The Love of a Mate (2 page)

“That’s okay,” Caden said cheerfully, as if he hadn’t even noticed how pissed off Alfred was. “I’ll just wait here, and admire the view.”

The faster Alfred tried to scramble into his jeans, the more time the task seemed to take. The denim refused to co-operate. The buttons had a mind of their own.

Alfred snarled irritably as he finally pulled his T-shirt over his head, ripping the seam on the shoulder in the process. Not in any mood to bother with insignificant things like socks and trainers, he strode towards the door, only to hear Caden speak up at the last moment.

“I meant it when I said I’m in love with you.”

Alfred glanced over his shoulder. “No, you didn’t. I don’t know what game you’re trying to play with me, but it’s not going to work. I’m no more interested in you than I was in your brother.”

Caden pulled his legs up onto the bed in front of him and loosely looped his arms over his knees. He tilted his head slightly to one side as he studied him. “You really think you’re that unlovable?”

Don’t believe me? Ask any wolf in the pack, they’ll tell you what a poor excuse for a mate I would be.

The words swirled inside Alfred’s head, but he suddenly found himself completely incapable of bringing them to his tongue. He knew they were true. He was pretty sure every wolf in his pack knew it, too. But if Caden had somehow failed to get that memo when he joined them then…

Turning his back on Caden, he quickly made his way out of the room. It was pointless to waste time on what-ifs and maybes. Even if there was some way Caden could form some sort of interest in him, there was no way in hell Marsdon or Bennett would ever give them permission to be together and—

Alfred’s mind went blank as he reached the bottom of the stairs and looked across the room. Every wolf in the pack was staring at him. He froze, his feet refusing to carry him another step.

What the hell are you all looking at?
Alfred swallowed rapidly, but he couldn’t make his throat work, not even to growl.

A gentle caress along the outside of his arm made him look over his shoulder. Caden stood on the tread directly behind him. A tender smile came to the other wolf’s lips as their eyes met. Alfred watched, trapped by his own uncooperative limbs, as
Caden’s
fingers slid further down his arm and their hands became entangled once more.

Caden made a point of dropping his gaze first. Alfred looked sweet with that rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights look on his face, but it wouldn’t do to spend too long admiring his expression—not when his actions could be taken as a statement of dominance.

Stepping past his soon-to-be mate, Caden led them silently towards the sofas where the other wolves were already gathered. An uncomfortable shiver tingled down his spine, warning him that he wasn’t the one who should be making the decisions for them or doing any sort of leading, but Caden pushed it away.

The other gamma tugged at
Caden’s
fingers, apparently attempting to regain control of his hand. Caden tightened his grasp slightly in response, not so much that the other wolf would see it as a challenge, but maybe just enough to let Alfred know he really enjoyed holding his hand.

There wasn’t room for both of them to sit on the sofa nearest the door. Caden had no doubt that was why Alfred had chosen to sit there. Not in the least bit daunted, the moment Alfred’s backside hit the cushion, Caden climbed onto the sofa with him, to sit half next to him and half on his lap.

Still retaining possession of Alfred’s hand, he rested his head on the other wolf’s shoulder and gave a content little sigh as he rubbed his cheek against Alfred’s T-shirt.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” Alfred snarled under his breath.

Caden lifted his head and looked up at him. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked, lacing his words with as much innocence and confusion as he could muster.

Alfred glared at him. He tried to squirm away but the only way he was going to be able to do that was by climbing over the arm of the chair in front of the whole pack.

“Caden?”

Turning to his alphas, Caden smile cheerfully across the room at them. “Yes?”

“Care to tell us what the hell is going on?” Marsdon asked.

Dipping his eyes with all due deference, Caden let his attention fall upon his and Alfred’s joined hands. “When I realised that Alfred isn’t as interested in my brother as I thought he was, I…” Caden paused for a moment to nibble at his bottom lip in a calculatedly pretty display of nerves. “I didn’t mean any disrespect to my alphas or to the pack’s hierarchy, but I had to tell him how I felt about him.”

“And how do you feel about him?” Marsdon asked, in the same tone of voice a man might use if he was watching someone mix chemicals from unlabelled bottles, and he had no idea when any particular combination might go bang.

“I…” Caden looked to Alfred.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” the other gamma snapped.

Caden was quick to agree. “Alfred’s right. We should probably get to know each other a lot better before we ask for permission to court each other formally.”

Alfred’s eyes narrowed. Caden held his gaze, careful not to let any sign of guile or manipulation creep into his expression.
Love, that
was the only thing the other gamma needed to see there.
Love and, maybe, just a hint of willingness to follow rather than lead, as and when the time was right.

“Is that correct, Alfred?”

Alfred turned away from Caden and moved his attention back to the alphas with obvious difficulty. “Um…yeah, I mean…” He cleared his throat, and glanced at
Caden
once more.

Nodding encouragingly, Caden squeezed the other gamma’s hand. Apparently not sure what else to do, Alfred echoed his nod.

“That’s…” Marsdon seemed to struggle to find the right word. “Good?” he hazarded, with a glance towards Bennett.

Caden smiled as if the alphas had given him the world on a stick, but he wasn’t exactly heartbroken when one of the other wolves was sent to retrieve Gunnar and Talbot from upstairs and attention shifted away from himself and Alfred.

There was something very comforting about simply being able to curl in against his lover’s side. Especially after the other gamma had seemed to get the hint that there was no escape and stopped squirming. His arm went hesitantly around
Caden’s
shoulders as he tried to get comfortable.

Caden let his eyes drop closed, eager to let every wolf in the room know he felt completely safe and at ease with Alfred—and even more determined to make sure Alfred saw it too.

