From Pack to Pride (2 page)

Damn, he was beautiful.

It wasn’t a word he usually attributed to men, but there was no other word for the wolf that would be his mate. He longed to bite the tender junction between neck and shoulder and claim the man as his.

Damn. Talan’s cock responded to the vision in his head. He wondered if his mate would taste salty or sweet when he sucked him down.

“Still mooning over that wolf?” Talla asked as she walked into the room. Not bothering to wait for an invitation, she plopped down beside her brother and looked at the picture with him. “For a puppy he sure is pretty.”

“Pretty?” Talan tilted his head as he examined the picture closer. “Nope. He’s beautiful and he’s all mine,” he said with satisfaction.

“He does have an out, you know,” Talla reminded him. “The alpha was quite clear that if his brother was unhappy he would call him back home.”

“Sneaky wolf.” Talan frowned. “I’ve got to get Adrian to commit before the six months are over because there’s no way I’m letting him go once he gets here. He’s mine and no one is going to take him away from me.”

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

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“The wolf alpha is just looking out for his brother.” Talan nodded. He got that, he did, but he didn’t have to like it. “I also don’t like what he told us about that Olson guy. Adrian turned twenty-five yesterday, he can now be legally challenged. If that wolf comes around here, I’ll kill him. I won’t have him touching my mate.” Talan let his displeasure show with a low rumbling growl.

“He still has to pick you to be his mate.”

“Did you come here to ruin my day? Because I was happy all by myself.” Talla smirked. “You and your picture?”

“That’s right and we’ll be very happy together until tomorrow.” Talan gave her a wide smile. “Then I can play with the real thing.”

“Pitiful.” Talla shook her head as she looked at her brother. “There are others who are going to be interested in him, you know.”

Talan’s fangs popped out. “They’d best keep their interest to themselves.”

“You’re going to be difficult about this, aren’t you? It won’t be easy getting a pride of lions to accept a wolf as your mate.”

“Anyone who doesn’t like it can leave,” Talan said, indifferently.

Talla sighed. “Some might try to battle to be your mate.” Talan shook his head. “You don’t understand, Talla. He’s my fated mate. I felt it as soon as I saw his picture. No one can argue with my mate choice once we are bound.” There were all kinds of mating combinations, but only the Gods chose a fated mate. It was a rare event and Talan knew as soon as he saw the picture of the slim wolf shifter that Adrian was the one chosen for him.

“Fine, I’ll let the others know. It will prevent them from trying to lure him away or kill him.”

Talan let out a roar. “Anyone who touches a hair on his head will lose theirs. Make sure you spread that around.”

“Yes, oh king of the jungle,” Talla said standing up to leave. “I’ll go share the news that you are unreasonable about our new resident wolf and for everyone to mind their manners.”

“Great.” Talan went back to his picture, stroking the dimple he spotted on his future mate’s cheek.

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Amber Kell

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“He could be an asshole. Looks aren’t everything. I’ve dated enough men to know that for a fact,” she said with a rueful grin.

“He’s not. I asked around. He’s a genius, with advanced degrees in mathematics and computer science, has a family that adores him and,” Talan said, waving a finger in the air,

“he teaches little girls self-defence in his spare time.”

“Is he getting ready for sainthood?”

“Not when I’m done with him,” Talan said with a wicked smile.

“Yuck. I’m sorry I asked.”

The door slammed behind her as she left.

“Sometimes it’s too easy,” Talan said, smiling at the picture. “We’ll have to freak her out in person when you come tomorrow. It will be great fun,” he promised his future mate.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

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Chapter Two

The next morning Talan stood on the porch waiting for Adrian, cradling a cup of coffee in one hand and his cell phone in the other. He didn’t want to miss the phone ringing in case Adrian called again. For a math genius, the poor thing had no sense of direction.

Talan didn’t mind. Each time his little wolf called he got to listen to that soft, sexy voice that made him want to purr.

According to their last contact, Talan was expecting the gorgeous wolf shifter any minute now. His six sisters, beautiful lion shifters with gold-brown hair and matching eyes, surrounded him.

