The Love of a Mate (14 page)

“Well, kiddo, I think you’re about to find out exactly what it’s like. I’m not the last wolf you have to convince to accept you back into the pack.” Marsdon stood up. He walked away.

Alfred didn’t watch him go. His attention was all on the lone wolf still standing on the other side of the ring.
Caden’s
pretty blond hair was blowing in the breeze, his lips were as pink and kissable as ever, but his normally stunning eyes were full of tears.

The blood drained out of Alfred’s face at the sight.

Caden’s
feet stepped forward and carried him across the grass. He wasn’t sure what was controlling them, but he knew it couldn’t be his brain. His mind had shut down completely the moment he had seen Alfred step into that ring.

Reaching the centre of the circle, Caden lowered himself to his knees next to Alfred but he couldn’t bring himself to believe he had the right to reach out to the other wolf. Not after he’d screwed up so badly. Not after he’d put the man he loved in limbo. If he’d only had the sense to stick to fluttering his eyelashes and left the more serious matters to other men. If he’d just kept his mouth shut, then…

Caden closed his eyes very tightly and felt fresh tears run down his cheeks. The only thing he could hope for now was that the circle would help Alfred find his true place in the pack. Wasting hope on
himself
and trying to believe they still had a future together would have been unforgiveable.

“Caden?”

He didn’t look up at the sound of his own name. When Caden opened his eyes, he kept them fixed firmly on the blurry little patch of ground between them.

A hand appeared in his field of view and moved cautiously towards his cheek and wiped away a few of the tears.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. You know I’d never want to hurt you, right?” Alfred whispered as he pulled himself up off the ground and knelt right in front of Caden, their knees touching.

Caden still kept his gaze lowered. Alfred’s jeans were dusty and grass-stained after his scuffles. That was his fault, too. It was
all his
fault—everything in the whole damn world was his fault. “I’m sorry.”

“Isn’t that my line?” Alfred asked.

Caden frowned at their knees.

“What are you sorry for?” Alfred’s hand on his cheek dropped down to his throat. Slipping it under his chin, he gently forced
Caden’s
head back.

He had no choice but to meet Alfred’s eyes then. “I never meant for them to put you in limbo. I just wanted them to give you a chance to find where you really belonged in the pack.” Caden swallowed rapidly. He’d never heard his own voice sound so weak, been so unsure of his ability to talk another man into liking him.

Alfred stared at him in silence for a long time. Even while their eyes were locked, it was impossible for Caden to know what he was thinking.

“Thank you.”

Caden blinked. More tears fell.

Alfred wiped them away. “Even if you didn’t do it on purpose, whatever you said to our alphas put me here. It was where I needed to be.” He stroked
Caden’s
cheek again. There wasn’t the slightest hint of anger in his voice or his eyes. His scent confirmed it all.

Finally, Caden remembered how to breathe. Closing his eyes, he tried to bow his head as pure relief made him dizzy

“No, don’t.”

It was more a request than an order, but Caden couldn’t refuse the other wolf any more than he could disobey him.

“I love you.”

Caden blinked in confusion at the words, but Alfred didn’t. His eyes remained open. He held
Caden’s
gaze as if both their lives depended on it.

“After what I said to you earlier,” Alfred said, the tiniest hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice. “I know I’ve no right to hope that—”

“Always,” Caden cut in. He offered the other man a hopeful little smile.

Alfred grinned back, but
Caden’s
view of that expression only lasted for a fraction of a second because within a moment their lips were together and his eyes were dropping closed to better concentrate on the wonder of the kiss.

Without needing to engage his brain, Caden found his hands sliding into Alfred’s hair. He tumbled back, but Alfred somehow managed to brace their fall. The grass was soft beneath them, the scent of the crushed blades hung in the air, and it was soon joined by the scent of their rising desire.

Desperate to deepen the kiss, Caden leaned up so far that they rolled over. Alfred let out a playful little growl and kept them tumbling over until Caden was once more on his back, his lover pinning him to the ground.

Feeling the cut on Alfred’s lip made Caden whimper. He tried to hold Alfred’s head still so he could lap at the wound and kiss it better.

Strong, determined hands wrapped around his wrists and pushed them to the ground. Alfred seemed to still then, as if concentrating very hard on
Caden’s
reactions, needing to be sure he noticed even the tiniest signal his lover was trying to send him.

Caden
mewed
his pleasure into the kiss. Lifting his hips off the grass, he rubbed a flourishing erection against Alfred through their clothes as he quickly sought to prove how much he loved it all.

A rumbling little growl of pleasure from Alfred was filled with more triumph than Caden ever remembered hearing before, even in the loudest howl from any other wolf.

Whimpering gently, Caden tipped his head back, eager to display any sign of submission he could before the wolf he loved. Alfred immediately pressed a kiss against his neck and—

“I think that more than fulfils the touching requirement.”

Caden jerked his head around to face Marsdon as the alpha’s words forced their way into his senses. He and Bennett were still standing on the edge of the challenge circle. So were all the other wolves.

“That’s not quite the kind of rolling around you’re supposed to do in there,” Bennett added.

Caden looked warily up at Alfred. Whatever anger and annoyance he expected to see on his face was entirely absent. The only thing in his eyes was pride and possession. He liked that they had all seen them together. He liked that they all knew who Caden was going to belong to soon.

“Yes, we all get the point,” Marsdon said. “You suit very well. We don’t need a complete demonstration. But, if you’ll put each other down for two minutes we can make it official. Then you can go continue in private.”

Alfred sprang up from the ground so quickly, dragging Caden up onto his feet with him,
Caden’s
head spun.

