Crestfire Hill 2 Aspen

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 Contents

Copyright © 2023 by Summer Aspen

Letter to Readers
Chapter 1: Gatlin
Chapter 2: Haven
Chapter 3: Gatlin
Chapter 4: Haven
Chapter 5: Gatlin
Chapter 6: Haven
Chapter 7: Gatlin
Chapter 8: Haven
Chapter 9: Gatlin
Chapter 10: Haven
Chapter 11: Gatlin
Chapter 12: Haven
Chapter 13: Gatlin
Chapter 14: Haven
Chapter 15: Gatlin
Chapter 16: Haven
Chapter 17: Gatlin
Chapter 18: Haven
Chapter 19: Haven
Chapter 20: Gatlin
Chapter 21: Haven
Chapter 22: Gatlin
Chapter 23: Haven
Chapter 24: Haven
Chapter 25: Gatlin
Chapter 26: Haven
Chapter 27: Gatlin
Epilogue
Summer's Books
 Copyright © 2023 by Summer Aspen

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying,
recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted
by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact Summer Aspen.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons
(living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Hello Readers! I’m so happy you’ve joined me in Crestfire Hill to meet Haven and his Alpha, Gatlin, and all of their friends
and family!
All my best,
Summer

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 CHAPTER 1: GATLIN

On the way to the fire station, my phone rang, which was weird. Hardly anyone ever called me, especially this early.
At the same moment the phone first rang, a chill ran from the back of my neck to the base of my spine.
It was November, and a light dusting of snow was already on the ground in rural Ohio, but as a wolf shifter I didn’t really
feel the cold so much. I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck while I glanced at the screen.
I didn’t recognize the number. I got alerts when the station needed me, and all my co-workers texted. And I didn’t have
friends. Not anymore.
Maybe the call was spam, but after letting it ring about five times, I picked up my phone and hit the ‘accept call’ button. A
few years of responding to emergencies had me well-trained. “This is Gatlin Hawk,” I said.
"Gatlin! Help me,” a male voice said. “Please.”
My left hand tightened on the steering wheel. I leaned forward in my truck, as if that would help me hear him better.
“Jackson? Is that you?”
I was pretty sure that was my little brother on the end of the line. It sounded like his voice. I’d never heard my brother
sound anything other than carefree. Jackson wasn’t just my younger brother. He was my younger omega brother.
“Where are you? What’s going on? Whose phone is this? Where’s your phone?”
“Gatlin! Stop asking questions and listen.” He panted into the phone. “Uncle Trevor says I have to marry Zachary Smith.”
Uncle Trevor, my father’s brother, who was a scary motherfucker. “What’s he doing there? He’s supposed to be in Peru.”
“He showed up and said he was the Alpha now.” My brother gulped. I heard it clearly. “He said–” Jackson stopped talking.
There was nothing but silence.
“Jackson! What did he say?”
“He said since you ran off like a snot-nosed little bastard, that the job of Alpha was his.”
Dread curled through my lungs; I could hardly inhale enough for a breath. With a jerky motion, I let go of the wheel and
tugged my window down, letting in the icy air. “What happened to Kodiak?” Kodiak was the shifter who’d taken over as pack
Alpha after my father was killed five years ago, when I was only twenty-five.
“He left! Uncle Trevor threatened him or some shit like that, and he just folded!’
“When did this happen?”
“Three months ago.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” I hadn’t been home in five years, but I called my brother once a month. He hadn’t breathed a
fucking word of this to me.
“I know you don’t want to be here. I thought it would be fine.”
Fuck. It was true that after my father was killed in a dispute with a rival pack, I had no desire to be near my pack. Everyone
had looked to me, and I’d folded and run away, letting Kodiak take my place as pack-leader. It fucking haunted me that I hadn’t
been there the day my father died, and after that, I just couldn’t stay.
God, I hoped Kodiak was still alive. If he wasn’t, it was my fault. It was supposed to be me there in his place, running the
Hawk pack.
Jackson was the type to pull pranks. But even he wouldn't pull this. “You’re sure that you’ve got all of this straight? This is
exactly what happened?” Before I left my station chief in the lurch and hauled ass hundreds of miles to New York State, I
needed to know for sure. “This isn’t a joke?”
My brother was full of shit, and he always had been. In comparison, the pack always said I had no sense of humor.
“Yes! Gatlin, I wouldn’t lie about this. I said I wasn’t going to marry Zachary, and Trevor went crazy. He locked me in my
room and he took my phone.” His voice cracked. “I know I pulled some shit before, but this is real. You have to believe me.”
I did believe him. The crack in his voice told me all I needed to know. “I do. I had to ask, you know I did. How did you get
out?”
“Duh. I punched through the window.” He huffed. “I ended up with a high level of power, not as much as yours, but really
high for an omega. Isn't that hilarious?”
It didn’t feel very hilarious at the moment. Although he would be safer. Not completely safe. That wasn’t possible for an
omega in our world, unfortunately, but knowing he was physically strong was a relief.
 “Did you know that when you hit the window?”
“Nope.”
I wanted to put my head down, but I was driving.
“I ran into town, and there’s a girl at the park who let me use hers.”
“So you’re in a park right now?” A park, a public place, where he could be caught and captured.
“Yes.”
Jesus. This was all my fault. I never should have left. Or I should have forced my brother to come with me. He would have
resented me, but he’d have been safe.
"Gatlin, you have to stop him. Please.”
Fuck. I’d never heard my brother like this. He was reckless, fearless, and mischievous. It wasn’t right to hear him sound
petrified.
I swerved to miss a bumpy patch of snow on the road. A car crash wouldn’t kill me, but if I destroyed my truck I was
fucked. I’d have to shift and run to the closest airport, which was over an hour away in Cincinnati. “I’m on my way.”
“Hurry.”
It would take me at least ten hours to get there. Flying might be faster, but I didn’t have a ticket, and with the holidays
approaching, I could end up on standby. Better to drive and not take a chance of being delayed. “I’m already in my truck. I’m
moving as fast as I can.”
“What are you going to do when you get here?”
“Whatever it takes.”
I’ll fucking kill that bastard.
I had to loosen my grip on the phone before I shattered it. I’d never killed anyone. But we were made for it, according to
my pack. Killing. Death. Destruction. It was one of the reasons I’d left. That, and it hadn’t felt like home, once my father was
dead.
I didn’t want to inflict violence. I’d do it, when necessary. But I didn’t want it to be my way of life. My father had been a
good shifter. But he’d been constantly involved in turf wars with other packs.
After I left, I moved several states away, from New York to Ohio, and became a first responder. I’d considered law
enforcement, but with my ancient bloodline, and supernatural strength, it would be too easy for me to overpower someone.
But running into a burning building was something I could do.
“Do you have somewhere to stay?” I asked Jackson. “Somewhere safe?”
“Yeah,” he said.
I hoped to God that was true. “Then stay there. No risks, okay? I’m on my way.”
As soon as I hung up, I called my chief. “I have a family emergency. I need a leave of absence.”
“Oh hell Gatlin, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“No. It’s my brother. He’s run away from home. I've got to go back.”
“Remind me where home is.”
“Arizona,” I said. Home was always going to be New York state, on the outskirts of a town called Crestfire Hill, but I kept
my new life – the life I lived as a human firefighter– separate from my life as a wolf shifter. The chief didn’t need to know
where I was going. There was a good chance I’d never go back to Ohio.
“Keep us updated,” my chief said.
“Will do.”
I wouldn't.
What was the point? I’d likely never see him again. My priority was getting my brother away from my uncle.
And if my uncle harmed my brother, I'd kill him. That might end with my death, but I was prepared for that.
When I left my pack in Crestfire Hill, I had tried to get my brother to go with me. But he liked being a wolf shifter who
belonged to a pack.
“You won’t make it alone,” my uncle said, before he fucked off to Peru. But he was wrong. I had made it alone. I’d made it
alone, and I was fine. I wouldn’t say I was thriving, but I was okay. I was rich, and I was strong, and I had a job at the fire
station that meant something.
A wolf needed a purpose, even if we didn’t need much money. If I’d lost my family’s fortune, I’d be fine. Wolf shifters
could survive in the wilderness. I knew how to stay invisible, unseen to humans out hiking. I knew how to hide my scent. I
knew how to hunt squirrels and rabbits, and I knew how to catch fish.
I also knew how to live in the human world. Maybe I wasn't as good at it as humans, but I could get by. I understood
banking and interest and mortgages. I could stay in a hotel, and use a credit card.
Thanks to my father, everyone in the pack was wealthy. He wanted them to feel like equals, but in the end, it had made some
of the pack members unruly. He’d wanted the pack to function more like a democracy than a dictatorship, and some of the
members insisted we take over the land at the edge of the Hawk pack. My father had disagreed, but he’d gone along with their
wishes. And he’d died for it.
But I couldn't dwell on that right now. I had to stay focused, so I could protect my brother.

***

Ten hours later, under a sliver of moonlight, I stepped over the threshold onto our pack land. It had belonged to the Hawk pack
for centuries. A hushed silence covered the forest. Ice glittered on the needles of the evergreen trees. Beyond the treeline, the
glassy surface of Hawk Lake stretched out under the night sky.
Home.
But that’s not how it felt. I didn’t have a home. The land was there, but the shifters weren’t. My father was gone. My mother
had died a month later, from silver poisoning she got while trying to defend my father in the border skirmish. It wasn’t healthy,
but I could barely think about my mother most of the time; knowing she’d died as well, in a battle neither of my parents
believed in. My brother was in hiding. And my bastard of an uncle was in control of our pack.
And the rest of my family and our pack members had given up and let him have the control he’d always craved.
I sure as fuck couldn’t criticise them. I was the one who’d bailed. But palace intrigue wasn’t for me. I didn’t have the mind
for it. I didn’t follow the subterfuge, the conniving and the backstabbing that seemed to be a part of an pack-Alpha’s life.
My father had been gifted at those types of machinations. Until he wasn’t. One bad plan, and he and my mother were dead.
I inhaled the crisp air. Now wasn’t the time for rumination. I didn’t smell any familiar shifters. Had my entire pack fled?
As expected, I was greeted by a shifter I didn’t know. A guard of some kind. Surely they hadn’t thought only one could
subdue me? Before I could get past him, my uncle appeared.
“Well well well. Look who’s here.” He snarled at me. He snapped his fingers. “Bring him out.”
Another guard I’d never seen before stepped out from behind a grouping of trees, holding my brother by the back of his
neck.
Fuck. They had my brother. I hadn’t smelled him. Not a trace. They must be using some kind of scent blockers or a spell.
“I told you to stay hidden,” I hissed at Jackson.
He made a face, but didn’t speak.
My uncle chuckled. “He doesn’t listen. You should know that by now.” My uncle moved to stand beside my brother.
“Jackson here had one simple task. To marry Zachary. And instead of fulfilling that one simple task, he ran.”
Don’t attack.
I had to be strategic about this. I might have the upper hand with brute force, but there were three of them, and two were
within striking distance of my brother.
“Jackson is not twenty-one yet,” I said. That was one of our pack rules. No one mates until they’re twenty-one.
“That was your father’s rule,” my uncle Trevor sneered. “Eighteen is good enough for the morality-obsessed human law
makers, so it’s more than good enough for us.”
“He doesn’t agree to the mating,” I said. “That’s another of our rules.”
Trevor bared his teeth. “Yet another one of your pathetic father’s rules. As of this week, when I took over the pack, all of
those rules have ceased to exist.” He wrapped his fingers around Jackson’s wrist. “Your brother will marry Zachary. My
decision is final. My word is law.”
Fuck that.
I ignored Trevor’s declaration.
I met my brother’s eyes.
Jesus. Jackson’s eyes were red. A single tear rolled down his cheek. I wasn't sure I’d seen him cry before, outside of our
parents’ death, not since he was ten or eleven.
Without speaking, I desperately tried to convey that I wasn’t going to let this happen. These motherfuckers needed to die.
All of them. Trevor, Zachary, and these two useless guards as well.
Jackson was a typical twenty year old shifter, which meant he was full of himself, but he was so goddamn young. There
was no way I was going to just hand him over to this brute. No fucking way. I’d stop this mating, or I’d die trying. At least my
brother would know that I was willing to do anything to prevent him from being handed over to this asshole.
A smirk traveled across Trevor’s face. “He’s yours, Zachary. You can have him now.”
Still human, my brother leaned sideways and bit down on my uncle's hand.
I didn’t hesitate. I transformed into my wolf. I lunged forward and sank my teeth into my uncle’s throat.
 CHAPTER 2: HAVEN

PAST DUE.
All caps. In red print, right there on the front of the envelope.
The words ‘past due’ bounced around in my brain. Why the fuck had I gotten that credit card? Back when we first made it to
college, Cason, who was one of my closest friends, had yelled at all of us about the dangers of credit cards. He’d explained
how we could get sucked into the trap – signing up for a card, spending up to the limit, and then not paying the balance off each
month. Then we’d end up in over our heads, drowning in debt, and all of our heads would explode.
I pressed my fingers against my temples. My head was definitely about to explode.
All of my roommates, not just Cason, were going to be so pissed. Because they weren’t just roommates, they were my
family, my only family. They were my brothers in every way except biology.
Most of the time, I called them my brothers. Hollis referred to us as friends. In public, Danny called us roommates. The
names didn’t matter. They were mine, and I was theirs. Hollis, Cason, Baylor, Ace, Danny and I had been friends since we
were four years old, and we’d be family for the rest of our lives.
We were all omegas, all attending the same college in Crestfire Hill, New York, so we understood each other. And we
looked out for each other, which included not covering stuff up. But I’d ignored Cason’s credit card warning, and I’d been
covering up my debt problem for months.
I had no assets. I owned nothing that I could sell. The good thing was that the creditors had nothing to collect. But what
would happen next year once I’d graduated with my social work degree?
If I went straight to work, any agency would do a background check. And if red flags popped up that I was past due on
multiple credit card payments, I was going to look like a thief at best, and a moron at worst. I’d look like a person who wasn't
competent to assist other people with their problems.
And if I decided to apply to grad school, they did background checks too. The program was competitive. There was no
guarantee I’d get in, even with a pristine credit record. A bad score could hurt my chances, and that wasn’t even taking the
tuition payments into consideration. I would need a loan, and that wasn’t a possibility at this point.
I tugged at my hair.
Stop spiraling. You can fix this.
Sitting in our apartment wasn’t doing me any favors. I got on my bike. At least I could ride to the university while I freaked
out. The air was chilly, but I chose not to wear a hat or gloves. Sure, my pale skin would dry out, but that was okay. Thinking
about being cold was better than hiding under our rickety kitchen table and having a panic attack.
Normally I’d be admiring the vivid red and gold leaves adorning the oak trees in Crestfire Hill. But not today.
I needed money. Like, yesterday. I was less than a year away from graduating college with my bachelor of social work
degree. My dream was to stay in school and get my master’s degree. To do that, I needed money.
And I knew how I could get it – at the Silver Moon Exchange. The name was super high end, and so was the club. But the
idea behind the club was a bit sordid, seeing as how it was for finding sugar daddies.
A few months ago, my brothers and I found ourselves in a desperate situation – our rent was going up, and all of us were
stretched thin. Facing eviction, I got creative and found the Silver Moon Exchange, a sugar daddy club.
Becoming sugar babies seemed like the perfect solution. I’d even volunteered to be the guinea pig. I knew Alphas found me
appealing, so why not exploit that?
But Hollis, one of my brothers, the one I was closest too out of all five of them, flipped the fuck out. He was still
traumatized by what happened to me when we were teens, and he refused to let me throw myself into the lion’s den, so to
speak.
So against my better judgment, I took a backseat and let him be the one to visit the sugar daddy club. His greatest fear was
that someone would harm me. And I was terrified the same thing would happen to him. Just because he didn’t look like a
typical omega didn’t mean he couldn’t be a target for some sicko.
But the worst didn’t happen. Hollis met a wealthy Alpha vampire who, by all appearances, was a gentleman. And now they
were in a contract together. Luke, the vampire, paid Hollis so much money per month that we didn’t have to worry about rent.
He’d bought us groceries too.
There was only one problem. I’d just promised Hollis, that same best friend who volunteered to take one for the team and
become a sugar baby for money, that I would not go to the sugar daddy club. The sugar daddy club, where all of the daddies
were supernaturals, like vampires, shifters and Fae.
But this was an emergency.
Well. Maybe not a real emergency. It wasn’t life or death. But it was important nonetheless. Ending up bankrupt before I
even had a salary wasn’t a great start for a college student.
So I had to figure out a way to go to the sugar daddy club, but not let Hollis find out. I parked my bike and trudged into the
school.
As I marched through the piles of crunchy leaves, an Alpha fell into step beside me.
“I could help you carry that bag,” he said, pointing to my backpack. “It looks heavy.”
I didn’t roll my eyes. I’d just biked with the freaking bag on my shoulders. The guy wasn’t touching me, and he wasn’t
leering. I’d learned which battles to pick. Was it fair? No. But that was life. “No thanks,” I said. “I’m stronger than I look.”
To his credit, he fucked off.
Another Alpha held the door to the student center open for me. “Aren’t you in my linear math class?”
“I would never take a class with that title, so nope.” I darted inside. Once I was free and clear of him, I stopped at a kiosk
and bought a coffee. Or I tried to. When I pulled out my cash, I found out that the Alpha in front of me had already paid. It was
hard for me to protest too much, because I had absolutely no business buying anything, much less a coffee.
“You have a really nice smile,” the Alpha said.
“Thank you for the latte!” I yelled over my shoulder as I scurried away.
Yes, Crestfire Hill University was omega-friendly; it sported the most omega-friendly campus in the United States, which
was why we’d chosen it. Alphas weren’t allowed to overstep. And these Alphas hadn’t done anything wrong, certainly there
was no reason to report them, or be offended by their actions. But constantly fending off their advances did get so tiring.
But also, many of the omegas I knew liked the attention. The omegas here wanted a college degree, but they also wanted a
mate. I didn’t have a safety net to fall back on, so I had to focus on my degree before I did anything else.
I knew what I looked like. I always had. I knew I’d appeal to quite a few of the patrons of the Silver Moon Exchange.
I was small and slender with blonde hair and blue eyes. I capitalized on the twink look by brushing my straight hair over
my forehead, and letting it fall over one of my eyes. While I was running up my credit cards, I’d bought clothes. Clothes that
looked good on me.
It made my best friend roll his eyes. He only wore the same kind of polo shirt, every single day. Speaking of Hollis, I found
him in the university library, headed right toward our usual table.
I hugged him with one arm first, then I dumped my bag into an empty chair and sipped my latte. “I just got hit on by three
different Alphas.”
Hollis pursed his lips. “Seriously?”
I nodded.
He sighed. “Could you try to look a little less–” He waved his hands around my face. “You know.”
I mock-gasped. “Are you slut shaming me?”
Hollis’s face crumpled. “No. No, of course not.” He patted my hand. “I know it’s them, not you.” He scrubbed at his eyes.
“I just worry.”
Shit. Now it was my turn to feel bad. And he felt so guilty that I couldn’t keep poking at him. Hollis was my rock. He was
the older brother I’d never had, even though he was only eleven months older than me. And he didn’t want me to change.
Hollis had been my self-appointed protector since preschool. Not that I didn’t appreciate it. He’d saved my life more than
once. And he’d saved me from a few things that I considered worse than death.
I usually tried not to think about those threats. But for Hollis, those incidents were always right at the front of his mind – the
times I was attacked. The times I was threatened, grabbed, touched, and the time I was almost sold.
Yep. Sold.
I suppressed a shudder and grinned up at him. He was so much taller than I was, to the point where a lot of people didn’t
even think he was an omega.
He got mistaken for an Alpha all the time. He said he preferred it that way, but sometimes I think it hurt his feelings.
He took his usual seat and I fell into the one across from him.
We worked in silence for at least thirty minutes. I was typing up some case notes while he read one of his architecture
books with his usual laser focus.
I whacked him on the arm. “Hey. You have a hot date tonight. Tell me what you’re going to do with your sugar daddy.”
“Shh!’ His eyes darted around. “Don’t say that so loud.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. If I had a gorgeous vampire taking me out, I’d shout it from the rooftop.” But I relented. For some
reason, Hollis was deeply ashamed of going to the club.
I was ashamed. And I was also out of options. I hadn’t spoken to my parents since I left our hometown in Tennessee, and I
planned to keep it that way, so no help would be coming from them.
 Since I was in my senior year of college, my major required intern hours. Sadly, they weren’t paid. My internship was at a
group home, where I got to help kids like me. Small omegas who were Alpha-bait, basically. I could relate to what they were
going through.
I also had a job as a caregiver at the omega rehab center, where I helped take care of babies who were born to omegas who
were addicted to drugs. The center did everything they could to help the parent get clean, and support the omega’s relationship
with his or her children, for as long as necessary. It was a rewarding job, but I could only work ten hours a week, which wasn’t
nearly enough hours to pay my bills.
So it was already hard to make ends meet. And I liked to um, indulge. That was a good word. I liked to have lunch out,
even if it was just a sandwich. And I liked nice shoes too – the kids at the program where I worked always enjoyed my new
shoes. And I liked being able to buy new crafts and activities for the rec room there.
My brothers would be disappointed, especially Cason who had ranted many times about the dangers of credit card debt.
But getting a sugar daddy club could be my path to getting out of debt. I wasn’t going to be able to handle a vampire, no
way. But maybe a mage or something like that. I’d heard the Fae were mean, so I’d probably steer clear of them too.
I tipped my phone screen so Hollis couldn’t see it. I sure wasn’t going to use one of the library computers for this kind of
search. .
Once I was sure Hollis was completely absorbed, I typed in the words Silver Moon Exchange Club.
I was going to apply.
 CHAPTER 3: GATLIN

