so River remained where he was, but he stayed on alert.

  “What about you two?” Brooks asked.

  “We’re just talking.” David looked at River. “I think we should take Mark up on his offer.”

  “No,” River said.

  “Why not?”

  River clenched his teeth. He’d thought they were avoiding the issue. He managed to keep his voice calm. “I don’t want the humans’ charity.”

  “River.”

  River shook his head. “Let’s not go through this again. I’ve let them infiltrate our lives enough.”

  David huffed out a laugh. “You act as though you’re responsible for everything that’s happened. Don’t forget I’m the one mated to Jax. Well, for all intents and purposes, I am.”

  River shook his head again, jaw tightening.

  “As second-in-command, I have a say in this. We only need some help getting on our feet. It’s what the damned Congress was made for. The members care about relations between our species. You care, or we wouldn’t be here.”