A Gamma's Choice (9 page)
Authors: Amber Kell
“Greg was here—” Kaden began, only to be cut off.
“There? Are you hurt?” His father’s voice grew urgent. “Alice…”
“H-he said he killed her,” Kaden said, barely holding back the sobs.
“He did. We were going to call and tell you today. We’ve been trying to arrange her funeral.”
“He’s in custody.” Kaden’s heart sank. He’d hoped Greg had been lying. “What about the baby?”
“We were able to save her but not Alice.” Kaden could hear the sorrow in his father’s voice. “We’re holding a service next Wednesday. We’d love it if you could come. Are you all right? D-did Greg hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll make it to the service—just send me the specifics. And…I’d like to bring my mates.” Kaden held his breath as he waited for his father’s reply. Since, he’d technically left the family his father could refuse to let Kaden and his mates onto his territory.
“Mates? What have you got yourself mixed up with?” His father’s tone became sharper.
“I’m part of a triad with the alpha and beta of the pack.” Kaden almost hung up before he heard his father’s response. The little boy inside still wanted his father’s approval—sadly, the adult rarely received it.
“Bring them too. I’d love to see the men who think they’re good enough for my boy.”
“We’ll be there,” Gage whispered in his ear.
“See you Wednesday,” Kaden promised.
After the usual pleasantries, he hung up.
Gage kissed Kaden’s neck. “You all right?”
Kaden nodded. “I’ll miss Alice.” A tear dripped down his cheek as he thought about his sweet sister.
Russ crawled over the covers to place a soft kiss on Kaden’s mouth. “We’ll make sure they don’t get hold of you again.”
“I know.” Kaden had confidence his mates would protect him from kidnappers, vampires and all manners of enemies. Right now he needed to reassure his lovers that he was fine. They both hovered over him as if he was fragile glass that might break. He couldn’t have that.
Standing up, he grabbed Russ by the shirt and yanked him off the bed. With much tugging and wiggling, he separated the man from his clothing.
“For such a little thing, you’ve got a good grip,” Russ said.
“Oh, you haven’t experienced my grip properly yet,” Kaden said with a grin. He wrapped his hand around Russ’ cock. The long, thick shaft warmed his palm with its silky heat.
With a wicked smile at the alpha to let him know his time was coming, Kaden wrapped his lips around the head of Russ’ erection. The bitter taste danced across his tongue, making him moan for more.
“Oh yes, babe, just like that.” Russ’ grip on Kaden’s head told him the beta really enjoyed his ministrations.
With his mouth full he couldn’t smile but the jolt of satisfaction of a job well done warmed him inside and out. The alpha’s touch on his back cemented his feeling of completion. This was where he was supposed to be—cradled between these two men and enjoying their love and affection.
He hoped he’d be enough.
Russ gripped Kaden’s hair, pulling him off.
“What?” he asked crossly.
“This time I’m not going to come before I get inside you,” Russ growled.
“Oh, okay.” That was different. He’d thought for a moment Russ wanted to deprive him of his prize. He’d have to suck him off later, or…
He looked at Gage over his shoulder. The alpha stood at the foot of the bed, his pants unzipped and his large hand wrapped around his cock.
“If you want to join us, I’d be happy to suck you off,” he offered.
Lust flared in Gage’s eyes. Russ snorted above him. Kaden turned a curious look towards the beta.
“Seriously, babe, no one is going to turn down a blow job from that pretty mouth.”
Kaden smiled. “I hope not.” Another glance over his shoulder proved the alpha had good sense and was stripping off his clothes in record speed.
A little rearranging and Gage lay at the top of the bed. Kaden’s mouth was level with Gage’s cock and his ass was raised for Russ’ entry.
“Let me loosen you, babe, I don’t want you to feel any pain,” the beta murmured.
At this point Kaden’s need overwhelmed him. “If someone doesn’t fill me soon I will start biting parts off.”
Gage laughed. “That would be a shame, pup. I like all of my parts.”
Growling, Kaden lapped at the dewy drop oozing from the tip of Gage’s cock. He wrapped a firm hand around Gage’s shaft, pleased at the gasp he received. He didn’t want to put Gage in his mouth until Russ was inside him in case his fangs came out.