I tore at my uncle’s throat, biting into his jugular. Each of my movements were precise. Some kind of deep wolf instinct
kicked in, and my wolf body knew exactly what to do to defend my brother. With a jerk of my head, it was over for my uncle.
Once he was down, I moved to the next guard, who was frozen in place, right behind my brother. I went for his throat too; it
was the most expedient way.
The other guard had tried to run. With a burst of speed, I raced after him. I caught him less than thirty feet away. I leaped up,
pressing my front paws against his shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Once he was down, I shifted back into a human and
cracked his neck to the side. He was dead before he hit the ground.
I saved Zachary for last. He’d lurked behind the trees, watching. I shifted again, going from human to wolf in a split second.
With a loud growl, I took off. He tried to run, but he was too fucking slow for me.
He was dead ten seconds later. I looked down at the vivid red blood staining my fur.
I’d never been a killer. For the last few years, I’d been saving lives. But those years with the fire department had honed my
skills. The speed, the dexterity, the split-second decision making, all of that came together to make me good at ending a life as
well as saving it
When I shifted back into my human form, someone threw a towel at me, and I wrapped it around my waist. Too late, I
realized it wasn’t for modesty. I’d spent too much time with humans. They cared a lot more about nudity than shifters did.
Because shifters don’t care much at all.
I stared down as blood dripped from my hands onto the cloth.
A shifter stepped forward. “Gatlin. That towel is so you can wipe your hands”
Right. I knew that now. I squinted at the shifter. It was one of my cousins. I needed to wash off, get my brother, and get the
hell out of here.
“Jackson?” Fuck. Where was he? I had done all that, right in front of my brother. Hadn’t he been traumatized enough? I
found him standing next to one of our other cousins.
He stared at me with his mouth open. He didn’t look particularly upset. In fact, when he finally closed his mouth, he curved
his lips into a smile. “Gatlin! Thank you. Oh my God. Thank you.” My brother threw his arms around me.
“I’m covered in blood.”
“I don’t care. That was amazing. You just…” He shook his head. “You just ended them. Just like that.”
“Let’s go. I’m going to rinse off in the lake, and then we’ll get out of here.”
It was only then that I realized the entire pack was standing nearby, grouped in small clusters, hidden among the tree line.
“Wait,” a woman said. It was the eldest pack member. She’d been old when I was born.
“You’re the new pack Alpha,” she said. I stumbled backward while she cupped her hands around mine. “This pack belongs
to you now. Just as it always should have.”
I let her touch my hands without thinking. They were coated in my uncle’s blood.
New pack Alpha?
I’d just killed four shifters in less than two minutes. I was justified, sure. But that didn’t mean I liked it. You were always
going to be good at killing.
“I’m not the pack-anything.” I tugged on my brother’s arm. “Let’s go.”
I hadn’t come here planning to be Alpha. I hadn’t come here planning to kill anyone. I’d only been trying to protect my
brother. He was an omega. A twenty year old omega. And our Alpha – or former Alpha now, I supposed – had planned to force
him into an unwanted mating. The humans I knew in Ohio would call that rape.
“I don't want to leave,” Jackson said.
“Why the fuck do you want to stay here?” Not a single one of these fuckers had stepped in to help my brother when he
needed it the most. All of them had stood by while my brother was treated like trash.
I didn’t say that out loud, because I knew pack dynamics were complicated. Maybe they’d been terrified of my uncle.
Maybe he threatened them all. But that changed nothing for me.
“It’s my home,” he said. “They’re my family.”
As if he could read my mind, my brother stepped away. Shit. I’d managed to smear blood on him too.
 He pointed at a young female shifter. “Jaylen helped me run away and hide.” He pointed to an older male, someone who’d
be our grandfather’s age, if he were alive. “David has been letting me stay at his house, when Trevor was going off the rails.”
He pointed to a male close to his own age. “And Nate has been giving me food when I was grounded.”
Jesus. That prick had been starving my brother? While I was off playing human firefighter? What the hell was wrong with
me?
Jackson lowered his voice to a whisper. “Please don’t blame them. You have no idea what it was like.”
Fair enough. I’d failed, and they hadn’t done enough in my opinion, but apparently Jackson had people looking out for him,
which was more than I’d done.
So I was in no place to judge. I just wish someone had let me know. I’d have come back a lot sooner.
Jackson squeezed my arm. “Will you stay? Will you come back home?”
Hell. I wanted to say no. But I wasn’t going to leave him alone again.
And what did I have to go back to? Yeah, I was good at my job as a firefighter, but they didn't need me there, not really.
Someone could take my place. I wasn’t sure if that was true here. No one else could look after my brother the way I could.
Even if he didn’t need me, I couldn’t go back to my life in Ohio. How could I go talk to human kids about fire safety? How
could I teach them to stop, drop and roll and then pass out fire hats, knowing I’d just murdered four shifters? I couldn’t. I
wasn’t fit for human life, not now.
Yeah, maybe those shifters deserved it. Or maybe I went too far. There was no judge and there was no jury in a wolf shifter
pack, which I’d always hated. In many packs, everything was left up to the Alpha. Some had a council that helped, and my
father had insisted on a consensus, which is what led to his death. So I wasn’t sure what the hell I thought.
“I’ll stay,” I said. I needed to be here to pick up the pieces. “I’m not leaving you, not again. Are you sure you don’t want to
go? I’ll take you anywhere. We can be on a plane to Rome in an hour,” I told Jackson. I’d kept a current passport for us both.
“Or London. Tokyo. Rio. Anywhere.”
“No. I don’t want to run.”
“Moving away isn’t running.”
He didn’t reply. “Come on. We need to get you cleaned up.”
Right. I was still standing there, wearing only a threadbare towel, and I was soaked in blood that wasn’t my own.
I looked around. The entire pack was staring at me. Were they afraid of me? It didn’t matter if they were. I could lay low
and stay out of their way. I only needed to be here for Jackson.
I was going to need some industrial soap if I wanted to get this off of me. Or maybe I should leave it on. I could let the rest
of the wolves smell the traces of Trevor’s blood on my hands, and remind them of what happened to anyone who tried to hurt
my brother.
Jesus. I’d been back for less than an hour and I was practically feral.

***

Two hours later, I was sitting inside my brother’s home. The Hawk Pack land spanned several miles, but all of the homes were
clustered together in the center, on the southeast side of the lake.
My brother had made me scrub myself three times before he let me sit at his table.
“Gatlin. You know what I’m going to say.”
“Do I?”
“You’re the Alpha.”
“Just because one shifter says so doesn’t make it true.”
“It’s what everyone thinks, not just her.”
“I can’t be the Alpha.” I don’t even want to be here.
“It’s you, or someone else steps up. It could be another crazy person. Someone sadistic like Trevor,” Jackson said.
I’m not Alpha material.
I’m not our father.
But I wasn’t our uncle either. I wasn’t twisted enough to sit by and let someone else become Alpha, not if that shifter was
going to harm innocent pack members.
Two weeks went by. I was doing my best to try and learn how to run a pack, but I still felt as though I was operating from
under a thick mental fog. I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want to be back in Ohio, either. I only wanted to keep Jackson safe.
“You know what? You need a mate,” Jackson said one day while we were hunting. Each shifter hunted for himself or
herself, but since I was stronger and faster, I went out and hunted the larger game for our pack dinners.
That was something Jackson had suggested – pack dinners where we all ate together around a bonfire. Apparently Trevor
had hated stuff like that.
“I don’t want a mate. Not now.” I had a pack to run. I had zero time for dating.
 “The Alpha has to have a mate. That’s how it works. An Alpha can’t be single.”
“Why not?”
“You know. Because it makes him look unstable.”
Unstable? Well. That was the last thing I needed.
Jackson nudged Wilder, who was sitting across from us. “Tell him.”
Wilder was the senior mage now, but he’d apparently been banned from the pack during my uncle’s rule, and unaware of
what was happening to my brother.
“He’s right. As the pack’s official mage, I have to agree with Jackson. A pack-Alpha without a mate won’t last long.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. It’s not an exact science, but there are no records of any single pack-Alpha lasting longer than eight months
leading a pack without an omega. Having a partner to share the mental load with matters. A lot.”
I sighed.
Wilder clapped me on the bicep. “You don’t have to find a mate right away. Just dating will help. It’s psychological. I can’t
give you hard evidence, but I can promise that you, and by extension, the pack, will be much better off if you date an omega.”
Shit. Okay. I wasn’t sure about any of that, but at least I didn’t have to start with a mate. If I dated, I could buy myself some
time, six months at least.
Since I’d moved back to Crestfire Hill, I’d reconnected with a few of my old friends, both shifter and non-shifter. And one
of those friends had mentioned a site to me. A site that he’d used himself.
He’d talked it up so much that I now had it bookmarked on my phone. A site I’d never mention to anyone in my pack: the
Silver Moon Exchange. A club for wealthy supernatural Alphas to find omega sugar babies in need of financial help.
I didn’t love the idea. But I also wasn’t interested in dating for real. If I paid someone, he wouldn’t be upset when it
ended.
“I’ll start dating again. That will have to be enough.” If I went to the club, I sure as fuck wasn’t going to tell my brother.
The pack would freak the fuck out if I paid for a date. But that wasn’t my problem, because they weren’t going to know.
When I was certain I was alone, I pulled up the sugar daddy website.
I submitted an application. Thankfully I knew one of the founders, so I was accepted quickly, but I still had to go through the
background check.
Was I really going to bring an unknown omega into our pack?
At least he’d be vetted too. He’d have a background check, and I would feel okay about allowing him around my brother.
 CHAPTER 4: HAVEN

IT TOOK ME a few days to finish the application for the sugar daddy club, and another full day to be approved. Just twenty-
four hours after I submitted my application, I got my approval notice from the club. Maybe it was because I knew Hollis.
Although I’d requested in the notes that they not use him as a reference and apparently they’d respected that.
Now I just had to figure out how to get to the club without any of my brothers noticing. It helped that Hollis was
preoccupied with his vampire. He was the mother-hen of our group.
He was gone on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays with his sugar-Alpha. I was going to go on a Tuesday. I’d just have to be
discreet.
Danny was quietly observant though. And if he or Baylor figured out my scheme, they’d rat me out for sure.
I could probably talk Ace or Cason into going with me without selling me out. But either of them could let it slip in a
moment of excitement. Neither was known for their discretion.
When Hollis looked at me, he still saw that terrified sixteen year old. But that wasn’t me, not for years now. I was a senior
in college. I was a social work major who was doing an internship in a group home. I’d seen how bad things could really get
for an omega.
Thanks to my brothers, I’d avoided that fate. I would never ever forget that. Even if I got irritated when Hollis was
overbearing.
I couldn’t leave dressed for the club. Everyone would notice. Hollis tried to leave in a polo shirt and khaki pants, but we’d
gotten our hands on him before he got out the door.
“I’m going to pick up a shift at the rehab center tonight,” I said to Cason. He was the only one home. “I’m saving up for
Christmas.” This would not be considered unusual by most people, but none of us bought gifts for Christmas. We bought a tiny
tree and made a meal together, listened to Christmas music and drank hot chocolate. So normally, there was nothing to save
for.
Cason didn’t look up from his controller. When he wasn’t programming, he was gaming. “Have fun,” he said.
Easy.
I yanked the door open with a spring in my step. Soon I’d be able to pay off my debt. And maybe think about getting a
master’s degree. I could be a therapist, or a community organizer.
As soon as I tugged open the door to the stairs, Danny appeared.
Ah. I should have known better. Getting out of the apartment had been far too easy. His forehead wrinkled. Danny was
objectively beautiful, maybe the prettiest of all of us, with his shiny black hair, his dark solemn eyes and his thoughtful gaze.
But he was so very serious; he always had been.
My brothers saw me as the one to protect, but really they needed to be watching Danny instead. He didn’t get chased as
much as I had, back home. But he was the one who was affected the most. He’d never been able to brush off the past as well as
I had.
I’d spent a lot of time dealing with my demons, and now I found solace in making jokes about them. But Danny didn’t. I
also wanted to let go of the past so I could have a good time and live a little.
Sure, it was hard. Any club I visited ended with me being swarmed by horny Alphas. Even if they were respectful, it meant
that I had to be on my guard, constantly. Sometimes it just wasn’t worth the effort. I was hoping the Silver Moon Exchange
would be different, with all its formal rules and procedures about meeting a potential sugar daddy.
“Where are you going?” Danny asked.
“I’m picking up someone else’s shift at the center.”
Danny narrowed his eyes, semi-glaring at me. “This late at night?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I am.”
“Haven, what are you doing?” He brushed his hand over my forearm. “Are you going on a date?”
“No. Of course not. You know I don’t date without my bodyguards.”
“Is it too much? Are we too intense?” He frowned. “I can get Hollis to back off. Baylor too.”
“No.” I waved my hands. I definitely didn’t want him ringing any alarm bells to our group. That would end with more
scrutiny focused on my comings and goings. “You know what it was like. You were there. Hell, it happened to you too.”
“I know. But you’re an adult now. You shouldn’t feel like you have to answer to us.” He pressed his lips together. “We
could find a way for you to date that’s safe.”
Oh damn. Now I felt bad. “No. I will never think you guys are too much. Yeah, it’s a lot knowing that any time I go on a
date that Cason’s going to do a background check that may or may not be legal and Baylor is going to tag along acting as my
bodyguard. But I know why.” How could I forget?
Sometimes I needed this reminder that my friends went through all of that shit with me. And Danny’s situation at home had
been just as bad as mine. We’d been the ones to sneak him out of his parents’ house when he was just a few days away from
turning eighteen, making sure they never found him again.
He studied me. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” Jesus. The guilt was going to gnaw my stomach apart. I hated lying to Danny. I hated lying to anyone really. But
I had no choice.