When he finally blinked his eyes open over half an hour later, Caden knew there was at least one wolf that wasn’t buying any of it. Gunnar raised an eyebrow at him as their gazes met. Caden didn’t bother to blink innocently at him. That act never worked on his brother. He held the other wolf’s gaze instead, letting Gunnar see that he was serious about his new undertaking and wouldn’t allow any other wolf to mess with it regardless of their respective ranks in the pack.

“I’m going to bed.” Alfred jerked himself up from the sofa seat so suddenly, Caden almost toppled over.

Righting himself at the last minute, he saved himself from falling flat on his face. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“What?” Alfred
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around to face him.

“I’m sleepy,” Caden said, with as much ingenuousness as he could squeeze into those three little syllables.

Alfred hesitated for so long Caden was able to rise to his feet, say his goodnights and stroll across to the bottom of the stairs ahead of him. He was already at his bedroom door by the time Alfred caught up.

A rough hand landed on his back as he pushed the door open. Caden didn’t try to resist. He willingly stumbled through the doorway when the other man shoved him forward. Bracing himself for a hard landing, he did nothing to stop his fall.

At the last possible moment, Alfred snatched at his wrist and kept him on his feet. But Caden had no doubt that owed far more to accident than design. The hold the other wolf took on him was nothing to do with keeping him safe.

“What the hell are you playing at?” Alfred growled, jerking Caden around to face him, each word vibrating with fury.

Caden remained silent and dutifully allowed himself to be thrown around like a rag doll as Alfred slammed the bedroom door and pinned him against the woodwork.

“Answer me!” Alfred demanded.

Caden took a deep breath and tried to ignore both the ache in his cock and his instinctive desire to tilt back his head and bare his throat to a wolf he was quietly desperate to submit to. Swallowing rapidly, he forced himself to say the words Alfred need to hear rather than those he really wanted to utter. “I’m not ready for this.”

“What?”

Caden dragged another breath into his lungs. He had to close his eyes for a moment before he could make himself go on. “I’d have to know I could trust a wolf before I’d feel safe agreeing to play rough with him. So, I’m not ready for us to play this way yet,” he expanded.

Alfred snatched his hands away from
Caden’s
skin as if he was hot enough to burn the flesh from the other man’s bones. He took several paces back. “What are you talking about?”

Caden stepped carefully past him and took a seat on the room’s only chair. He had to tilt his head back to look up at Alfred. It would be impossible for the other wolf not loom over him, not to feel bigger and stronger than him. “I don’t mind if you want to be rough with me. I do like that,” Caden promised. “But…not yet.”

Alfred glared down at him as if he’d lost his mind. It was several minutes before he glanced at
Caden’s
wrist and the way he was pointedly massaging it with the fingers of his other hand. His frown deepened. Suddenly appearing hesitant, he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Did I hurt you?”

Caden examined his wrist very carefully, turning it this way and that. No, he hadn’t, but that wasn’t because he was being careful with a less dominant wolf. It was only chance that he hadn’t gripped the skin tightly enough to leave a vivid bruise in its wake, that he hadn’t twisted the joint far enough to fracture the bones above it.

Alfred’s grasp had been that of a brat having a temper tantrum rather than a dominant wolf taking a lover in hand, taking a more submissive mate under his protection. And it had to be dealt with now.

“My wrist will be fine,” Caden finally said, with complete honesty.

Alfred pushed his hands into his pockets. “It’s your fault anyway,” he mumbled. “Acting like… Saying… ” He took one hand out of his pocket and pushed it through his hair.

“All I did was
tell
you the truth,” Caden said mildly, keeping his gaze down and his submission blatant. “I only acted the way I’ve wanted to act towards you since I first joined the pack.”

Alfred paced towards the bedroom window, then back. He was on his third circuit when he suddenly stopped and
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around to face him. “Did the alphas put you up to this?” His eyes narrowed. “Gunnar went off with Talbot, so you’ve been ordered to—”

“No!” Caden launched himself to his feet and hurriedly closed the gap between them, unable to stand hearing the pain in the other wolf’s voice. “Gunnar’s the one who always thought arranged matches were a good idea. He might have thought he wouldn’t care who he spent the rest of his life with, but I’ve always known I care.”

Alfred retreated rapidly, as if Caden was suddenly a damn sight more frightening than his big, scary beta of a brother could ever be. He only stopped when the backs of his legs hit the edge of
Caden’s
bed. He sat down heavily on the edge of the mattress.

Caden didn’t waste a second before dropping to his knees in front of him. “I want to be your mate. I want you to be my mate.” Every lupine instinct he had screamed at Caden to stop there. It took every ounce of human stubbornness at his disposal to push on. “But—”

Alfred let out a burst of harsh laughter that obviously had nothing to do with amusement. “I should have known there would be
a but
—”

Caden lifted one hand and put his fingertips against the other wolf’s lips. Alfred immediately grabbed hold of his wrist, but he’d barely had time to take hold of it before he checked his own show of strength. His hand remained wrapped around
Caden’s
wrist, but he made no attempt to move his fingers away from his lips or to speak up from behind them.

“I just need you to prove that I’m right about you,” Caden said. “Please?”

Alfred’s frown deepened.

“I know you’re a good wolf, and the only thing I want to do is put myself in your hands and be your mate. I want to submit to you and belong to you and… And I just need you to prove to me how right I am.”

Caden stared up into the other wolf’s eyes, begging Alfred to understand, to believe him. By the look on his face, Alfred had never had anyone say anything like that to him in his life. Caden had no doubt that if he had hurled insults at him or tried to order him around and control him, Alfred would have railed against him the way he so often seemed to chafe at the hierarchy in the pack, but suddenly being treated differently seemed to have brought his mind to a complete stop.