“I—?” was all Caden managed to say, because suddenly Alfred was pulling him forward.

A moment later, just as Caden was starting to catch up, Alfred stopped abruptly. Still trying to make an arousal-addled mind work properly, Caden looked down. The edge of the challenge ring barred Alfred’s path.

“You’re both very welcome in our pack,” Bennett said, all frivolity suddenly leaving his voice.

Marsdon nodded his agreement, his expression just as serious as his mate’s.

Alfred took a step forward, crossing the line in the grass. A little cheer went up from the other wolves. Caden glanced at his lover out of the corner of his eye. From the look on Alfred’s face and the slight blush on his cheeks, it was the first time anyone had ever cheered for him in his life.

Alfred’s grip on
Caden’s
wrist tightened, as if his sudden change of fortune had taken away all his bearings and Caden was now his only solid point of reference. Leaning into the other wolf’s body, Caden encouraged his soon-to-be mate to slip an arm around his shoulders and allow him to wrap an arm around his waist in return.

A smile that didn’t seem to be entirely as confident as it purported to be hung on Alfred’s lips as they all made their way to the spot where all the other mating ceremonies in the pack had been conducted.

It took all
Caden’s
strength of will to step away from the other wolf for long enough to be formally mated to him, but it was he who made the decision to separate their bodies. Unless Caden was very much mistaken, it would be the last decision he needed to make on that score for quite some time. Alfred had more than proved he was ready to step forward and take care of them both.

Even when he allowed Caden to step away, Alfred kept hold of his hand. As they faced each other, his grip on Caden remained as tight as ever. The alpha’s hands covered theirs, sealing them together, offering them their complete blessing and their unwavering approval.

Caden held Alfred’s gaze. He saw every flicker of
emotion,
saw what the alphas’ actions meant to him. Alfred’s grip tightened around his hand even further, completely cutting off the circulation to three of his fingers, as if he was scared Caden might try to pull his hand away.

“Alpha to gamma, wolf to wolf, we offer you the chance to form a new life, a new bond, a new pairing within our pack,” the alphas recited.

“An unmated wolf takes a mate and forms a bond with another unmated wolf from your pack,” Alfred said, each word full of triumph and confidence.
“A bond that can never be broken.”

Caden lifted his gaze. His own brand of strength flowed into his words as he repeated them back to his lover. There was no flirtation, no pretence in there—just honesty, just love.

The alphas barely had time to release their hands before Alfred jerked Caden into his arms. The grip he took on him was almost painful, almost—there was just a touch of control mixed in with the strength, more than a hint of reassurance woven through the possessive gesture.

Other wolves patted Caden on the shoulder and ruffled his hair, but there was little else they could do while Alfred held him like that. He heard congratulations flowing around them, but couldn’t lift his head to meet anyone’s gaze.

“Don’t make me break you up by force,” Marsdon eventually said, laughter dancing in his voice.

When Alfred let him go with obvious reluctance, Caden forced himself to turn away from his mate and accept congratulations from the pack properly.

“If you can keep each other from getting into too much trouble, I guess it’s a good thing,” Gunnar muttered as he stepped forward.

“Yeah, I love you too,” Caden told his brother, letting his smile grow into a grin.

Gunnar
humphed
and turned away, leaving Caden momentarily alone. Instinctively seeking out his new mate in the crowd, Caden spotted Alfred on the other side of the pack, listening very carefully to what the alphas were saying to him.

He tried to track the way Marsdon and Bennett’s lips moved and work out the words, but it was impossible, and he had to give up any attempt at it when Talbot stepped forward to shyly offer up his own congratulations.

Caden wrapped his arms around the little wolf and gave him a brotherly hug.

“I’m glad you’re both so happy,” Talbot whispered. “So is Gunnar. He’s really pleased you’ve found a mate. He’s just…”

Caden laughed. “He’s just Gunnar. You’re the only wolf he’ll ever admit he gives a damn about.”

Talbot blushed, but it was hard to focus on the pretty pink hue in the younger wolf’s cheeks, because there was a low, jealous growl coming from right behind
Caden’s
back. Turning around, he found himself once more face to face with his mate.

Before even a fraction of a second had passed, Alfred’s hand was wrapped around his wrist. Caden grinned over his shoulder and waved goodbye to the rest of the pack as he found himself being dragged hastily back to the house to solidify his bond with his mate.

The other wolves laughed, obviously as amused as hell at the show of jealousy, but no one tried to stop them.

The ceremonial spot had obviously been chosen for its prettiness rather than its closeness to the house. By the time Alfred’s bedroom door slammed behind them, Caden was more than a little out of breath after keeping up with his mate’s frantic pace over that distance.

Collapsing cheerfully across the other man’s bed, he smiled up at the ceiling as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. The view was improved even further when Alfred joined him on the mattress, leaning over him and filling his field of vision.

“My mate,” Alfred said, with surprising tenderness.

“Yes.” There was as much triumph in
Caden’s
voice as he said it, as he’d ever heard in Alfred’s.

The other wolf’s moved his hand to
Caden’s
wrist and stroked his fingers softly over the skin there.
Caden’s
arms had fallen to either side of his head as he tumbled onto the bed. It was damn near an invitation to pin him down, but Alfred didn’t immediately accept it.

“Whatever you want,” Caden whispered.

Alfred’s eyes left his wrist. He held
Caden’s
gaze for several long seconds. Caden tilted back his chin, baring his neck and offering up his complete submission.

Dipping his head, Alfred pressed a kiss to his throat. He nipped softly at the tender skin. The touch of teeth sent a wave of adrenaline rushing straight to
Caden’s
cock.