***

The club itself was amazing. It was all stylish and sleek, while being understated. Hollis had been holding out on me when he
described it as ‘nice.’ As an architecture major, he was obsessed with buildings, and there was no way he hadn't admired all
the rough stone paired with expensive dark wood.
“Which room would you like?” the woman at the front desk asked me.
I froze. Oh hell. I hadn’t decided yet. “Can you tell me my options?” I asked, like this was a dessert menu and I couldn't
choose between ice cream or chocolate cake.
“Vampires are the top-tier,” she said.
No. Not that one. Hollis went for a blood-sucker, and by all accounts he was awesome. But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to
have sex with anyone who drank my blood, or lived for a thousand years.
“Shifters of all kinds, such as bears, foxes, and wolves. There are Fae, and magic-users, as well as trolls and orcs.”
So many to choose from. “Shifters,” I said. There were a few shifters at the university. I didn’t know them well, but they
seemed nice enough.
“Which type?”
“Um.” I had no idea.
“There are mainly wolf shifters here tonight.”
“That works.”
Someone showed up to guide me, and the next thing I knew I was being led into a room full of Alphas. Not just any old
Alphas, but wolf shifter Alphas, supposedly the most territorial beings on the planet.
Why had I chosen them again? Oh right. Because I'd read that they were the most protective of omegas.
The least likely to rip out my throat.
This was so awkward.
As soon as I walked in, I felt eyes on me.
What did you expect?
This was how it went. I strutted around, and Alphas salivated.
It would be nice if one of them tried to get to know me, although that probably was never going to happen. I liked how I
looked, but I also wanted to have real conversations too. I wanted to be taken seriously, and yet I wanted Alphas to find me hot.
That feeling was possibly contradictory, but it was the truth.
But here, in this club, I could hardly get mad when Alphas picked me out because I was hot, or because I smelled good.
This was a business transaction, and it was okay if they didn’t want to get to know me.
I was here to be a sugar baby, and I was okay with that.
Or so I thought.
“Hello Haven,” one of the Alphas said, looking down to read my nametag. “Is this your first time here?”
Oh fuck. No. This was all wrong. Yeah, it was my first time here, and I couldn’t do it. Not because I was scared of the
Alpha, but because I'd lied to my friends.
I ran, bolting from the room.
I’d lied to the only family I had, the guys who’d stood beside me since we were all four years old. The brothers who’d
risked their lives for me.
And of course they’d forgive me, eventually. This was hardly the worst thing any of us had done. But I didn’t want to start
this entire plan off with deception. I was going to go home, confess everything and then start over back at the club with a pure
conscience. I would be honest, but I wouldn’t let Hollis talk me out of it.
I stumbled straight into a bush. I finally stopped running long enough to realize I’d gone the wrong way. I was outside, in a
courtyard of some kind. I bent over, panting while I caught my breath. I was in good shape, but the panic had reduced my air
supply.
Once I’d sort of regained my composure, I looked up at the sky. The night was clear, so I could just keep going. I was
definitely not interested in traipsing back through the dining room, I made my way over to the brick wall at the back of the
property. It was made for looks, not security. I jumped, grabbing the top and hauled myself up.
My jeans scraped against the rough stone. I nearly fell backward, but at the last second I caught myself.
Whew. I exhaled and sat for a minute to collect myself.
I heard a noise, and when I turned to look, a pair of eyes glittered, right next to me.
I screamed. I gripped the wall. Hell. Those eyes belonged to a shifter who was just sitting out here like I was.
“Sorry,” I said to him, but it was too late.
With a graceful twist, the shifter next to me vaulted over the wall and disappeared.
Seconds later, a Fae guard came running toward me. “Omega. Why did you scream?” he demanded.
“Um. Sorry. I almost fell.” My words came out in a squeaky rush.
“You shouldn’t be up there.”
Thanks asshole. “I just needed a minute, and the sky looks really nice tonight.” I tried to force a smile.
“Come down.” His hand reached toward me, but I yanked away.
“Don’t touch me,” I said.
Behind the wall, a low growl sounded.
Before I knew it, the shifter from before was crouched on the wall. “You heard him, Fae. Hands to yourself.”
It was the Alpha wolf shifter whose eyes I’d seen glimmering in the dark. And he was very high-powered, if the energy
thrumming off of him was any indication. Usually us humans didn’t notice stuff like that; we didn’t have the awareness for it.
But if the supernatural was powerful enough, we could sense it.
My stomach swooped. Not only was he high-powered, but his voice was a deep rich timbre, and he smelled really, really
good. I couldn’t see his face in the dark, but I could see the outline of his broad shoulders.
I grabbed the back of my pants. Oh hell. I was getting wet. I was not immune to the charms of a grumbly shifter who was
sticking up for me.
I also hadn’t come prepared. All of us had absorbent underwear, made to keep any private slickness away from prying
eyes.
For me, after years of being hounded by horny Alphas, when they hit on me, I was either annoyed or wary. I hadn’t gotten
randomly turned on in years, so I never needed to take this kind of precaution. In fact, the last time it happened was my
freshman year of college.
The Fae stepped back. “The wall is here for a reason. It is not safe for you to leave the premises that way, omega.”
No place was ever really safe for me. Morbid, but true. I tried not to dwell on it too much. Plenty of omegas didn’t have the
kind of backup that I did. “Thank you for your advice.”
“I’ll escort you back in,” the Fae said, ignoring my dismissal.
The Alpha growled again but said nothing. Instead he looked at me with those glittering eyes. He inhaled, but still didn’t
speak.
The Fae guard pulled out a radio. “Office, please make a note that an omega by the name of Haven is on the south wall. He
refused assistance.”
He pointed up at me. “Do not try and sue the club later.”
Jesus. “I wouldn't dream of it.”
After giving me a steely-eyed glare, the guard left.
Of course the wolf was still there, still watching me. “What are you doing out here?” I asked. I tried to stay still, hoping to
God that the wolf couldn’t smell how slick I was.
His eyebrows lifted. Had he thought I’d ignore him?
“I shouldn’t have come here,” he said. His low voice rumbled from his chest.
Oh Christ. Again with that voice. I was a sucker for really deep voices. Not all Alphas had them. Plenty of the ones who’d
harassed me back home had high-pitched whiny voices.
“Why not?” I asked.
He made a sound but didn’t answer me. He tilted his head. “Are you okay? You came out here for a reason.”
Wait a second. Of the two of us out here on this brick wall, I was the social worker in training. I was supposed to be asking
the questions. Or, maybe he was a social worker too. Generally, Alphas steered clear of any type of job that was deemed ‘for
omegas,’ or ‘omega-ish’ and that included being a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, or a childcare provider.
Maybe he was an open-minded Alpha. Or maybe he was one of those protective Alphas. I hadn’t met too many of those.
Most of them just wanted in my pants. Some had tried to pretend they were looking out for me, but it always ended the same
way, with them thinking that I owed them, that I’d get on my knees or bend over for them as a thank you for sicking up for me.
 No, thank you. My brothers stuck up for me, at great personal risk, and never expected a single thing in return. Which is
why I felt so bad for lying right to Danny’s face.
“I’m good,” I said. “I freaked out a little, decided to leave, and went the wrong way. Now that I’m out here, I don’t want to
go back in.”
“Why were you freaking out? What happened? This place is supposed to be safe for omegas.”
Jeez. He was kind of giving me Hollis-vibes at the moment. “It is safe. Nothing happened,” I said. “I felt guilty because I
lied to my friends to be here.”
“Why did you lie to your friends?”
Was I really going to sit here and tell this stranger my business? Yes, yes I was. He didn’t know me, so I didn’t have to care
what he thought. All of my school friends would probably judge me. Not harshly or anything, but they would want to
psychoanalyze me and apply a few therapy buzzwords. They’d also point out that I had run from the truth, and that I should be
honest with my friends, and if they loved me, they would support me.
All of that was true. Sometimes I just reverted to my old ways of coping.
“No one knows you’re here?” His eyes flashed. “That’s not smart.”
“We just finished establishing that this place was safe.”
“Nothing is safe.”
Well. That was a downer. Even if I agreed with him in some ways.
“You don’t have to call me dumb,” I said. Why was I still sitting there? I could leave the fence at any time. The guard was
still watching. My instincts were usually pretty good, and I didn’t think this Alpha had any sinister plans for me.
“You need to be careful.”
Ah, more lectures. “So no apology for insulting me?”
“No, I’d rather you be safe than happy.”
“I think I can be both.”
“You must’ve grown up under a rock,” he grumbled.
Ha. If only he knew. “More like a wide spot in the road.”
“Sheltered, then. I’m glad for you,” he said quietly, nearly in a whisper.
“Oh, I wasn’t sheltered. Even if you discount all the times I was attacked as a teenager, my own parents tried to sell me.”
He exhaled with a hiss. “What did you just say?”
“They tried to sell me to an Alpha when I was a senior in high school. You know how it goes.”
“No, I do not know how it goes. Where are they? Are you in danger now? And who is excusing these Alphas who attacked
you?”
I held up my hand, palm facing him. “Hey dude, chill out, this was all years ago.”
“I am not going to chill out. Not when I know there are omegas in danger.”
“I really do appreciate that. But my brothers took care of it for me.”
The tension in his shoulders relaxed a fraction.
“You have brothers. Good.”
“They’re not biological brothers. They’re my friends. But they’re better than real brothers.”
“Are they Alphas?”
“No. We’re all omegas.”
“Not good enough.”
“Excuse me? Each of my brothers is worth ten of you.”
“Not if someone comes after you.”
I was done. No one insulted my friends. He clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
But I knew. I had lived through it, more than once. My brothers had rescued me when no one else would, certainly not an
Alpha.
A loser Alpha had come after me, back in our swamp-ass hometown. The Alpha had been young too, a stock-boy at our
local grocery store. I’d only been looking at some blueberries, but that moment alone was all it took. He’d dragged me off and
locked me in the stockroom, but my brothers had saved me.
Hollis broke the lock off with a crowbar and charged into the room after me. Baylor punched the Alpha and held a knife to
his throat. I saw Hollis tap the crowbar against the Alpha’s ribs and then he made Ace pull me out of the room. Later on, I
found out that Baylor broke the Alpha’s wrist with his bare hands.
It was a good memory in many ways, but a harrowing one as well. I didn’t need to get stuck there, not right now.
“I don’t need to justify myself to you,” I said to the wolf shifter. He might be hot, but that couldn’t undo rude. I wasn’t sure
how I was ever going to find a sugar daddy. I was probably way too mouthy and hot-headed.
I swung my legs around and twisted, slipping to the ground on the other side.
Woods surrounded me. I was alone. But at least I was rid of that obnoxious Alpha wolf shifter.
 CHAPTER 5: GATLIN

WELL SHIT. THE little omega was gone.

He’d clearly been pissed off about what I said, but it was true. There was no way an omega could protect another omega
against an Alpha. Look at what had just happened in my pack.
I rolled my shoulders out. Hell. I shouldn’t have even come out here. But after arriving at the club, I’d spent fifteen stifling
minutes trapped inside before I started to sweat, so I’d gone outside to clear my head. After so long living among humans,
being packed into a building with so many other supernatural Alphas was beyond intense.
Being packed inside with vampires, Fae, orcs, trolls, and other shifters had my wolf wanting to growl. My wolf knew I
was the new pack-Alpha, and even though it had only been for one week, I’d been in my own territory for that entire time. This
was my first time out, and I should have known it would have my wolf restless and irritable.
I hadn’t even looked at any of the omegas. When I got there, I ate five of the steak appetizers they had out. Clearly they
understood the wolf shifter metabolism, because there was plenty of rare meat. Once I’d consumed enough food, I’d taken a
glass of whiskey and stood against the back wall.
“Is this boring you?” my friend Saxon had asked, lifting one of his eyebrows as he stared at me. “Are there not enough
potential dates to interest you?”
“No. I’m not bored. It’s just weird being here.” I waved my tumbler, nearly sloshing the whiskey out. “I feel like I’m
fucking shopping,” I muttered. All over the room, Alphas were looming over omegas, while the omegas gazed up at them,
batting their eyes.
Saxon and I had met when we were fourteen. His family had moved over from Iceland decades earlier, settling in the
Northwest Territories for a while, then moving down to Crestfire Hill. His father had come to our pack to meet with my father.
Saxon had been introduced to me as the future leader of his clan. We were supposed to practice our diplomacy. Instead we’d
snuck off and gone skinny dipping in the lake. We’d kept in touch on and off through the years, although I hadn’t seen him since
I’d moved to Ohio.
“That is rather the point,” Saxon said, sipping his champagne. “Although the shopping goes both ways, here.”
At least half of the omegas were human, and they all looked so fragile. There was no way I could bring one of them back to
our pack.
“I have to go,” I’d said, drinking the whisky down in one gulp. It wasn’t like it would affect me anyway.
Saxon hadn’t bothered to come after me. That wasn’t how Fae behaved. He’d always had an air of being above any
worldly concerns, and apparently that included an Alpha who wasn’t fit to be out in public. It didn’t matter. I’d known Saxon
for long enough that he wouldn’t think my behavior meant I wasn’t suitable to be a sugar daddy.
But fuck. Maybe I wasn’t.
Either way, I had to go after the omega. There was no other choice. I’d scared him away, and now he was in the woods
alone.
Someone could find him. Someone who hadn’t been vetted, who wasn’t a part of the Silver Moon Exchange. Someone
could hurt him, and it would be my fault for driving him away.
Seeing him triggered my protective instinct. What if that had been Jackson, and some rough Alpha had scared him away? I
wouldn’t give up until I found the missing omega.
Shit. Now that I was thinking about my brother, I had an uncontrollable urge to check on Jackson. I had to know he was
safe. Then I’d find the omega.
I texted my brother. Where are you?
He replied immediately. Where R U?
He sure didn’t need to know I was signing up to be a sugar daddy. I’m out. Are you safe?
Are U going to ask me this every time you leave my side?
Yes, I typed. I think it’s warranted. Considering.
Considering my ass.
Did he think this was funny? Jackson. Are you safe or are you not? Answer me.
Not having good reception really sucked. Maybe my brother would agree to some kind of tracking device but I doubted it.
Unwilling to waste anymore time texting, I dialed his phone.
“Hey,” he said, as if he hadn’t almost been kidnapped by an insane Alpha just a week ago.
I kept my voice low so I didn’t spook the omega in case he was within hearing range. “Listen, you are going to have to
work with me on this. I cannot protect you if you don’t take this seriously.”
“Geez,” he huffed. “Okay, I will.”
Wasn’t he too old to be acting like a petulant teenager? Maybe he was stunted because he’d spent the last part of his teen
years alone as an orphan, and his older brother had abandoned him.
Don’t spiral.
He was fine. That was what mattered.
I could become the pack-Alpha in order to protect my brother. I’d stay until he was safe. And if that meant forever, then so
be it. I told him goodbye and focused on the omega in the woods. I’d spooked him, so I would make sure he was safe.
But that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to see him again.
Wolf shifters could see in the dark. Really fucking well. And while he was sitting there next to me, I could see every bit of
his porcelain skin, his button nose, and his high cheekbones. I could also see his plush, full lips.
In addition to his looks, he’d smelled incredible. Like nothing I’d ever scented before. He smelled like ripe fruit, maybe
like mango, and something tart, like pineapple. Often omegas smelled like flowers to me, and while that was fine, it didn’t do
much for me.
But this sharp fruit-like scent… Jesus. I had to adjust my hard cock in my pants.
In addition to his enticing smell, there’d been another scent. The scent of slick. The smell an omega made when he was
turned on. Wolf shifters had a very well developed sense of smell, and there was no denying this little omega had been
aroused.
Had the omega been turned on when he left the club? Or had it been when he started talking to me? I wasn’t going to lie to
myself. I wanted it to be because of me. I imagined peeling his tight pants away from his lithe body, exposing his bare bottom
to my gaze. I envisioned pushing his legs apart and pressing my finger against his leaking hole.
In the end, it didn’t matter. It was very dangerous for him to be out in the open smelling like that. There were too many
Alphas who would take advantage.
It wouldn’t take me long to find him.
 CHAPTER 6: HAVEN