Glancing around, he noted the old house needed a new coat of paint. The twenty-four thousand square foot Tudor style mansion, built by Talan’s ancestors, had forty-two rooms and was the pride of the pack. Talan’s great-grandfather had built it for his new bride on one hundred fifty acres of land. It was a source of pride that Talan’s family still owned every single acre.

Drinking his coffee, Talan’s gaze drifted over the scenery of his mountain home hoping that Adrian would love it as much as he did. The wolf was used to living in the desert. Talan hoped the higher elevation wouldn’t bother Adrian too much. He’d have to make sure his mate took it easy the first few days, though as a shifter Adrian should adapt faster than a full human.

Talan glanced with affection and amusement at his sisters. All of whom were staring at the empty driveway like cats waiting for a mouse.

“We have to meet the new addition to the pride,” Talla had said when his sisters arrived to lay about the porch.

Good thing it was one of those wide old-fashioned porches wrapping all the way around the house, otherwise there wouldn’t be room for all of them. Trisha, his oldest sister sat on the porch rail watching for cars. The rest of them were spread around the porch like sunning cats in human form. He hoped they didn’t scare off his mate before Adrian got inside the house.

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Amber Kell

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“Watcha all doin’?” Kevin, one of the pride males, asked exiting the house. His eyes admired the females as he approached. From the Deep South, Kevin’s slow southern drawl always got him the ladies.

Talan growled as he remembered the other man swung both ways. It would be a shame if he had to kill him, as he was the father of two of Talan’s nephews.

“Waiting for Talan’s mate,” Talla said from the porch swing.

“He comin’ today?” Kevin slid onto the swing beside Talla.

“Yep,” Tasha said from the front step.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Dillon sauntered up the path from the hunting grounds, his big feet stomping up the stairs to the porch.

“We’re waiting on Talan’s mate.”

“Huh.” Dillon leaned against the front of the house. “I’ll stay and greet him.” Talan watched as lion after lion made up one lame excuse after another until all twenty-five lions were waiting on the porch when a small hybrid vehicle came up the drive.

“Lord, he’s a conservationist,” Kevin said. “That might be worse than bein’ a wolf.”

“Talla, could you hold my coffee please,” Talan asked pleasantly.

Adrian’s nerves were jittering as the enormous house came into view. Throughout the long drive he’d tried to convince himself that he wasn’t going to freak. He could do this. He could meet with a bunch of lions and see if any of them were his mate. After all, his brother had already approved the pride, which meant every one of them had gone through an intensive screening process. Kade’s interrogations skills made the CIA look like a group of high school slackers.

Taking a deep breath, he repeated his mantra. “I can do this,” he chanted as he slowly drove up the gravel driveway.

It was really beautiful here. Talan’s pride lands consisted of a stunning piece of property in the middle of the Cascade Mountains, much different from Adrian’s desert home in Eastern Washington. He must have seen over a dozen eagles soaring through the sky on the way to the pride house. The predatory birds were one of Adrian’s favourite. It was a good omen.

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Adrian pulled up to the front of the mansion in a spot obviously set aside for parking.

There were wide posts to protect the house and show where it was safe to park.

“I can do this,” he repeated, releasing his seatbelt.

Just as Adrian was climbing out of his car, a large man came flying through the air, slamming onto his hood with a cacophony of bent metal and shattered glass. A quick look showed Adrian’s windshield was broken and there was a man-sized dent in his hood.

He winced in sympathy for the guy. A landing that hard wouldn’t kill a shifter, but it sure must have hurt.

“You all right?” Adrian asked the stunned male. He wasn’t real worried, shifters were tough to break, but he was concerned about his car. He had a sentimental attachment to the vehicle he’d bought with his first independent contract.

“Wow, you’re prettier than your picture,” the lion shifter said, looking at him upside down.

“Um. Thanks.” His brother didn’t warn him that the lions were unhinged. Maybe he’d just leave his bags in the car for now.

The large shifter rolled off the hood, looking grimly at Adrian’s crumpled car.

It was a large dent.

“Talan will pay for that,” the shifter said. He shook his head to dislodge tiny pieces of glass. “I’m Kevin.” He held out his hand but snapped it back when a loud roar filled the air.