A wet, probing finger made him gasp.
“Easy, babe—I’ve got you,” Russ said.
Kaden let out a long breath and relaxed until he could comfortably accept the intrusion.
“Ready for another one?” Russ asked.
Kaden thought about saying no, but Gage kissed him and his entire body melted.
Oh. Bliss.
Russ laughed. “Keep doing that, Gage.”
After three fingers slid in and out of Kaden easily, Russ pushed his cock inside and filled Kaden entirely until he thought he might burst from the sensation.
Kaden let out a small whimper.
Gage swallowed the sound with a carnal kiss. “You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Gage said against Kaden’s lips. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my days seeing your face just like this.”
Kaden would’ve spoken but Russ chose that moment to move and he promptly forgot everything in his head. All thoughts, all sound vanished beneath the white noise in his head as he became a being of pure sensation.
“More,” he moaned, though he didn’t know what he wanted more of. He could feel his orgasm tempting him, teasing him with the fringes of delight.
“I’ll give you more, babe. I’ll give you everything.” Russ proceeded to live up to his promise by pumping in and out with startling speed.
Kaden screamed when Russ bumped across something he’d only heard about. He knew his prostate existed but he’d never had it played as though by a virtuoso.
“Need. More. Mate…” Kaden babbled. Hell, he didn’t even know what he was saying anymore.
Russ gripped Kaden tighter until, with a cry, he filled his hole with wetness and wrapped a large, calloused hand around him.
It only took two pumps before Kaden came and collapsed onto Gage. Blinking, he realised what he was watching with a moan.
“I was supposed to do that,” he sulked.
“You were too busy being sexy,” Gage groaned as he stroked himself. “Oh, fuck…so sexy.” With a jerk, the alpha spurted out his release—a great deal of it landing on Kaden’s face and, he suspected, in his hair.
“I’ll wash up in a bit,” he promised.
Gage nodded. “I’ll help.”
Kaden laughed. “Somehow I doubt I’ll get clean.”
Russ joined him in laughter. “You might, but it will take twice as long and the pack might get more than an eyeful.”
Communal showers were the norm for the army, and if Gage helped him clean up, there would definitely be sex involved.
“Later,” Kaden said sleepily. “We’ll clean up later.”
There were a lot of things that needed to be done. They still had to find Conley and discover his secrets. They had to interrogate Greg when he woke up to find out what he’d told the vampires, and they needed to determine if the camp had to be moved for security reasons.
However, snuggled between his two mates, Kaden couldn’t muster the proper concern to care.
They’d deal with it later.
Together.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Supernatural Mates: More Than Pride
Amber Kell
Excerpt
Chapter One
Dillon sat on the back porch enjoying the cool evening breeze with a cold Mason jar of sun tea in his hand. He yawned, tired after his long day of helping clear out the west garden for spring planting. He generally didn’t mind pitching in—a pride was only as strong as its weakest member and Dillon had decided long ago that he wouldn’t be the weakest. He might have been born the runt of the litter but time dedicated to building up his body and a late growth spurt had helped him rise to the second strongest of the pride. Now only the alpha pair was stronger than him…and Adrian didn’t really count because Dillon had met few people as vicious as Talan’s sweet wolf mate.
Sighing, Dillon pushed at the deck with his foot, sending the wooden swing tilting higher.
His life should’ve been just about fucking perfect. He had a good job as overseer of the pride’s work teams and sometimes as a representative for their alpha. Talan trusted him to negotiate treaties and represent him when he couldn’t get away. Why, then, did he feel hollow inside? The last few days it had taken effort to even drag himself out of bed. Nothing seemed to bring him joy anymore. Not even the cubs running around the house could bring out his usual smile. Now that both Kevin and Talan had mates, he longed for one of his own.
A sigh ripped through his chest. None of the local lions appealed to him, and although he’d started to take a look at Adrian’s pack for potential mates, he hadn’t found a wolf partner who appealed to him either. Was it too much to hope to find one perfect man? Hell, he’d even take a woman if she made his heart beat faster.
“
Meow
.”
The tiny sound caught Dillon’s attention. He stopped the sway of the swing to peer into the darkness. A large tabby cat pranced through the high grasses, attacking dandelions as he crossed the field.