MAYBE CHARGING OFF into the night, in a place I’d never been before, no less, hadn’t been my best idea. But it was too
late for regrets now that I was alone in the woods, at night, with pants that were damp from slick.
I considered stopping to take my underwear off and stuff them in my pocket, but that seemed really stupid. I kept trudging
along, letting the wet patch chafe my skin. This was not how I’d planned for this night to go.
What the heck was wrong with me? How had lust, of all things, gotten the better of me? I’d barely seen the guy. I had no
idea who he was or what he looked like.
Of course, how he looked wasn’t so important for a sugar daddy. He only needed to be wealthy enough to pay off my bills.
I let out a slightly hysterical laugh – that sounded way more shallow than I intended. But I supposed the transactional nature
of a sugar daddy was quite shallow by its very essence.
But none of that mattered because the wolf shifter was an asshole, and I wasn’t going to put up with his demeaning talk.
“Hello, don’t be scared. But I’m right behind you,” that same deep voice said.
I screamed and jumped a foot into the air. I’d been far too stuck in my own head and hadn’t even heard anyone approach.
I put my hand over my heart where my chest was heaving like crazy. I spun around. “Are you trying to give me a heart
attack?” I yelled. Lord. First this guy scared the shit out of me on the wall, insulted every omega on the planet, and now he
nearly had me jumping out of my skin in the woods.
“No. But I am trying to save your life. Not only are we in a secluded place with Alphas of every kind, but there are animals
out here too, like bobcats and bears. and who knows what else.”
He had a point. “And you’re a wolf shifter.”
“Yes. I am.”
“Why are you following me?” I should probably be nervous, but I wasn’t.
“Because I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“And why do you care about me?”
“I care about anyone who could be attacked out here.”
“Ha. That hasn’t been my experience with most Alphas,” I said. That probably wasn’t fair.
The Alphas at our college had never done anything inappropriate. Of course, the campus was highly monitored, and they
would face immediate expulsion for any untoward behavior. There were also far more omegas on campus than Alphas at our
school. And for omegas, Crestfire Hill was a much more welcoming place than my hometown in Tennessee.
“You might be the scariest thing in these woods,” I said.
Haven! Jeez! Stop flirting! This guy is a jerk.
What was wrong with me? Usually I only flirted with betas. They liked me, and they were rarely violent. I’d also never had
one of them think he could have me, just because he wanted me.
Alphas on the other hand… “Look, I’m sure you mean well, but I don’t want or need an escort,” I said.
“Then ignore me.”
“I can’t do that. I know you’re there.” I had to get out of the woods, and to the bus stop. I was mostly sure of where it was
located. This guy, with his wolf senses, could probably lead the way, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask. I was fully capable
of getting myself back, even if I made a wrong turn.
“I’m very quiet.”
“Yes, and you’re quite stealthy, evidenced by me having no idea that you were on that wall to begin. But I can’t just forget
you’re back there.”
“Why not?”
Was this guy for real? “Well, for one thing, historically, having an Alpha following me, was not a good thing.” Oh. Shit.
Why had I said that? There was no reason for me to give this guy any fuel for his bullshit.
He growled. “That is unacceptable.”
“Yeah. It’s the truth. Since you seem so concerned about me and all.”
“I could walk in front of you. Or beside you. But I cannot leave you alone. I won’t do it. But you could call someone and
talk to him or her if that feels safer.”
Huh. That was actually a good idea. Except that everyone that I could call was not an option for obvious reasons.
 I sighed. I wasn’t scared, just annoyed. And this weirdo wasn’t going away. I might as well take advantage of the escort.
“So why are you here, acting as my protection detail? I’ve already spilled my guts to you, so tell me something.”
“I have a brother. He’s an omega.”
“Oh transference,” I said, nodding.
“What?” he asked.
“You know, you’re projecting what you feel about your brother onto me, and– You know what? Never mind.” No one
wanted to hear me go on about social work. Besides, him thinking of me as a brother wasn’t the direction I saw this going.
But damn, if it didn’t get me hot. Not the brother angle, God no. But the protection. I was still pissed off at the way he’d
talked about omegas being helpless, but he was so goddamn sexy, and I couldn’t even fully see him.
I squirmed. My wet underwear did not feel good while walking.
“Do you have a car nearby?” he asked.
“Uh, no. That would require money. I’m not sure if you noticed, but I was at the sugar daddy club, and I am definitely not a
sugar daddy. Are you a sugar daddy? Why were you here? I guess I should’ve asked that earlier.”
“Do you always ask this many personal questions?”
“Yes. It’s in my nature.” I shrugged. I liked information about people. “Why? Do you find it annoying?”
“No.”
Clearly he was lying. “Why are you here?” I asked. “Are you a guard? I guess if you were a guard, the other one would
have recognized you. Unless you’re a super secret guard or undercover or a private guard or—” I cut myself off before he
started to think I was nuts.
“No. I’m not a guard.”
“You could be, because like you said, you’re very quiet. Sneaky. And you’re kind of scary.”
He drew back. “You think I’m scary?”
Had I hurt his feelings? “The fact that you’re a wolf shifter makes you scary. But you yourself are not scary.”
“I didn’t intend to scare you,” he said quietly.
“And you haven’t. If I were scared, I would’ve stayed at the club.”
He growled.
“Why did you growl?”
“Instinct,” he said instantly. “I didn’t mean to.”
“But what is the instinct behind the growl?” I asked. “I don’t know much about shifters. We only studied humans in my
behavioral classes.”
“It’s complicated.”
Ugh. This guy was frustrating. Thank God, I was certain I heard the sound of cars close by. I was almost to the bus stop.
“Were you looking for a date at the club?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“As a sugar daddy,” I said. Sue me, I wanted clarification. I didn’t like crossed wires.
He made a face. “I hate that term.”
“I found it helps me to just own it,” I said, even though I got that not everyone was totally comfortable with the
arrangement. Hollis, for example, was extremely reluctant to be a sugar baby. He definitely had not fully embraced the entire
situation. He was afraid of what his classmates, professors, future employers, and potential clients would think.
In a lot of ways, the social work field was much more forgiving of people. We needed a good set of ethics so we could
help our clients and patients, but what we did in our personal time was our own.
Finally we reached the treeline leading to the street, and the bus stop was just beyond. “This is me.”
“Wait,” he said. He reached out, fingers skimming over my wrist. He pulled back as if he realized he shouldn’t grab me,
which was really nice. “We got off to a rough start,” he said. “I’m Gatlin.”
I thought about not telling him my name, but what was the point in that? I’d inadvertently shared a part of myself with him,
by getting turned on just from hearing him growl. “I’m Haven.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Haven.”
Aw Christ. The woods had been pretty dark, not even allowing any moonlight in. But now I could see Gatlin, under the
warm glow of the streetlamp at the bus stop. He was gorgeous. That didn’t even cover it. Gorgeous, handsome, sexy – he was
all of those things. He was tall and broad, as most shifters are, with well-defined muscles and a sharp jawline. His hair was
black and cut pretty short, but it only served to highlight his straight nose and his dark eyes.

Jesus, even the way he said my name was hot. Yeah, he’d pissed me off with the hovering, and the way he’d dismissed the
competence of omegas, but overall it seemed well-intentioned. And he wasn’t wrong about the dangers, just way too pushy.
“So do you or do you not want a sugar baby?” I asked him. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. He
was going to think I was offering.
 Was I? Did I want to be his sugar baby?
I had no idea.
“I don’t want one. I need one,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
He looked around, as if someone might be listening to us. But there was no one close by, just a few cars here and there, and
a couple walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. “Can you keep this to yourself?”
“Yes.” I had plenty of practice dealing with my clients. Most everything they told me was confidential.
He looked up at the sky and then met my eyes. “I need an omega. For my pack.”
“It’s required?”
“Not exactly.” He made a pained face.
“And?”
He fidgeted, wiping his hand across the back of his neck. “I’m expected to have an omega. It’s a thing.”
“But you don’t want one.”
“It’s not something I’ve considered.”
“So…” I was trying to read between the lines. “You’re being pushed into this.”
“How did you know that?”
“Your body language, plus the stuff you said, and the stuff you didn’t say. And I’ve spent the last few years trying to figure
out what people aren’t telling me.”
He looked at me like I’d solved a complicated math equation. As if. I’d hardly done anything but observe him. “Why do
you need one? Give me some specifics.” This was familiar. I could do this. I reached out and put my hand on his arm. “Tell
me.”
People had always been willing to spill their guts to me. And finding out I was going to be a social worker only made that
more likely.
“I uh.” He rubbed his hand over his neck again, and then over his stubbled jaw. “I’m the pack-Alpha now. As of last
week.”
“Wow. I’m guessing I shouldn’t say congratulations. You look like this wasn’t something you wanted.”
His eyes closed for a brief second. “Understatement.”
An intense wave of empathy smacked me right in the face. Empathy for Gatlin. He was clearly struggling. And dammit, I
was a sucker for anyone struggling. Especially if the guy was a super hot Alpha who was pinging all of my omega buttons.
I moved my hand up and ran my hand over his cheek, feeling the rough stubble beneath my palm. I’d never been quite so
bold. His scent intensified. And so did that invisible sense of power that he gave off.
“Haven.” His dark eyes focused on me. “Thank you for listening.”
I hadn’t done much. He was so close, and he smelled so good. I leaned in. I hadn’t let anyone kiss me in years. But I wanted
this Alpha wolf shifter to kiss me.
He leaned in, moving slowly, never taking his eyes off of me. His hand came up and brushed over my bottom lip. Then he
moved his hand to my hair and pressed his lips to mine, just barely there at first. My breath stuttered as I waited. He leaned
closer, moving his lips against mine.
I opened up for him. At the same moment, my stomach spiraled into chaos while my hole clenched, desperate to be touched.
Lightheaded, I swayed as he deepened the kiss while tightening his grip on me.
Oh hell. I’d always thought swooning was fake. Turns out, it’s really fucking real.
“Haven!”
I yanked away from Gatlin’s strong body, and for the third time in one night, I jumped about ten feet in the air. I sucked in
air as I willed my heart rate to continue. “Is fate trying to give me a heart attack?”
Gatlin didn’t let me get far. He pulled me to the side, slightly behind him, but there was no reason for him to hide me,
because the voice yelling my name belonged to Danny. And oh great, Cason was with him too.
“Gotta go,” I said, trying to pull out of his grasp. Somehow Cason and Danny had gotten off a bus and walked up without
me noticing.
“Wait,” Gatlin said.
“Can’t.” Thank God I’d already ripped my name tag off so my friends wouldn’t know where I’d been.
“Haven,” Gatlin said, with enough force behind it that I couldn’t ignore him. “Do you know these guys?”
“Yes. These are my friends. My brothers.”
He eyed them with heavy skepticism.
“And who are you?” Cason asked.
“He is just leaving.” I turned to him and mouthed. “Please. Go.”
I turned away and left him standing there. If he wanted to find me, it wouldn’t be that hard. I’d never met another guy by the
name of Haven in Crestfire Hill. Plus he was obviously rich, and he knew I’d been at the sugar daddy club.
 “Hey guys,” I said to my friends. “What’s up?” I was trying for nonchalance, and obviously, I missed it by a million miles.
“This is nowhere close to your internship, or your job,” Cason said.
“Mmm. How’d you find me?”
“Cason looked at your last location,” Danny said.
Of course he did. I grabbed each of them by the arm and tugged them toward the bus stop. “The bus will be here soon. I’ll
fill you in on the way home.”
I had some explaining to do.
 CHAPTER 7: GATLIN

HAVEN. I COULD think of little else.

He’d left me standing on the side of the road with no explanation, while he got on a bus with his two omega friends. And
yet he was on my mind night and day.
I didn’t have to hire a private investigator or hack into the club’s records. I could find him by scent. Now that I’d been so
close to him, and touched his skin and kissed him, I could track him down anywhere in the city.
But I didn’t even have to go to that much trouble. I went back to my truck parked in front of the club. Still sitting in the
parking lot, I used my phone to find him on social media, with almost no effort
His accounts were mostly private, but not all of his information was locked. I found his last name right away, as well as his
age. He was a social work major at Crestfire Hill University and he was working at a group home. I even found a potential cell
phone number.
How could he expose himself like this? I was the farthest thing from a cyber expert out there and I’d found him with ease.
I would contact him. I just needed to let a few days go by.

***

When I got back home from the club, my brother huddled close to me. “You smell like an omega. Does that mean you found a
date?”
I did smell like Haven; the smell of ripe mango and tart pineapple lingered on my skin and on my clothes.
He was in my head, and I could think of nothing else. I needed to shower, but wasn’t ready to lose his scent. “No.”
“Did you try?”
“I did.” I wasn’t ready to discuss this with anyone, especially not my younger brother. “How are you doing?” I asked.
He shrugged.
I needed to get help for him. Outside help. Someone who wasn’t pack, someone objective. The pack wouldn’t like it; they
always wanted to keep anything less than perfect hidden away for only the pack to know.
But if they wanted me, then things were going to change. I wasn't going to have a kid bear the burden of their very shitty
judgment any longer, or try to cope with the weight of their trauma alone. I got that they’d all been afraid. But none of them
stood up for my brother, so I was going to.
This collective secrecy shit had been going on for so long. It was always swept under the rug. No more.

***

When I saw the state of my pack, I’d realized how dysfunctional it truly was. They’d been ignored by Kodiak, the guy who’d
taken over after my father.
Then they’d been terrorized by my Uncle Trevor, and no one had let me know, because during that time, I was an outsider.
That kind of bullshit had to end. I refused to let that kind of nonsense keep festering.
As for me having an omega, it was true that having an omega mate was ideal for a pack-Alpha. I could admit that, even
though I didn’t want to deal with it. Having an omega made us calmer, more regulated.
For me, an omega would be a partner, and an equal. It wasn’t like that in all packs, but for me, that was non-negotiable. I
sounded like a whiny asshole, but back before my father died, I had a hard time meeting omegas who wanted to get to know me
for who I was. They only wanted to date me because I’d one day take over as Alpha.
So I’d learned to avoid omegas. It had been years since I’d felt connected to one.
Which was why it was so confusing that Haven left me wanting more.
And I still believed it wouldn't be right to bring a new omega into this unsettled mess. Which is why I’d thought a sugar
baby was perfect.
But now that I’d met Haven, I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring him into our pack either. Even after our very brief encounter, he
was a bright spot in my mind. Why the fuck would I subject him to pack life?
But I wasn’t ready to give him up yet either. I was a selfish bastard.
 I drove to Cresthill University. Once I was there, I stepped out of the truck. A single snowflake drifted by on the wind as I
stood in the frosty air. With that one gust of wind, I could pinpoint Haven’s location. There. He was in a building on the west
side of the campus.
At the last second, I reached back into the truck and grabbed a backpack I kept full of spare clothes. At least having a
backpack would help me blend in. As a shifter, I’d busted through the ones I was wearing enough times to learn my lesson
about being caught without clothes, hence the backpack.
I walked briskly until I saw him.
There he was. Haven marched out of a brick building, talking with animation to two of the people walking beside him. He
had on a puffy orange coat over a cream sweater and fitted jeans. Even from fifty feet away, I could smell his intoxicating
scent.
He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. He wasn’t being careful. Not at all. Any random Alpha could hurt him.
I recalled the sight of my brother’s face as the Alpha tried to drag him away. I saw myself charging toward Trevor. The rip
of his skin as I tore out his throat. The coppery smell of his blood as it coated my arms.
I came back to myself, heart pounding, pulse rocketing, shoulders tight and legs coiled to spring. My wolf wanted out. He
wanted to prove that no one would ever hurt my brother or my pack again.
I should have waited, I should have given it some time, because the memory of the fight was raw. It played out in my mind,
over and over.
I had to convince him to be careful. Anything could happen to him.
I followed him. I watched him fumble with his bag, dig out a piece of gum, glance down at his phone, laugh. I longed to be
that carefree, but it was no longer possible. My brother would say I had never been carefree and maybe that was true.
This position had hung over me my entire life. To lead a pack full of traditional wolves, who also wanted to be a part of the
modern human world was a burden to me; my father had seen it as a gift.
My father had done it, but his goodwill had gotten him killed. After that everything sucked. My father’s death had been our
downfall. What made me think I could bring us back?
Haven walked past me, and I stepped in front of him. “You make yourself far too easy to find.”
He yelped and pitched forward, nearly dropping his books. "Gatlin. What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you.”
His cheeks were red from the cold and his blonde hair fell across his forehead. He peeked up at me with his blue eyes. I’d
never seen anyone look better.
“Oh my God. I never thought I’d see you again.”
“I can scent you.” Jesus. I realized how fucking weird that sounded once I’d said it.
“What?” His eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes. I would like to talk to you.”
Several people slowed down to wave at him. He waved back without really taking his eyes off of me. “Oh. About the sugar
—”
“Shh.” I didn’t need to advertise our arrangement.
“Ah, right.” He mimed zipping his lips, which was really so silly, but also adorable.
“Are you interested in discussing it further?”
“Yes,” he said. “I haven’t changed my mind about moving forward with an arrangement. I just–” He sighed. “It’s not
important.”
I'd find out what he meant later. For now, I wanted to get him alone, without so many prying eyes. “We can go to the Italian
restaurant on the corner.”
“Uh. You’re paying right?”
“Of course.”
He grinned, and I felt my breath stutter. I was supposed to be the big Alpha. Not the lovesick fool. But my body didn’t know
that.
I led him to my truck. He had to hoist himself up to get into the passenger’s seat. I held onto his elbow, making sure he
didn’t slip.
He dropped his bag to the floorboard and patted the dash. “Not what I was expecting, but very nice.”
“What were you expecting?”
“Oh, a limo, or a luxury car, or a driver,” he said.
“I’m a wolf shifter.”
“And?”
“That kind of stuff is for vampires.”
He smiled to himself. “Pricey stuff too good for a shifter?”
“Just not necessary.”
 He buckled his seatbelt and grinned at me again. “So you prefer to hoard your wealth.”
“Hoard? I’d call it saving.”
He grinned. “You’re not saving it if you hire me.”
“So will you be like an employee then? Doing whatever I tell you?” Shit. I couldn't stop crossing lines with him. Idiot. Do
not scare him off!
He made a squeaking sound. His cheeks turned bright pink. “Um. Yes. Sure.”
“Hey. I didn’t mean to imply anything. Nothing like that is on the table.”
He spun in his seat so he could face me. “No sex?”
“Do you want sex?” I shook my head. “Never mind. Wait until we’re at the restaurant.”
My reflexes were good. Nearly perfect, even. But even I would be distracted if I tried to talk about sex with Haven while
driving.
 CHAPTER 8: HAVEN

Did I want sex? He was leaving this up to me?