“I-I’ve gotta go.”

The lion shifter fled like the hounds of hell, or maybe a really pissed off lion, was after him.

Lions were weird.

Shaking his head, Adrian headed towards the house only to pull to a stop when he saw the entire porch was filled with lion shifters. Every one of them was big, blond and gorgeous.

For the first time in his life, Adrian wished he were bisexual.

“Hello,” he said to the group, not certain which of them he should be addressing.

There was a chorus of greetings.

Before Adrian could ask about their leader, the largest man Adrian had ever seen walked through the crowd. A creature of power and beauty, the man’s thick muscular thighs were outlined in a pair of drool-worthy cut off shorts and his thin muscle shirt left nothing to FROM PACK TO PRIDE

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the imagination. What it did leave out, Adrian’s analytical mind was happy to fill in. Adrian didn’t know if he should run at the predatory look in the lion shifter’s eyes or kneel at the gorgeous, golden god’s feet.

Wow.

Adrian knew he stank of pheromones, but there was nothing he could do about it. The enormous male lion was like every sexual fantasy come to life. He was quickly reassessing his ability to belong to a pride. It might not be such a bad thing to be the token wolf. Not if the fringe benefits included the man in front of him.

“Sorry about your car,” the big lion shifter said from the top of the stairs.

Adrian recognised the voice at once.

“Th-that’s okay. Thanks for helping me arrive at all.” As far as Adrian was concerned the big man could do anything he liked as long as it involved the pair of them, naked, in a big comfy bed. A really big bed, Adrian amended taking in the other man’s size.

Yum.

“I’ll have it repaired.” The man came down the steps and Adrian found himself the focus of a pair of warm, golden brown eyes. “Greetings Adrian. I’m Talan, the pride alpha,” he said holding out his hand.

“I recognised your voice,” Adrian admitted with a shy smile. He could feel the blush rising on his cheeks but he couldn’t suppress his almost violent attraction to the other man.

His wolf senses relished the musky scent of the male lion shifter.

Swallowing back his drool, Adrian took the offered hand to shake, only to have the alpha lift it to his lips.

“I petition to have you as my mate.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, as Adrian was busy absorbing the heat of the kiss. A jolt of need ricocheted through Adrian’s body at the other man’s touch. If that was what the man did with a hand, Adrian would love to feel the man’s lips on the rest of him.

Desperately.

“What do you mean petition?” Adrian fought off the fog of lust trying to take over his brain in order to pay attention to what the alpha was saying. If he wanted to live with this pride, he had to learn their rules.

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“Lions must announce before the pride if they want to form an exclusive arrangement.

If the petition is accepted, the others in the pride will leave the pair alone so they can explore a possible mate bond.”

“Huh.”

Lions were definitely weird.

Talan frowned at him. “Isn’t that how wolves do it? I’m afraid I don’t know how it’s done in your culture.” The lion shifter looked as if he was genuinely curious.

“We fuck and if we’re compatible, we bond.”

Wolves were much more basic creatures. They didn’t need a formal ceremony, or flowers or whatever the hell the fluffy ones wanted. Wolves mate like the primal animals they are.

Heat flared in Talan’s golden eyes. “While I’d love to try it your way, I want to make sure our bonding is safe for both of us. We need to take things slow and to make sure my lion can accept your wolf before we do anything irreversible.” Adrian gave the lion shifter a slow once over with his eyes. “I like what I see so far, but I’d hate to be culturally insensitive. You can take me nice and slow.” Adrian gave the shifter a wide smile so the other man couldn’t miss his meaning.

Talan laughed, puffing up like the big cat he was, looking ridiculously pleased with their banter.

The guy was awfully eager. Adrian wondered if Talan didn’t get many opportunities to find a mate out in the pride lands. That would explain his agreement with Kade. Though any gay bar would net the man dozens of offers, it was sometimes difficult for shifters to connect.

Adrian licked his lips as he envisioned running into the big shifter at a club and going down on him in one of those shadowy corners where men could do hot and nasty things to one another.