Walk. Walk. Pounce.
The animal followed that pattern over and over as it approached. Dozens of hapless dandelions lost their fluff as it moved closer.
“Hey there, little fella,” Dillon said, keeping his voice low and soothing. What a cute cat. However, Dillon needed to get the small creature off the pride lands before he became a lion snack. “Come here,” he cooed to the pretty cat.
An owl’s screech made the hairs on the back of Dillon’s neck stand up straight. He leapt off the porch and ran towards the tabby as a great horned owl launched off a nearby tree. The bird zeroed in on the cat, and, before Dillon’s horrified gaze, swooped down and grabbed the feline in its claws.
“No!” Dillon screamed. He scooped up a rock off the ground and threw it at the bird. His stone hit its mark, striking the avian on the wing.
The owl screeched, releasing its grip on the small animal. To Dillon’s surprise, the tabby flipped midair and transformed. Fur changed to smooth, muscled skin and red-gold hair flowed across a well-shaped skull. Instead of a fluffy cat, a naked man landed on his feet in the grass. The cat shifter crouched down like a feral creature afraid to be out in the wide open. His brilliant hair shone in the moonlight and even in human form the man’s eyes shimmered reflectively.
Another cry came from the owl. It landed several feet away and transformed into a tall muscular man with brown and white speckled hair. Bruises covered him from face to torso. His ribs stood out in sharp relief against his battered mocha-coloured skin.
The owl man swayed for a moment before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground.
Why the hell were a cat and an owl intruding on lion land? Concern for the injured shifter had Dillon moving towards the avian first.
“I hope you two have a good reason for being on our land. I’d hate to have to kill you,” Dillon muttered as he reached the owl shifter’s side. He brushed the stranger’s bruised skin with gentle fingers, carefully feeling around for any deeper injuries. As far as he could see, all the bad wounds were on the surface, nothing broken. He didn’t know if it was because the man had shifted several times already or because there truly wasn’t more damage—though the fact that the bruises had survived the shift told Dillon they must’ve started out quite severe.
He hoped the owl shifter woke up with a good excuse, or Talan was going to have puppies at this show of such blatant disrespect. Any proper shifter should know better than to intrude on a lion’s pride land and expect to survive the encounter.
Dillon leant down and picked up the collapsed shifter, even though he had at least an inch on Dillon in height. The owl’s human mass wasn’t anything near a lion’s weight. Turning back towards the pride house, Dillon almost ran into the cat shifter.
“What are you doing here?” Dillon glared at the stranger. It was difficult to keep his gaze above the man’s neck when a quick downward flick of his eyes revealed the man was golden everywhere. Dillon tried to keep his look steady. Shifters might be comfortable with nudity but it was still considered rude to stare.
“I-I’m s-sorry to be on your territory,” the cat shifter stuttered.
Dillon could smell the terror rolling off the smaller man. A long scratch crossed his right arm from where the owl’s claws had grabbed him.
“Who are you?”
“Chester.”
Dillon waited for more but the stranger stood there staring at him without speaking. Deciding he needed to get the owl shifter inside, Dillon brushed past Chester and trudged towards the house.
“And you’re from?” he asked without glancing at the other man.
The sudden silence had Dillon breaking his determination not to look at the pretty man.
Chester stood two feet away nibbling on his bottom lip. Dillon strove to ignore the urge to bite Chester’s mouth himself and see if he tasted as sweet as he looked.
“I’m not really from anywhere,” he said at last.
Before Dillon could comment on that strange statement, the cat man draped across his shoulder spoke.
“Sorry about trying to eat you
—
my owl was just really hungry,” the bird shifter interrupted.
Rough and deep, his tone settled in Dillon’s balls and made his cock rise up to pay attention.
“You can set me down now.”
Chester gave the birdman a quick look from beneath his long, golden lashes. “That’s okay.” He rubbed his quickly healing wound and took a baby step away from the other shifters.
Dillon carefully placed the man on his feet, keeping an arm around his waist for support. Despite the strength in his voice, the owl shifter swayed a bit.
“Thank you.”
Between the pretty kitty and the sexy bird, his dick wanted to come out and visit. After all, the other two were naked…why didn’t it get to play? Dillon shook his head to banish his inappropriate thoughts. He needed to represent the pack, not indulge in a quick three-way.