I was the freaking virgin here, although he had no way of knowing that.
And oh my God. One minute I was leaving class, thinking about my upcoming essay on geriatric mental health, and the next
moment Gatlin was calling my name. Now I was in his truck, riding to a restaurant. All of this was happening so quickly, but I
didn’t want it to stop.
Sex. Did I want it?
Yeah, I was a virgin at age twenty-two. I’d messed around a bit, and given a few blow jobs, but nothing else. I hadn't
trusted anyone enough to try. And until Gatlin, I just wasn’t that motivated to consider it.
The vampire Hollis was dating was all over him. They made out all the time. I’d expected that would be true of any pairing
between a sugar daddy and a sugar baby. I’d assumed I’d have to deal with that aspect of being a sugar baby, even if the club
claimed that wasn’t required. What I hadn’t expected was how much I was going to crave Gatlin.
He yanked the truck into a parking spot. Earlier, I’d almost told him that Hollis’s sugar daddy had a driver and a limo, but
realized that was probably insulting. It would sound like I thought his truck wasn’t good enough. Which was absolutely not the
case. I didn’t even have a car, and until things changed, I wouldn't. There wasn’t a car dealership in town who’d sell me a car,
and my credit score was probably in the negatives right now, which was why I was in this situation.
Before I could stumble out of the passenger seat, he was at my door, pulling the door open and offering me his hand. As
soon as my hand touched his, my cock pulsed, straining at my pants.
Lord, who’d have known I’d be weak for a little chivalry? Once again, I wasn’t prepared to get wet, but my hole was
leaking already. I was so turned on. “Wow, a gentleman,” I said.
He said nothing. He really was the strong silent type. He guided me toward the restaurant door. At one point, he legit put
his hand on the small of my back.
“This is a nice place. I’ve never been here before.”
His brows drew together. “Do you get enough to eat?”
Did I get enough to eat? I glanced down. Did I look emaciated or something? I was thin, but I was pretty sure it was
working for me. “Of course,” I said.
He stopped walking and put his hand on my arm, effectively holding me in place. “You’re sure?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to get turned on here. I’d have to run away if my pants got wet again.
“Oh. Yes. I have an eating plan through the University.” Maybe it was just something supernatural Alphas worried about.
Hollis’s vampire went nuts when he heard we had to stretch our food a bit. And it was nothing big – so what if we had to eat
noodles and peanut butter for a few days? But I wouldn’t complain. Since the vampire bought our food, we’d eaten like kings.
Once again, I kept my mouth shut about Hollis’s vampire, and how he absolutely stuffed our apartment with food. It was
pretty funny; the guy sucked blood to survive but he insisted on buying Hollis enough groceries to feed all of us.
Gatlin didn’t ask again, so he must have been satisfied with my answer.
Once we were seated in the restaurant, I was so flustered I only ordered a water. There was no way I could concentrate
enough to look at a menu. I’d just order spaghetti.
Once the waiter was gone, Gatlin leaned in with that now-familiar intense look on his face. “So. First of all, I did this all
wrong. There’s a process. And me tracking you down isn’t part of it.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes. One hundred percent.” I hadn’t stopped thinking about him for one second. Plus it meant I didn’t have to awkwardly
parade myself through the club again, trying to find someone to snap me up.
“Even so, we’re going back to the club and filling out the paperwork. I’ll get us an appointment for tomorrow. Can you do
that?”
“Yes.” It did make me feel good that he wanted to do this by the book.
“So,” he said, folding his hands together. “You know what I need.”
“A fake mate with some good acting skills.”
 “Yes.”
“I can do that. It might even be fun.”
He scowled. “It won’t be. We need to discuss what you want. Cards on the table, I am attracted to you. But I can keep my
hands to myself. Sex can be off the table.”
“What if I don’t want it to be off the table? What if I want an all-inclusive?”
He leaned back. “I would be a fool to turn that down.” He glanced up, pausing when he saw the waiter approaching.
“Order whatever you want. Nothing is too much. I have the typical appetite of a wolf shifter, and then some.”
“I don’t know what’s good. Spaghetti?” I’d run up my credit cards while eating out with friends, but we always went to the
sandwich shops close to the school, not fancy Italian places. But it still added up.
“Okay, spaghetti. Do you like bruschetta?”
“I have no idea.”
He ordered the bruschetta, a ravioli, one spaghetti with mushrooms and meatballs, and one with just marinara, and two
pieces of tiramisu.
It had been a long time since I had eaten so well. “Okay, I’m assuming you haven’t done this sugar daddy thing before,” I I
said. “So tell me the details of what you want.” I couldn't help but make a tiny moan as the cheese hit my tongue. Jesus. No
wonder people went out of their way to come here.
“No, I have definitely not done this before. My wishes are a little more conventional than most of the patrons there, I
assume.”
“That does sound kinky.”
“I assure you it has nothing to do with sex. It’s all about appearances.”
“Intriguing.”
“It’s probably not that either.”
“Before you agree to the relationship, you need to know more about what I need.”
How bad could it be? He was acting like it would be some huge sacrifice, but he wasn’t demanding sex. Maybe it was
something humiliating, or degrading?
“If you’re dating the pack-Alpha, I’ll have to introduce you to my pack.”
“I assumed. Will I be a boyfriend? Something casual?”
“They’ll assume you’re my future mate.”
“A mate? Isn’t that permanent for wolf shifters?”
“It doesn’t have to be. I won’t bite your mating glands, and we won’t have a ceremony. When I became the Alpha-leader
for my pack, it was sudden, and it was unexpected. For them to truly accept me, I need to have a partner.”
I couldn't detect scents like a shifter could, but I could tell that he was not happy about this new development. Didn’t wolf
shifters crave power? Being the Alpha-leader was the ultimate power move.
“You don’t seem very excited about any of this.”
“Like you guessed earlier, It’s not something I wanted.”
“So how’d you get it then? Did you have to kill someone?”
His face paled. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
Fuck. So he had killed someone. “Oh God. I’m sorry. Forget I said that. Tell me what I have to do?”
His face stayed carefully blank, but at least he answered me. “Meet the pack. Hang out with me. We can make it go three
days per week, like the club requires. I know you have school and your internship.”
“So there’s no kinky ritual?”
“No. Not in our pack.”
“Oh.”
“Did you want there to be?”
I tilted my hand back and forth. “It sounds kind of interesting. Back to the elephant in the room. Sex. Do you want it, or
not?”
“Oh, I want it. But I don’t know that it’s a good idea.”
“Afraid I’ll get attached?” The waiter put the bruschetta in front of us, and I tasted it while waiting for him to answer. Oh
my. It was divine. I moaned it was so good, and I saw Gatlin have to adjust himself. Oops.
“No,” he said. “The opposite.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate.”
“Wolves get attached. They want mates.” He drained his wine, even though I’d heard it would do nothing for him.
“You say it like you’re not one of them.”
“I’ve tried not to be, according to my family. They said I’m a piss-poor wolf.”
“Yeah?”
“It doesn't matter.”
 “Sounds like it matters a lot.”
He said nothing.
“So basically you need a fake boyfriend,” I said trying to get us back on track, just as our entrees arrived. Hopefully the
waiter hadn’t heard me.
“Yes.”
“I can do that. Let me help you. I’ll be the best fucking boyfriend you’ve ever seen, and I won’t get attached. If that’s what
you want.” I ate, tasting every single dish. I liked all of them.
“That’s what I want,” he said.
I knew nothing about him. He could be crazy, or a serial killer. But that wasn’t going to stop me. “I don’t know anything
about how shifter packs work, but I’ll do my best.”
“That’s fine. It helps that you're a human. You won’t be expected to know.”
“So what’s the most important thing? I don’t want to commit a major faux pas and offend your entire pack.”
“They’ll be tolerant, but scent is important. I’ll need you to smell like me when you visit.”
“Is there any type of protocol? Ways to offend so that I’ll end up with my throat slit?”
“No. No one is going to lay a hand on you,” he said through gritted teeth, already humming with a low growl.
“Won’t be the first time,” I muttered.
“Tell me.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Haven.”
I could see from the glare in his eyes that he wasn’t going to budge. I might as well tell him the truth, as embarrassing as it
was. If he was giving me money, he deserved to know what it was for.
“I was sought after, in my hometown. So I got chased a lot. But the most important part is that I don’t talk to my family
anymore,” I said. “They won’t come looking for me. They were glad to see me go.” I took a deep breath. Saying this out loud
never got any easier. “My parents are the ones who tried to sell me.”
“Sell you,” he muttered. His jaw clenched. “Are you safe?”
“Yeah. I’m safe. They don’t know where I am.” Hollis’s parents knew he was a student at the university but even they
didn’t have our apartment address.
“Good. If they ever give you any trouble, you call me. Even if we’re done.”
“Thanks,” I said. That wouldn’t be necessary, but I appreciated it all the same.
“So I don’t see my parents and they’d have never helped me with college anyway. They’re the types that don’t believe
omegas should go to college.” They thought omegas should be property again, owned by their Alphas.
“Lovely.”
Lord, I was baring my soul to him. He only asked what I needed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Tell me. I want to know.”
“I want to get my masters degree in social work. And that’s probably doable. My rent is covered, but I have other debts.
Credit cards. And with the unpaid internship I’m doing, I can’t work more without letting something slide, probably my grades.
And if I just default, it looks bad on my background check.”
“Okay. Take a breath. All of that is normal and completely reasonable. I’m happy to help.”
“You don’t think I’m irresponsible?”
“I’ll be honest. I’ve always had money. I’ve never had to worry about it, so it wouldn’t be fair for me to judge you.”
“That’s never stopped anyone before.”
“Then that makes them assholes.”
“Thanks. For not thinking I’m stupid.”
“You’re going to school to try and help people. There’s nothing stupid about that.”
I lifted one shoulder. “Maybe. But I also like to buy nice clothes.”
“Nothing wrong with wanting to look nice. And I can help with that.”
“You will?”
“Yes. I’ll pay off all your credit cards, along with the stipend required by the club.”
“I don’t need more than the stipend.”
“If that’s all you want, that’s fine. But paying off your credit cards won’t hurt me. I’ll never notice the money is gone.”
I couldn’t believe it. Tears welled up in my eyes. I grabbed my napkin, but it was terrible for wiping my tears. I only
managed to smear them.
He handed me his cocktail napkin.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t be emotional over this.”
“Don’t apologize. You haven't done anything wrong.”
I fanned my hand in front of my face trying to dry up my tears. “I’m grateful.”
 He paid our bill, boxed up our tiramisu and escorted me out. Once we were at his truck, he pulled me close and kissed me
again. “Let me take care of you,” he said.
 CHAPTER 9: GATLIN

My brother met me as soon as I was back on our property, right at the edge of our border. “You smell like omega,” he said
as we walked toward our homes. “Mission accomplished then.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “That didn’t take long.”
He didn’t need details. “How was it while I was gone? Did anyone bother you?”
“No. No one bothered me at all.”
“Good.” I was going to have to figure out who I could trust. My father had done a good job running the pack, but he’d gotten
himself killed.
“I’m holding a pack meeting tonight,” I said. “And tomorrow night I’ll bring my date to introduce him to you.”
“Ah. So others will see.”
“Yes.”
"Gatlin? Is that you?” called a male voice from through the trees.
It was my friend Wilder, the mage. His face was red, and he was out of breath, like he’d been running. “Gatlin. Hey man,
listen to me. There are people gunning for you. Don’t let your guard down. Not for a second.”
“I killed them,” I said.
“I don’t have much information yet. My informant is skittish. But there are other packs, you know. Shifters talk. And now
other shifters realize how strong you are. They'll resent you. Or they’ll want to be you.”
“Does someone want to challenge me?” I grabbed a low branch and snapped it off a tree. “They can fucking have it.”
“No.” He grabbed my arm. “Don’t fucking hurt the tree. And don’t leave the pack.”
I pressed my hand against the tree trunk. I knew better than to lash out against the forest just because I couldn’t control my
anger. “Why?”
“They’ll come after you. It will be seen as an insult.”
“So I’m just chained here for the rest of my life?” Even as I said the words, I knew it was true. I wouldn’t leave my brother
again. If he was in the Hawk Pack, so was I.
“Not the rest of your life. Just a few years,” Wilder said. “Then you can hand it over. That will be seen as acceptable.”
“Fucking rules.”
He punched me on the arm. “Just follow them, okay? I’m your mage, listen to me.”
“This is why I left. Humans make rules too, but not like this.”
“Some of them do.”
“Not helping.”
“Sorry,” Wilder said, totally unapologetic. He inhaled. “Do I smell an omega?”
Mages didn’t have the sense of smell that shifters did. “Yes.”
“Is he –”
I glared and he stopped talking. “No weird questions. We just met. But I like him a lot.” Oddly enough, that was true.
First I was going to take Haven back to the club and make everything official. I didn’t want to end up accused of taking
advantage of a young omega, because that was the last thing I wanted to do. If someone did that to my brother, I’d kill them.
And now it wasn’t an idle threat. I was a wolf who killed other wolves.
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t regret it either. Maybe I should. But I refused to risk my brother for some lowlife who wasn’t
worth it.

***

The following evening, I picked Haven up at 6:00 p.m. Fighting my lust was becoming an issue. I didn’t look forward to filling
out paperwork with an erection.
The Silver Moon Exchange was efficient, and we were done with the entire process within thirty minutes. Once the
paperwork was done, it was still only 6:30 p.m., which was plenty of time to take him back to my pack.
He tilted his head. “Is that music?”
“Yes,” I said.
 His eyes lit up. “Are people dancing?”
“I have no idea.”
“I thought maybe if there was dancing here, it was all classical music and ballroom waltzes.” He hopped up and down a
bit, smiling at me. “I love dancing. Let’s go check it out.”
It had been a long time since I’d seen this much enthusiasm. The guys I’d worked with were hardened to tragedy. Haven
didn’t seem like he’d escaped it either. But nothing had dimmed his excitement.
“Here?” I asked.
“Why not?” He went still, eyes fixed on me. “I could enjoy it here. Really enjoy it. I wouldn’t have to worry because this
place is so structured.”
I understood. I saw him as a predatory Alpha must: small, sweet, excited, and completely vulnerable. And besides all that,
he was utterly captivating. Yes, he was beautiful, but it went beyond that. He had an aura about him that was larger than life. It
was more than charisma, more than charm. He was present in the world, really participating.
Fuck. I was no poet. I’d leave the words to someone else. Now I was rhapsodizing about him. I had it bad, and I didn’t see
that getting any better.
I didn’t need to be eloquent to realize that he was a target. He would catch any Alpha’s eye. And so many of them would
take advantage of his sweet nature.
I growled. My lip curled up, baring my sharp incisors. I’d rip their throats out too.
“Gatlin. Hey.” I blinked and looked down to see Haven rubbing my arm. “Hey,” he said again. “It’s okay.”
An actual red haze had descended over my eyes. I’d always thought that was a myth, or at least an exaggeration. But nope,
it was true. If I was angry enough, I’d see red. It hadn’t happened when I attacked my uncle, but maybe that was because I had
acted so quickly. There was so much I didn’t know about pack life.
The haze faded. Fuck. I’d have to be careful about that. I couldn't go around killing anyone who was a threat to Haven, even
if the bastard Alpha deserved it.
I released a long breath. “I want you to tell me who hurt you.” I had to know.
“I told you I’m not giving out names from my hometown.” He crossed his arms and aimed a petulant smile at me. “They're
all the way in Tennessee anyway. They’re hardly going to show up here.”
“You’re sure there’s no one here?”
“No. We chose this area for a reason. Nothing’s happened here. My friends have made sure of that. I’m hardly allowed
out.”
“Right. The ones who showed up the night we met. You said you’re like brothers.”
“Yes. There are five of them in total.”
“Good.” I was grateful. If he didn’t have them, I’d have to insist he come live with me, and that would only create new
problems.
“I’m going to dance,” he said. “You don’t have to come with me.”
Mine, my wolf insisted.
“They’d think you’re available.” I would not be able to handle that. Haven already felt like mine, which was absurd. He
wasn’t mine, not exactly. But he was my sugar baby for now, and I had the paperwork to prove it.
“True. But they wouldn’t try anything, not here.”
“No. They would not.” They’d better not. I cracked my neck. I couldn’t let another red haze descend. At least thinking about
my near-rage took care of my erection. My wolf wouldn’t allow me to hurt Haven, but I could do some real damage to the other
shifters here. Some might be able to put up a fight, but others wouldn't. And none of them should die for just admiring Haven,
even if I’d prefer they kept their eyes to themselves.
“It’s up to you.” He spun to face me, walking backward. “But I’m dancing. With music. Without Baylor standing over me.”
“Baylor is one of your friends?”
“Yeah. He’s an omega. But he’s good in a fight. Tough. Alphas don’t intimidate him at all.”
“I’m glad you have him.” My brother could use a friend like that. He’d never had that. The few omegas that had befriended
him in the past had only been trying to get close to him because of my father, and later on, to me. I was sure they liked him too,
but their end goal was gaining status in the pack. Which was unacceptable to me, as well as crushing for my brother when he
found out.
All of that was just another reason for me to stay gone.
But now apparently I couldn’t. If I left now, the pack would implode, according to our mage, Wilder. And that would harm
my brother.
Haven looped his arm through mine. I had the impulse to lift him into my arms. He wanted to dance. I wanted him to get
what he wanted.
“We’d like access to the nightclub room,” I said to the manager.
“Right this way,” she said, and before I knew it, we were being ushered into a dark room with thumping music and flashing
lights.
The room was small, which created the illusion of it being packed. Haven immediately started to move to the beat.
“Will you come with me?”
“It’s been awhile.”
“Not a problem.” He leaned up and whispered in my ear. “I think we’ll be okay.”
Jesus. My cock was rock hard. It went from zero to sixty, just like that. I was usually good at controlling myself.
I noticed then that there were plenty of sugar daddies on the floor that weren’t the best dancers. There were some pretty
clear age gaps going on as well, although it wasn’t always easy to see when so many of us aged slowly.
Most wolf shifters lived around two hundred years, so we looked young well into the second century. The mages used
spells to live several hundred years, and the vampires didn’t show much age at all. But there was a way they carried
themselves that showed off their time on Earth. And of course, the sugar babies weren’t all human either. There was one
vampire omega who I’d met a decade ago when my father was still alive, and he was at least six hundred years old.
At thirty, I was probably one of the youngest Alphas there. And I was glad for it. I didn’t begrudge anyone else dating a
younger guy, but an eight-year gap was enough for me. I wanted to have more in common with my mate than just physical
attraction.
Of course, none of that mattered. Haven wasn’t my mate. I was paying him to date me.
Some of the dancing was interesting, to say the least. I was sure there was a big learning curve for vampires who’d
mastered a Baroque-style dance in 17th century Europe, or whenever it was. I needed to brush up on history.
But the point was the same. One century these ancient vampires were gliding across a ballroom with a harp playing in the
background and now they were learning to grind to ear-shattering pop music. So I sure wasn’t going to laugh. Stiff moves
aside, they looked good, and they knew it.
Us shifters were a little rougher around the edges. Not far from me, an Alpha bear shifter was kissing a tiny Fae omega. He
was pressed up close to the omega, so close there was no daylight between them. I wanted Haven pressed up against me like
that.
Fuck. My cock throbbed. This was going to be agony.
Should I warn Haven that I was hard?
No. He signed up for this. He’d come here for a supernatural sugar daddy - specifically a wolf. And while I wasn’t going
to cross any lines, he was old enough to understand that wolf shifters tended to keep our animalistic qualities close to the
surface. Especially lust.
For the last few years, I’d shut that part of my wolf off. Some shifters would say that wasn’t possible. But I’d done it. Or
maybe it was better to say it had shut me out.
I hadn’t missed it. Not until now.
I’d fucked a lot of wolf shifter omegas in my early twenties. And I’d enjoyed myself each time, and so had they. But I
steered clear of humans – they were too delicate. Too breakable. And once I left my pack and lived among humans, I’d had to
deny that part of myself. The chief at my fire station knew I was a shifter. But I didn’t advertise it. And after a while, omegas
got the hint: Gatlin was off limits.
I never responded to their overtures. I never caved.
When I was young, a mate and a family was all I’d ever wanted. Just like so many wolves, I valued that kind of
conventional life. But seeing my dad killed, and now having our pack overtaken by a bunch of angry bastards was a real libido
killer.
After seeing how much everyone suffered under Trevor’s autocratic rule, I knew it was shitty of me to bail instead of
staying to fight.
Would I do it again?
I had no clue.
I would have gotten myself killed if I’d stayed. And if I was dead, who would watch out for my brother?
Not any of my asshole cousins, that was for sure.
I put my family problems out of my mind. I was here with Haven, and he deserved my full attention. And I needed to keep
an eye on these other Alphas. I didn’t care how well vetted they were.
Haven was beyond beautiful as he danced – he was downright ethereal, and Alphas were starting to notice.
I saw them sneak glances at him, as if they didn’t want their partners to notice. A few others were openly looking, both
Alpha and omega.
My chest rumbled. Mine.
Fuck.
He isn't yours. He never will be.
My wolf was going to have a hard time understanding that.
I grabbed his hips and pulled him toward me. Even with the scent blockers he must have on, I could smell his sweet scent.
Like before, he smelled like ripe mango, something I’d never smelled on an omega before.
God, I wanted to run my tongue over his neck.
I swayed with the music, letting the beat take over. Thank God I’d spent enough time in clubs to be able to do this without
making a fool of myself. It was clear that Haven could have the pick of any of these Alphas. It was only luck that he’d run into
me outside on the wall.
He shot me a grin and turned, dancing with his back to me. I wrapped one arm around his chest and pulled him tight against
me.
He tipped his head back. “Alpha,” he breathed.
Oh hell. That had my wolf going fucking wild.
“Omega,” I said back to him. I mouthed at his neck. “None of these others can have you. Not now.” I saw him first. I
followed him. And then he’d agreed to be mine.
“I’m glad it was you who found me outside on the wall,” he said.
“Yeah? How’d you know what I was thinking?”
“You were muttering. Saying it out loud.”
Damn. I had no idea.
Christ Almighty. His movements were languid, almost dreamlike, as he moved in time with the music under those strobe
lights. I wanted my hands on him. Hell, I wanted my cock in him.
I was going to have to get used to this agony of my cock straining against my pants. If he was near me, looking like that,
moving like that, my cock would be hard.
He circled his hips back, pressing against me.
With one arm firmly around his chest, holding him in place, I grabbed onto his slim hips. I could nearly wrap my hand
around the side of his upper thighs.
I nipped at his neck, right below his ear. I let go of being self-conscious about this. I wasn’t a fireman who needed to set a
good example in the community. I wasn’t the pack-Alpha’s son who shouldn’t be grinding in a club with humans.
I was just Gatlin, and I had a willing and eager omega in my arms.
He reached back, stretching his arms above his head. I let go of his chest and held his wrists in one hand. He was so thin
that I could grasp them both in one of my hands.
He moaned and pushed back against me even harder.
“You like that?” I asked, right into his ear.
“Yeah. I do. I like it a lot.”
“What do you like about it?”
This was all new to me. I was experienced, but I’d always just fucked the omegas I was with. Sure, I’d made sure it was
good for them. I’d never tried to talk dirty to anyone. I’d never tried to get to know them, beyond what they needed to feel good
for one night in bed.
“I think I’d like being held down.” I watched his eyes flutter closed.
“I’ll hold you down,” I said. Images flooded my mind. Haven on his back, legs spread for me. Haven, on his stomach, ass
in the air, ready to be fucked. Haven, on his knees, head tipped back, my cock sliding between his plush lips.
He turned in my arms. His little cock was hard against my thigh. I wanted to strip his pants off and take it into my mouth.
“I’ve never been able to indulge,” he said
I gritted my teeth against the impulse to growl. “Why not?”
“Too scary.” He leaned against me, letting me hold his weight. He was so small I barely felt anything at all. “I can’t let go.
Always have to be on my guard.”
“You can have that with me. If you want it. You can let go. I’ll keep you safe.” If nothing else, I could give him a few
months of having the things he wanted.
“I want it.”
“You’re smart to not trust Alphas. And if you don’t trust me, that’s fine.” I didn’t want anything happening to him. Not even
after I was long gone.
“I trust you. For some reason.” He sighed and leaned his head on my shoulder as we kept our rhythm going. “Hollis would
absolutely murder me if he could hear that.”
Having his tight little ass pressed up against me had been hard enough, but now having his head on my shoulder was even
worse.
He nuzzled at my neck, brushing his lips over my throat.
“Don’t put your mouth on my neck,” I growled. “Anywhere but there.” He’d activated some primal part of me. I was going
to come, or rip his pants off an fuck him right on the dance floor. He kept going, licking right over my throat. Shit. I didn’t think
he’d heard me. “Haven.” I said the words much louder. “Stop. Unless you want me to carry you off this dance floor right now.”
“Huh?” He looked at me with hazy eyes. “Can’t have sex here,” he murmured. “Not allowed.”
 Fuck, he was right. The club had a strict rule. “We’re leaving.”
He pushed his bottom lip out. I couldn’t help but lean down and swipe my tongue over it as he writhed against me. “But I
want to keep dancing.”
I pushed him away from my chest and wrapped my arm around his slender waist. “I’ll bring you back sometime. It’s either
that, or come in my pants.”
 CHAPTER 10: HAVEN

I could barely catch my breath as Gatlin hauled me to the parking lot. He was so hot. Oh my God why hadn’t anyone
warned me about the explosive hotness of a turned-on Alpha wolf shifter?
For the last forty-five minutes, all I’d been able to do was think about Gatlin pushing his thick cock down my throat. That
was the first fantasy. The second was where he flipped me over, held me down, and stuffed his hard length into my ass.
The cold air on my face was welcome. I’d liked it when Gatlin held my wrists. I wanted to be held down. I wasn’t sure
what to do with that. You’d think I would avoid anything where I couldn’t escape. But being pinned by a wolf shifter wasn’t the
risk – just being alone with a wolf shifter was the risk. So if I trusted Gatlin enough to get in a truck with him, then I supposed I
could let him hold me down.
As soon as we were inside his truck, I leaned over him and slammed my hand against the automatic door lock button. I
threw myself into his lap. Any calming the cold air had done was gone.
I put my hands on his face. Even when I ground my ass against his hard length, he remained serious, staring at me, face
blank. He was so closed off. So solemn.
But not while we’d danced. He’d loosened up, let himself go. He’d been there with me. Present. And so fucking gorgeous.
“Why aren’t you kissing me again?” I asked.
“You’re not thinking straight,” he said.
“I only drank Coke.”
“Dammit.” He ground his teeth together. “This wasn’t why I came here.”
“No. But it’s what you got. If you want it.”
“Wanting you is not the problem.”
I swiveled my hips, moaning as slick gushed from my hole. I was going to get my pants wet, and his too. “Then what’s the
problem?”
“Haven, I am warning you,” he said through gritted teeth. “Get off me now unless you’re prepared for what comes next.”
“If you want this, then I can take it. I want whatever you’re offering.”
That seemed to be all he needed to hear. He grabbed me and somehow maneuvered me into the backseat, climbing after me
even though the space seemed too small for him to fit through.
This was a fancy truck, one with four doors and a large bench in the back. Once he was in the back, he lifted me until I was
lying on the seat. “Thank God for tinted windows. No one else gets to see you like this.” He got his hands on my ass and
squeezed.
I hadn’t even thought of anyone seeing us. I cried out as he pressed his hand against my cock and rubbed. Tonight, I’d even
taken precautions and worn the underwear made for omegas close to a heat. But I’d never gotten wet like this.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Anything,” I said. And I meant that. Maybe it was stupid, but I didn’t want to put the brakes on.
“I want you naked,” he growled. “But not here.” Leaving my shirt on, he popped open the button on my jeans. He yanked
them down in one quick motion. Once they were down, he mouthed over the damp fabric of my underwear, where my cock was
leaking. “Can’t wait to taste you,” he said.
Was he really going down on me? I’d heard a lot of Alphas wouldn’t go down on an omega. But apparently Gatlin didn't
have that reservation.
He kissed my stomach as he peeled my underwear down. The insides of my thighs were coated. “Your seats,” I said.
“Don’t care,” he grumbled, but he did rip his own shirt off and tuck it under my hips.
He leaned down and closed his mouth around my cock. I flat-out yelled. My scream echoed in the truck.
Gatlin pulled off my cock. “Sweetheart. I love hearing you scream, but I don't want anyone calling the police, and I sure
don’t want that Fae guard sniffing around.” While he spoke, he wrapped his hand around my cock. His big hand completely
covered my erection. He held it, just barely stroking.
“Can you be quiet?”
I nodded.
“Shhh,” he said. With his free hand he rubbed two of his fingers over my lips, pressing them into my mouth. I let my tongue
dart out, licking over the tips. He pressed his fingers farther into my mouth. I sucked, imagining what it would feel like to have
his hard length stuffed in my mouth.
He groaned. “Christ. What you do to me. I’ll get you on your knees soon enough,” he said.
I wanted that. I wanted to get on my knees for him. I wanted his big cock in my mouth. I was no expert, but I’d done it
before. I’d practice. I’d get better.
Hands flailing, I grabbed onto Gatlin’s leather seats. I felt like if I didn’t hold on, I’d go into orbit. Oh hell. I didn’t have
words for this.
I thrashed my head back and forth. He tucked his hand between my legs. With my pants down around my knees, I couldn’t
spread my legs, but he was able to press his finger against my entrance.
“Is this your first time having an Alpha’s fingers in your hole?” he asked.
My face burned. Was I embarrassed? Yeah, but not enough to stop him. I wanted more. So much more. “Yes.”
“Good.” He went back to his task, mouth covering my cock, finger pressing inside my hole. “You can put your hands in my
hair.”
“I can?” I’d never heard of an Alpha who’d allow anything like that.
“Yeah. You can’t hurt me. Go for it.”
I tried to grab his hair, but I couldn’t keep my arms still. “Let’s try this,” he said, taking both of my wrists in one of his
hands. He bent my elbows so my hands were pressed against my chest, and he held them there, effortlessly as he moved this
finger in and out of my hole.
As soon as I felt the pressure from his hands, encircling my wrists, I nearly came. But that was nothing, because a second
later, he pushed his finger against my gland, and I was vibrating out of my body, out of my head, out of the fucking universe. I
had no idea anything could feel like that.
My head thrashed, but the rest of my body was pinned by Gatlin. “You like that,” he said. He slipped a second finger into
my hole, and kept rubbing.
Wailing, unable to stop the sounds that flowed from my mouth, I came.
I lay there and panted while he got my pants up around my waist and pulled my shirt down. “What about you?” I mumbled.
“Came in my pants,” he said. He huffed a small laugh. “Haven’t done that before.”
He moved around for a minute, coming back with some old towels. He cleaned us both up, and then I couldn’t keep my eyes
open for another second. I was distantly aware of him lifting me into his arms as I drifted off to sleep.

***

“I need your bank account number.”