“I’m Evin.” The owl’s gaze challenged him, but Dillon didn’t look away from anyone except his alpha. He let a low growl roll up his throat until Evin broke his stare.
“Sorry.” Evin examined the ground with great interest.
“Uh-huh. So why are you two here?” He folded his arms across his chest as he waited for their answers.
“I’m lost,” Chester blurted out. He hung his head as if he were confessing a great sin.
Dillon felt a strange urge to cuddle the lean man to his chest and keep him close, but he resisted because he could hear a thread of a lie in the kitty’s words.
“I need to meet with Talan,” Evin stated. His cool tone and powerful presence made Dillon’s inner cat want to purr and roll over for a belly scratch.
“Why?” Dillon didn’t budge. Just because someone showed up and wished to speak to their alpha didn’t give them automatic access.
The back door opened. “Hey, Dillon, you want a cookie?”
Dillon’s heart skipped a beat as Adrian sauntered out onto the porch. With a powerful bound, he leapt in front of the alpha mate, protecting Adrian with his body.
Adrian peered up at him. “What’s going on?”
To Dillon’s surprise, Evin gave Adrian a low bow. “I have important information I need to share with you and your mate.”
“Oh?”
Dillon watched with amusement as Adrian gave the intruder a careful examination. Adrian may come across as a nice man without an ounce of malice in his body, but Dillon had seen the colder side of the alpha mate and did his best to make sure Adrian’s ruthless wolf half rarely needed to come out and play. Adrian’s baking skills might have won him the pride’s affections, but it was his more lethal abilities that had earned him the pride’s respect. Dillon had no doubt that, if someone tried to attack, they’d only get halfway through a shift before Adrian killed them with his poison-tipped claws.
Still, his lion instincts urged him to protect the smaller member of his pride.
Adrian bit into a snickerdoodle as he regarded Evin with a cool assessing gaze. A delicious-smelling assortment of cookies covered the tray that Adrian balanced easily in one hand. Dillon resisted the urge to grab a pastry, waiting until the alpha mate’s safety was assured.
“Why do you need to talk to him and how do you know who I am?” Adrian asked.
Dillon shook his head. “Everyone knows who you are, Adrian. Talan’s the only lion alpha without a lion mate.”
“Really?” Adrian’s surprise made Dillon laugh despite the odd situation. Sometimes the wolf had no clue of politics outside of a pack.
“Yes, really.”
“The hunters are heading this way,” Evin said. “My brother, Tilden, made a deal with them in exchange for the pride lands when they take out the lions. Tilden is crazy. After the wildfires last month destroyed our habitat, the owl shifters are becoming increasingly displeased with Tilden’s handling of the crisis. When I protested, he had me starved and beaten. They only left me alone because they thought I was too injured to fly.”
Dillon gave the man his full attention. “What hunters?”
“I don’t know where they came from. When they first arrived they spoke about the lions stealing their experiments, but once I voiced my objections to hurting other shifters, they didn’t let me attend the rest of the meetings. They’re the ones who attacked me, so they are evidently following my brother’s orders, at least until they get what they want. They wear a lot of camo and carry big guns.”
“Well, they can’t have their experiments back,” Adrian growled. “The ones that chose to stay are part of my pride now.”
Dillon watched uneasily as the wolf slid behind Adrian’s eyes, a frightening transformation.
“I came to tell Talan what I know,” Evin said. “I don’t support shifters turning on each other. If we don’t protect other shifters, we might as well be humans.”
“Ahh…you’re one of the safety lieutenants, aren’t you?” Adrian asked.
“Yeah.” Evin nodded. “May I come in?”
More years ago than Dillon could remember, the shifter council had set up a safety net for shifters. When there was a concern for shifter safety, a shifter could go to any lieutenant to seek help. That person would look into the charges and report back to the council. To have his own brother go rogue had to be a blow for the stalwart-looking man.
“Sure, Talan is in the living room. Some sort of vampire show is on.” Adrian rolled his eyes and made a disgusted sound. “I don’t know why he watches that crap. Like there are any vampires.”
Dillon watched the look of relief cross Evin’s face. “Thank you. I promised myself if I survived I’d warn the lions.”