Huh? I opened my eyes. Ah. I was still in Gatlin’s truck. I was lying across the back seat, with my head in his lap. I rubbed
my temples. I wasn’t expecting pillow talk, but banking? “Why?” I asked. Then it hit me. Right. Our relationship was a
contractual one.
He ran his hand through my hair. “So I can transfer the money.”
His hand in my hair felt so good. I hummed as I stretched my arms above my head. “Well, this really is transactional. Sure
you don’t want to just leave the money on the dresser?”
He stiffened against me. “Sorry. I didn’t think. How do you want to do this?”
I laughed. “Dude. I'm teasing you. This is fine. Cason would kill me if I texted you the routing number. I’ll let you see it and
type it directly into your app; I have it in my phone.” I pushed myself into a sitting position. “How long was I asleep?”
A few snowflakes fell as I peered out the window. The truck engine was on, idling to keep the heat running.
“About forty minutes,” he said.
No wonder I felt so fuzzy. He turned the interior lights on and I found my phone on the floorboard of the front seat.
“I can do it another way. Would you like cash? Or if you give me your credit card bill, I can pay it directly.”
“No. This is safer and smarter. Hollis really would lose his mind if I was walking around with a wad of cash.” I lowered
my voice to imitate my brother’s voice. “‘Haven, do you want to get mugged?’ He’s actually said those words to me many,
many times.”
Gatlin didn’t crack a smile. “He’s smart. You should listen to him.”
I handed Gatlin my phone. He sure was keeping up the grumpy-wolf persona. Did he even have a sense of humor? “Look,
I’ve always used humor to handle my feelings. Making jokes, even dark ones, just feels right to me. And that’s been reinforced
in my career choice. When I started my internship, the social workers pulled me aside and said hey, Haven, we use some really
dark humor here when things get tough. It’s the way we bond and find a release.”
He nodded. “We did that at the fire station too.”
“You’re a firefighter?” I didn't know that. Of course I hadn’t asked.
“I was a firefighter. Before I moved here.”
 He didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. And as usual, I wasn’t going to push. He wasn’t my boyfriend. I wasn’t privy to the
details of his life. The frank talk about money didn’t bother me. But it was a good reminder of where I stood. I was an
employee to him, nothing more.
After I opened my banking app for him, Gatlin spent a few minutes typing away on his phone.
“How much is your credit card bill?” he asked.
“It’s around $6,000,” I said, my face burning red just from admitting it.
He typed a few more times on the screen then handed my phone back. “Okay,” he said. “Check it.”
“I trust you.”
“Please.”
He didn’t understand. If I trusted him enough to get in a car alone with him, then I trusted him with my bank account. As a
big tough Alpha shifter, he could never understand what my life was like. I was always watching, always on high-alert, always
wary. But tonight, I’d actually relaxed enough to fall asleep in a truck. Because I was with him. It made my chest feel all warm
inside, but alas, it was too mushy for me to say out loud.
“If you insist,” I said. I opened my banking app, only to see the figure of $10,000 right there on the screen in front of me.
My throat closed up. I could barely speak. “This is way too much.” The club stipulated that any sugar baby with a contract
had to receive $1,500 per month. This was an astronomical amount. I couldn’t process it.
“I don’t want you to have to worry,” Gatlin said.
A smaller amount, like $2,000, would’ve kept me from worrying, but I wasn’t going to keep arguing. I blinked a few times,
trying to stave off the tears that threatened to fall. I hadn’t expected this.
He pulled me close and ran both his hands through my hair at once. “Thank you. For doing this. It’s not a simple task,
pretending to be a wolf shifter’s mate.”
“I’ll do my best.” I closed my eyes and let him keep carding his hands through my hair. “I’m glad you trust me enough to do
it.”
Finally he pulled away. “We need to get to the pack.” Gatlin got us on the road, and we started driving. He didn’t say
anything else, but that was fine. Actions speak louder than words, right? I was a talker, so I could deal with a guy who
wasn’t.
I didn’t mind companionable silence, but the silence in the truck was now more broody than anything else. I tried to stay
quiet, I really did. But when the words wanted to come out, there wasn’t much I could do to stop them. “So. Um. When we get
there, will they all know what we’ve been up to?”
“Yes.”
I could have sworn his voice was more than a bit smug. “So is that a good thing?”
“Yes. It’s a very good thing.” His mood seemed to lift after that, and I smiled. Finally we seemed to reach that
companionable silence, riding peacefully until we reached his land. Normally I would have fretted, at least a little, about
meeting his pack. But after such a spectacular orgasm followed by a nap, I was too relaxed to freak out.
But now that we’d arrived at the Hawk Pack land, Gatlin frowned as he turned off the truck. “Shit.”
“What is it?”
He pointed toward the sky. “There’s a full moon. My pack is going for a run.”
 CHAPTER 11: GATLIN

TONIGHT WAS A full fucking moon. What the hell kind of pack-Alpha was I? How did I forget? Apparently lust was stronger
than the pull of the moon.
My mother’s voice rang in my head. When you meet your mate, everything else just fades away.
The only problem was that Haven wasn’t my mate. I wrapped my hand around his upper arm. “I’ll take you home.”
“Why? I came here to meet the pack.”
I tightened my grip. “I said we’re going.”
He flinched away from me and I dropped his arm. “Fuck. I’m sorry.” I lifted my hand but didn’t touch him. “Did I hurt
you?”
He looked away for a second before meeting my eyes. “No.”
I had, and I’d scared him too. This was never going to work. I was too rough. Too harsh. After all he’d been through, I’d
told myself I’d be careful. Then I’d gone and gotten rough.
He lifted his chin. “Look. This is your pack. We came here for me to meet them. So let me stick around a bit. That’s the
entire point of us doing this.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then tell me.”
“My wolf feels like you’re mine. I know that you’re not. But once the moon is up and I’m transformed, I won’t be able to
control him.”
“I thought you said you had control of yourself while you’re a wolf.”
“I do. Normally. But he’ll smell me on you.”
“You said ‘he.’ Is your wolf separate?”
“It’s hard to explain. We are together. It’s possible I might be able to run the other direction. But I can’t be certain and I
won’t take that risk.”
“What exactly is the risk we’re talking about here?”
“The risk that I’ll rip your clothes off push you to the ground and fuck you raw.” I grabbed him by the shoulders. He needed
to understand. “You don’t want this to be your first time. I’ll shift back to being human. But I’ll still be feral. I will take you
under the moon. On the ground. You could tell me to stop, but my wolf wouldn’t comprehend why.”

He shivered as the falling snowflakes grew thicker. “What if I want you to take that risk?”
I let go of his narrow shoulders. “No.”
"Gatlin. I know what I want.”
“You don’t.”
“You have your instincts. I have mine. I’m just going to be real with you. I’m practically drooling right now.”
“Did you hear what I said? It’s intense. Violent, even.”
“Yes.” He squirmed. “Yes I did.
Was he wet? Again? “You want to lose your virginity outside, in December on the ground?”
“Yes. God. It sounds amazing.” He leaned up, on the balls of his feet so his face was closer to mine. “My life is pretty
predictable. And I’ve had plenty of actual danger, the kind I don’t want. But this? This isn’t dangerous. It’s new and exciting. I
don’t want to skydive, or ride a roller coaster or drive a race car. I want this.”
I wanted to keep arguing, but I was losing steam. My wolf pushed against me, eager to get out, all while insisting Haven
was mine. “Then let me introduce you. The pack will know you’re mine.”
Even as I led him toward my pack, my cock throbbed. My wolf howled. Mine.
“You should meet my brother first.” I said, tugging him toward Jackson. Once Jackson was paying attention, I pointed to
Haven. “This is Haven,” I said. “And Haven, this is my younger brother.”
Jackson grinned. “I’m glad my brother listened to me.”
Haven grinned right back at him. “Oh, so I have you to thank?”
“One-hundred percent.”
While my brother and Haven chatted, I saw a couple of other males from my pack eyeing Haven. A subtle growl plus a
glare had their eyes moving away. Good. I was all for diplomacy for the pack, but not when it came to Haven. He was off-
limits.
I was encouraged to see how well Haven and my brother were getting along. I hated to cut them off, but the moon was on its
way up. I whistled and the entirety of the pack gathered around us.
“This is Haven. He’s a human omega.” The warning remained unspoken – don’t fuck with him unless you want my wrath.
Now that they’d seen what I could do, I didn’t think they’d cross me, at least not intentionally.
The pack nodded in unison, and Haven was met with a chorus of hellos and nice-to meet-yous. The pack seemed to accept
his unexpected presence far better than I’d dreamed. Maybe Jackson and Wilder were right – they wanted to see me with an
omega because it made the pack more stable.
“To a successful hunt,” I said. “Let’s go.” I led Haven away from the group. The introduction had gone well, so I didn’t
want to jinx it. “We’ll stay over here, out of the main path.” In spite of all my trepidation, I was looking forward to this run,
with Haven by my side.
“Afraid other Alphas will try and chase me?” he asked.
I growled. “Do not joke about that.”
He held up his hands. “Jeez. I didn’t mean to set you off.”
“I told you I’d be volatile.”
“I didn’t realize that meant you couldn’t take a joke.”
“I definitely cannot take a joke, not tonight, maybe not ever. Not about you.”
I looked up. The moon lit up the sky, offering its blessing for us shifters. It was time.
 CHAPTER 12: HAVEN

HOLY SHIT. I was about to lose my virginity. What was left of it anyway.
Some might argue that I’d lost it years ago when I’d gone down on a beta for the first time. Or earlier, when Gatlin pushed
his fingers into my body. But I’d never let anyone fuck me. And thanks to Hollis and the rest of my brothers who stood watch
during my teen years, I’d avoided being forced into an unwanted mating.
But that was old history. I was here now, in the forest with my sugar daddy. And I wanted to be fucked in the most primal
way, by a wolf shifter, outside in the woods, during a full moon.
Gatlin peeled his shirt off and dropped it to the ground. His usual precision evaporated as he tugged at his pants. They
joined his shirt, and then his boxers were gone too. I stared, transfixed.
He’d kept his clothes on, in the truck, and we’d been squished together, in the dark. And unlike him, I couldn't see in the
dark.
But out here in the woods, the moon was bright enough to illuminate his entire body.
I could see every chiseled muscle, all on display for me. I was going to indulge in every fantasy I’d ever had about an
Alpha chasing me and pinning me down and then fucking me.
It wasn’t something I admitted very often, even to myself. But I wanted to embrace my omega side, the side that wanted to
be dominated. The side that wanted a traditional pairing in the bedroom. Not every omega wanted that. Hell, some were
dominants themselves.
I didn’t want to be told what to do. But as I’d told Gatlin in the club, I did want to be held down. I’d confessed that to
Danny once, and I think he’d been a bit horrified.
“But that’s so close to what almost happened to you,” Danny had said.
And he was right. I’d been attacked more than once by Alphas in our hometown. The worst had never happened, thanks to
my friends. But it had been very close.
A vile Alpha who was working as a stock boy at the grocery store had dragged me into the break room. He’d locked the
door and shoved me down, chanting disgusting stuff about how he was going to mate me, whether I liked it or not. The trash in
that dingy break room had been full, and whenever I thought of that awful moment, I could still smell the old coffee grinds and
the rotting sour cream dumped there by the employees.
“Yeah,” I’d said to Danny. “But it would be different, because I would want this guy.”
Danny made a face. “I don’t want that.”
“Yeah, not everyone would. That’s why I don’t go around talking about it.”
“Yeah. Hollis would go ape shit.”
“He would,” I said. ‘He’d say he’d spent half his life trying to prevent that. And I appreciate the group effort it took to
watch my back. But I’m older now, and we live in a much different place. I want to explore a little.”
And now I was ready to let an Alpha dominate me.
I hadn’t anticipated wanting Gatlin like this. If anyone had asked, I’d have dismissed the idea that I’d be fascinated by the
person I picked to fill the role of sugar daddy for me.
It was supposed to be a contract. A mutually beneficial arrangement. That was long fucking gone. I wanted him in all the
ways I could have him, even if it was just for tonight.
“Will you be able to understand me when I talk?” I asked.
“Yes.” He frowned. “I will understand. But as I said, my impulses will be close to the surface.”
“I can work with that.” I patted my pocket, checking to make sure my wallet was there. I had a condom tucked inside. I was
on birth control, and I wasn’t in heat, but I wasn’t taking chances.
He grabbed my arm. “Haven. I’ve never had an omega with me before. Not for a full moon.”
“It’s going to be fine.” I wrapped my hand around his. “Trust me.”
He let go. “If I hurt you, I won’t forgive myself.”
“You’re not going to. I trust you.”
His eyes glowed. “I can’t hold off any longer. The pack is ready. This is your last chance to go.”
“Not going anywhere.”
“Fine.”
 My stomach rolled, half with excitement, half with nerves. He was going to shift. I’d never seen it happen before. One
second he was Gatlin, hot Alpha, and the next he was a huge freaking wolf.
He wasn’t just huge, he was massive. His head came up to my chest. He stood completely still, then inclined his head. I
moved forward, holding my hand out. He sniffed, then nudged my hand so that it was on top of his head. His black fur was thick
and coarse, but felt good against my skin.
“You’re amazing,” I said. The rest of the pack was behind us, shifting into their own wolf forms. I glanced at them, but
pulled my eyes back to the Alpha in front of me.
He lifted his head toward the sky, then let out a sharp howl.
The rest of the pack took off.
I was the only human, but there was one non-shifter, a mage named Wilder, who was going to stay behind and keep an eye
on the pack homes.
“I’m going to run too,” I said to Gatlin. It wouldn't be much, compared to a wolf, but it sounded fun, and it meant I could
share the full moon with Gatlin as much as possible.
He nodded.
He really could understand me. That was so cool. I took off running. I wasn’t the most athletic omega ever born, but I was
small and I was fast. I darted between a pair of trees and raced down a hill.
Behind me, teeth snagged my shirt as I was yanked backward, away from a small creek.
I looked down. Oh shit. If I’d fallen, not only would I be soaked in very cold water, but I’d have landed on rocks.
Gatlin growled. His fur rippled. I could just imagine his grumpy face if he were in his human form.
“I’ll be careful,” I said. “I’ll go slower.”
He rumbled and nipped at my shirt again with his sharp fangs. I laughed and took off again, hopping over fallen logs and
scrambling over small boulders that blocked my path.
Gatlin stayed close, but didn’t catch me. It was clear that he could easily tackle me, but he didn’t. Each time he let out a
rumbling growl behind me, I got more turned on, and my underwear got wetter. My pants weren’t soaked from a creek, but from
my own slick.
I ran until I couldn’t hear the rest of the pack. I looked over my shoulder, but I didn’t see Gatlin either. However, I knew
that didn’t mean he wasn’t close by. I was starting to get winded, and the inside of my legs were going to chafe soon – that was
how wet I was. I stopped, bent over, sucking in air. I drank some water from a clear stream, and splashed it on my face, then
lay on the ground panting for a moment.
When I rolled over, I gazed up at the moon where it was peeking through the few remaining leaves on an oak tree. I
stretched my arms above my head and took a few minutes to appreciate the quiet. Most of the time I was surrounded by people.
In my apartment, with my five roommates, and at the university with my classmates, and at my internship with my clients. I was
outgoing, so I thrived being around people, but every now and then being alone was nice.
As soon as I was back up, a deep growl reverberated next to my ear.
A flash of motion blurred next to me, and then Gatlin was pressed up against my back, fully human again. Or at least his
body was.
He scented my neck. “Mine,” he rumbled.
I squeaked as he wrapped his arms around me and pushed me against a tree trunk. I lifted my chin as he licked over my
glands.
“I can stop myself.” His voice was low, and hoarse, and it got me hotter than ever.
“Didn’t think I could, but I can do it. I can control myself. If you run, I can stay here.” His hands were above me, pressed
hard against the bark. “Last chance to get away.”
‘No. I don’t want to run.”
There was a cracking sound as the tree behind us fell.
Fuck. He’d pushed the tree over. He stood there, stunned. I gaped for a moment, and then darted to the side. “Bet you can’t
catch me now,” I said. Of course, he absolutely could catch me.
And he did. With a loud roar, he leapt over and grabbed me around the waist. This time he did tackle me to the ground.
Now it was too late to get away. Not that I wanted to. His hard cock pressed against my leg.
“Omega,” he said.
He wasn’t back to his normal self yet, not that he was ever very talkative. And I was so wet. I’d never been this wet.
“Wait,” I said.
He paused, and I pulled the condom from my wallet and pressed it into his hands. He nodded, and took it from me, lying it
carefully on the ground next to us.
He yanked, and then my shirt was gone. I didn’t give a fuck; with the money he was giving me I could buy more. It was
chilly, but he got his left arm under me, keeping most of my upper body off the cold ground.
Another rip, and my jeans were gone, shredded. He tossed the fabric aside. He dragged his hand down the inside of my
thigh, where the slick coated my legs.
“Wet,” he said.
“Yes. I’m wet. For you.”
He flipped me over. I inhaled, expecting to be impaled by his huge cock at any second. But the intrusion never came. He let
go of me, moving backward, and with one quick motion pushed my legs open and pulled my cheeks apart, exposing my hole to
the open air. A second later, he buried his face between my cheeks.
He licked over my hole. A jolt of something shot up my spine as I fell face-first to the ground. Luckily I landed on my
discarded shirt. Oh God. I’d heard getting eaten out was amazing, but I couldn’t even think of a word for this level of pleasure.
I was going to come. Right fucking now.
“Alpha! I can’t hold off.” I pushed myself back up on my hands, rocking back against his tongue.
“Good.” His finger speared my entrance while his tongue lapped around it. “Come,” he commanded.
Electric sparks rocked my body. I screamed as my climax struck me and I pitched forward, unable to hold myself up any
longer. My face never hit the ground. He reached out and grabbed me, lifting me up again so that most of the weight was off my
knees.
Draped over his arm, he pushed a finger into my hole.
I’d just been hit with an orgasm so strong I nearly blacked out, but he was stroking my glands with his finger, and my cock
was already getting hard again. I couldn’t take any more. But I never wanted it to end.
I grabbed at the ground, trying to stabilize myself, but he held me steady as he worked his finger in and out of my hole. “No
one touches you here. No one but me.”
“No one but you,” I said.
He added a second finger, which was a stretch. I cried out, treasuring the burning sensation. He kept stretching me, thrusting
his fingers in and out. I wailed, unable to handle how good it felt. Eventually, he pulled his fingers out and I heard the rip of the
condom wrapper.
He grabbed both of my wrists in one hand and held them tightly against the ground. “Legs open.” He bent down to lick my
neck. “Don’t move.”
This was it. I gasped, biting into my lower lip as the head of his cock nudged my entrance. My body tensed, but I couldn’t
move; his bulk held me down. A second later, he drove into me with a sharp thrust, spearing me with his hard length.
I’m not a virgin anymore.
It was too much. It hurt, but it felt so fucking good.
I’d never felt like sex was for marriage or mating only. I’d never fallen victim to that outdated bullshit, but I was glad I’d
waited to be fucked by this Alpha. Was it always like this? I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t form words. Hell, I almost couldn’t
think.
I panted, chest heaving as he thrust into me. His cock hit my gland, over and over. He filled me up so well.
“Going to come inside you, omega,” he growled. “Going to knot your tight hole.”
“Alpha! Please.” At that moment, I’d never wanted anything more.
His cock pulsed, and his knot swelled, stretching my entrance. I clawed at the ground, already so close again. He still held
onto my wrists, which meant no one was touching my cock. But that didn't matter. I came untouched, my small cock spurting
onto the ground as my eyes rolled back in my head.
Once his cock was done pulsing, he moved us so that we were lying on our sides.
I was completely wiped out. I couldn't even speak. I let my eyes close.
“Shit. The condom broke,” he said, after some time had passed.
Huh. I’d bought the largest size. Maybe they made them for shifters. I’d have to look into that. “Doesn’t matter,” I mumbled.
“Not in heat.”
He pressed a kiss against the back of my head, and I was out like a light.

***

When I woke up, Gatlin was carrying me bridal style through the woods. I had on a t-shirt and jeans that were far too big. Ah.
They belonged to him. He stayed naked, but covered me.
“I appreciate the effort, but I’m not particularly modest.”
He frowned. “I don’t want anyone looking at you.”
I shivered. Possessive was a good look on him.
Most of my classmates would be a little shocked to find out I liked his possessive streak. I’d listened to many of their
stories, and I always was on the lookout for red flags. I’d warned many omegas about controlling boyfriends who made
decisions for them.
I could just imagine their shocked expression if they saw me swooning over a wolf shifter who decided for himself he
didn’t want anyone seeing me naked.
But Gatlin wasn’t my boyfriend. He’d hired me, for a mutually beneficial relationship. I certainly wasn’t going to complain
about that. When you signed up to take an Alpha wolf shifter’s money, you knew what you were getting into. They were
notoriously territorial. Especially when omegas were involved.
Omegas they’d just fucked.
He laid me down on the bed. “I’ll find you something to wear that fits a little better.”
“Good. Because I really do have to get home.”
He looked stricken. “Now?”
“Soon.” I glanced at my watch, which was still on somehow. “Or I can wake up early.”
His face smoothed out. “Stay here tonight.”
I smiled to myself. He was a sweetheart underneath all that bluster. He’d just never admit it. And that was okay. I didn’t
need him to admit it.
Maybe he needed to stay gruff to keep the respect of his pack. I really had no idea how a pack worked. I could learn, but
we weren’t going to be together long enough for it to matter. If I ever dated again, it would be with a human.
Or would it? Now that I’d had a taste of Gatlin, both literally and figuratively, I wasn’t sure I wanted to date a human. The
humans were the ones who’d made my life miserable for years. Humans were the ones who attacked me. It was my own human
parents who were ready to sell me.
Of course the Alphas I’d encountered at the club were all heavily vetted, so it wasn’t like I walked into a random nightclub
and took my chances. No, these Alphas were hand-picked.
Some omegas believed that shifters were actually safer than humans, because of their instincts. They claimed their instincts
did not allow them to harm an omega. For all I knew, that was a load of horse shit. But based on the caring nature of my sugar
daddy, maybe those rumors were based on the truth

***

When I walked through the door of our apartment, both Cason and Danny were waiting up for me.
I froze. I’d showered, and I was wearing Jackson’s clothes. They were sure to notice both.
“We’re not stupid, you know,” Cason said.
“Uh, I never said you were.”
“But you’re hiding stuff from us.”
I dropped my wallet onto the countertop. “Yeah, because I don’t want the third degree.”
“You’re lucky it’s not Hollis standing here.”
“Yeah, Hollis is a bit distracted with his own sugar daddy.”
Cason sighed and sat down at the table. “You know he’d drop everything if you needed him.”
“Cason. I don’t need him to drop anything. Don’t bother him. Let him have fun.”
“I don’t intend to bother Hollis. God knows he deserves a break without having to stress over us,” Cason said.
“Did you get what you wanted?” Danny asked, joining Cason at the table. I did not sit down with them.
I nodded. “Oh, I definitely got what I wanted.”
Cason made a face. “You look smug.”
I wasn’t up for being interrogated, but I could give them some information. Maybe that would make them quit snooping into
my business. “I am smug. You may have guessed, but I got my own sugar daddy.”
Danny’s eyes widened, but Cason just sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and huffed.
Too bad. Cason was going to have to get over himself. “First off, no lectures. Got it?”
They both agreed, if not a bit reluctantly.
“I got to watch my sugar daddy turn into a giant freaking wolf, I got to run with a wolf pack, and then…” I dropped my
voice to a whisper. “I got fucked by a smoking hot Alpha.”
Cason and Danny exchanged a look. “In the woods?”
“Yes. in the woods.” I crossed my arms. Gatlin’s scent still enveloped me, and I breathed in, letting it comfort me. “Are you
too good for that? I’m not. Let me tell you, it was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”
Cason frowned. “Why are you doing this?”
Finally, I dragged a chair out and sat down with them. “Because I want to.”
“Haven, are you okay?” Danny asked. “Really okay?”
“Yes. I’m better than okay. I know this is hard for everyone to understand. But I am taking control of my life. I’m actively
pursuing an Alpha. I’m not running, and I’m not hiding.” I patted his hand. “I feel confident. Not just in my future as a social
worker, but as an omega.”
Danny picked up a salt shaker and spun it in his hands. “Okay. I can’t say I relate, but I can listen.”
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Luennoissa, lausunnoissa
Opin aavalta alalta;
Joka kautta keskustelun
Tulee toisen tiettäväksi,
Miten maamme saataisihin
Edistymään entisestä,
Työt ja tulot tuottaviksi,
Kannattaviks' kaikki toimet
Kaikin puolin kansassamme.
Tästä saattaisi sanoa
Meistä maanviljelijöistä,
Ettei liene enää meillä
Mitään uutta oppimista,
Ajatusten vaihtamista
Toisten töistä tehtävistä
Tässä halvassa virassa,
Kun on kauvan korjaeltu,
Ajan alusta alettu.
Vaan ei liene likimainkaan
Kaikki läksyt läpikäyty,
Opit vartehen otettu,
Miten maamme saataisihin
Enemmän elättäväksi,
Siksi sietävi asia
Keskenämme keskustella.
Ei elätä pännä meitä,
Jos ei aurasta apua;
Kuokka auran kumppalina
Meillä maanviljelijöillä.
Eihän maalima mahissa
Kauan pystyssä pysyisi,
Jos ei maata muokattaisi,
Kynnettäisi, kylvettäisi.
Maasta maalima elääpi,
Maasta makiat saapi,
Hapan kaikki hankitahan
Kansan kaiken tarpeheksi,
Eduksi tämän elämän,
Ravinnoksi ruumihillen.
Teillen vielä virkaveljet,
Sanon muutaman sanasen:
Siis sinä siveä vaari,
Taitava talon isäntä,
Elä suutu säätyhysi,
Elä virkaasi vihastu,
Vaikka vaivalla kovalla
Maasi mahtihin rakennat.
Tässä työssä tarvitahan
Aivan paljon ahkeruutta,
Vielä tarkkuutta tavassa
Kaikin puolin kaivatahan.
Siis on työllen, toimellemme
Aina arvo annettava,
Kun on tuiki tarpeellinen
Virka maata viljelevän.
Siitä voit kerskaten kehaista,
Kuten kerran Suomalainen
Sanoopi sanalla tuolla,
Etten vaihtas virkoani
Miehen kanssa kuuluisamman,
Joll' on kappa kamlotista,
Kallis kauhtana verasta.
Vielä virkan nuoremmille,
Kansallemme kasvavallen —
Kun olen kyllin kehunna
Esi-isäin elinkeinon;
Tään oon kautta kokemuksen
Itsekin opissa ollut,
Nämä läksyt läpikäynyt;
Aina aamusta varahin
Hikipäässä heilununna,
Ahkerana ammatissa,
Töissä toimissa monissa —
Sanan sanon nuoremmille:
Elkää etsikö etempää,
Maitten, merien takoa
Kuuluisia kultamaita;
Onhan viel' omassa maassa
Meillä armas Ameriikka.
Kyll' on täällä kyntämistä,
Kyntämistä, kuokkimista,
Paljon siemenen sijoa,
Ennenkuin on korvet kaikki
Meiltä kaadettu kumohon,
Kannot kaikki väännettynä,
Taiten tehty leipämaiksi;
Vielä niitty viimeiseksi,
Pellon äiti päälliseksi.
Siis on töitä, tehtäviä,
Oman maamme manterella,
Suomi-äidin synnyinmailla.

PELLERVON PÄIVILLÄ HELSINGISSÄ 31 p. tammik. 1900.

On taas ollut oiva juhla

Täällä Helsingin talossa,
Mik' on meitä miellyttännä
Maamme maanviljelijöitä —
Kuin on tänne tullut paljo,
Suuri joukko Suomestamme,
Saapunut satoa kuusi,
Päivillen pojan pätöisen,
Pellervoisen pellon poian.
Hauska olo ollaksemme
Tässä seurassa somassa,
Yhteistyössä, toiminnassa
Yhteisen hyvän etehen.
Se on oppi oivallinen,
Että uusia etuja
Ajateltaisiin alati
Kansan kasvavan etehen,
Tulevaisten tunnustella.
Niinpä päivät Pellervoisen
Ovat antaneet aluksi
Oppimista oivallista
Luennoista, lausunnoista
Yhteistyöhön, toimintahan
Kolmen päivän koulussamme.
Siis on päivät Pellervoisen
Kohta loppuhun kulunna.
Niinpä miehet muistakaamme
Pellervoisen päivätöitä;
Että viemme viemisiksi
Kukin täältä kotihimme
Tuliaisiks' tuttavillen;
Ehkäpä ottaapi orahan
Kantaa vielä kasvuakin,
Kun saa asian alullen
Itämähän ilman alle
Sulo Suomemme hyväksi.
Sanon muutaman sanasen
Vielä virkan vierahillen
Kyntäjillen, kylväjöillen,
Että teetten tehtävänne
Kuten poika Pellervoinen
Kylvöksensä kyyhätteli
Luojan sormien lomitse.
Käen kautta Kaikkivallan;
Sitten siunaus tuleepi
Suosiosta suuren Luojan.
Vielä lausun nyt lopuksi
Kiitokseksi kirjoittelen
Niillen herroillen hyvillen,
Jotk' on alkanna asian,
Yhteistyötä toimimahan,
Aatetta alottamahan,
Jost' on ollut kyllin meillä
Oivallista oppimista
Luennoista, lausunnoista
Kokeen aavalta alalta,
Mitä ompi mikin nähnyt
Kokemuksen koulussansa,
Jost' on paljonkin puhuttu
Kolmen päivän koulussamme,
Opin teillä ollessamme
Täällä tultu tietämähän.

VALTIOPÄIVÄIN AVAAMISESTA 15 p. syysk. 1863.

Iloinen on ilmoitella,
Josta aion kirjoitella,
Kuin on arvoinen asia
Sekä uusi aikakausi
Meitä kohti koittamassa.
Kuin jo saavat Suomen säädyt
Joka luokasta luetut,
Saavat kohta kokoontua
Niille juhlille jaloille,
Aivan suuriarvoisille,
Joit' on päätetty piteä
Kaupungissa kuuluisassa,
Herttaisessa Helsingissä.
Tämä toivottu sanoma
Ompi meillen arvollinen,
Joka suotiin Suomellemme,
Annettiin jo aika tietää,
Päivän määrä määrättynä.
Käsky saatu keisarilta,
Annettu Aleksanterilta.
Kyllä tästä Suomen kansan
Ompi aihetta aluksi
Arvoisallen asiallen
Ilon tunteilla tueta,
Kuin on kauvan odottanna
Suomi siltäkin sijalta,
Että saada edistyä,
Uutta laatia lakia,
Sovitella Suomen säädyt,
Mikä passaisi paraiten
Käytännössä kaikin puolin,
Koska aina ajan kulku
Uudistuksia anoopi,
Parannusta kaikin paikoin
Lainkin vanhan laitoksissa.
Jo on vuosia kulunna,
Jäänyt tuonne jälkipuoleen
Vuotta viisikymmenisen,
Jolloin säädyt sovitteli
Porvohossa päätöksiä,
Eikä oo sitä etua
Ajan pitkäisen perästä
Suomen kansallen suvaittu.
Nyt on aika arvollinen
Meitä kohti koittamassa,
Valtiot valmistumassa,
Joista toivomme tulevan
Monen kohdan korjausta,
Vahvistusta, virkistystä
Suloisellen Suomellemme.
Vielä toivoisin tulevan,
Että sinne sattuvaiset,
Valitut valtiomiehet
Oisi järjeltä jaloja,
Isänmaallen innokkaita;
Jotka puhuis puolestamme
Kaikki kansan kaipaukset
Pienimmästä suurimpahan,
Antain alhaisten asiat
Ylimäisten ymmärrellä.
Laittaa niillen lainkin säännöt,
Vanhat kaikki korjaella
Uutten muutosten mukahan.
Tästäkin jalosta työstä,
Kuin myöskin monista muista,
Mitä ennätti eläissään
Meillen tehdä toimellansa,
Olkoon kiitos korkeimmallen,
Meijän kuulu keisarillen
Suomen kansalta sanottu.
Vielä syyllä suuremmalla
Ompi meillä muisto rakas,
Kun hän piti tärkeänä
Tämän arvoisen asian,
Kun oli itse avaamassa,
Valtiot valmistamassa
 Suomen säätyjen seassa
Ylhäisenä ystävänä,
Suomen suuriruhtinaana,
Keisarina korkiana.
Täst' ois kaiken Suomen kansan
Antaa kiitos korkeimmalle,
Ylhäisellen ystävälle
Tästäkin jalosta työstä
Suloisellen Suomellemme.

KEISARI ALEKSANTERIN KUOLINPÄIVÄSTÄ 13 p. maalisk.

1881.

Oisi mielessä minulla

Aine nytkin arvollinen,
Että ruveta runollen.
Jos vaan oikein osaisin,
Kertoella kaikin puolin
Aleksanterin armotöitä.
Vaikka jo asia vanha,
Vaan se uutena pysyypi
Miesten muistossa mukana,
Varsinkin se vanhempien;
Josta nyt nykyinen aika
Paljon puhetta pitääpi,
Kuin on Suomemme surussa,
Pahan mielen painon alla,
Että entistä enemmän
Muisteleepi muinaisia
Armo-isän armotöitä,
Aleksanterin aikakautta;
Jonka muisto ei murene
Suomen kansan suosiosta,
Vaan on ikimuistettava.
Vielä lasten lapsillakin!
Niinpä nytkin Suomen kansa
Pitää muistonsa pyhänä
Näinä huolen hetkinänsä,
Kun ne yhtyy yli Suomen,
Kantaa kauniit seppeleensä
Sillen patsaallen paraallen,
Jonka Suomi hällen nosti,
Ikimuiston ihmisillen.
Viel' on mulla muistossani
Armon-isän armotöitä,
Joita soi hän Suomellemme.
Tiesi tarkoin tarpehemme,
Katsoi kaikkien parasta;
Eikä ollut outo vieras,
Ehti käydä eläissänsä
Seitsemästi Suomessamme.
Siitä sitten rakkauskin
Kasvoi kahden puolisesti
Keisarin ja kansan kesken.
Enpä taida tarkallehen,
Enkä puolinkaan puhua,
Mitä meillen hyvää teki
Aleksanter aikanansa.
Hänpä itse valtiotkin
Ajan pitkäisen perästä
Avasi omalla suulla,
Vielä vahvasti vakuutti
Laitkin pyhänä piteä,
Kaikki kansan oikeudet.
Samoin saatti suomenkielen
Olemaan oikeustuvissa,
Virkakielenä viroissa.
Samoin koulut, samoin kirkot
Saivat uudet uudistukset,
Kansakoulut, kiertokoulut
Tuli kansallen tutuksi.
Alimmasta ylimpähän
Kääntyi kaiken kansan kasvot
Puoleen kuulun keisarimme.
Lähinnä liki Jumalan
Pysyy muisto muuttumatta.
Vielä toivon viimeiseksi,
Jos sen soisi suuri Luoja,
Antaisi armon Jumala
Lahjat laupiaat hänellen,
Keisarillen korkeallen,
Nikolaille haltijallen,
Että oisi sama mieli,
Sama armias ajatus
Jok' on ollut entisillä
Keisareilla kuuluisilla.
Että entiset pysyisi
Perustukset paikallansa,
Asetukset alallansa
Köyhän Suomen suosimana.
Eik' ole minulla muuta,
Parempata palkkiota,
Sidottua seppelettä
Panna muistopatsahallen
Jalon haltijan hyväksi,
Kuolinpäivän kunniaksi,
Kuin tää kehno kiitokseni,
Hyvin puuttuva puheeni.
KIISTELYSTÄ KIELEN PÄÄLTÄ
VALTIOPÄIVILLÄ 1894.

Jo nyt soisi Suomen kansa

Kielikiistat loppuviksi.
Sitä toivoo Suomen kansa,
Että jo ajalla ennen
Oisi päästy päätöksissä
Vallallensa vanttuhista,
Ruotsin kahleista kovista,
Jota ruotsikot rumasti
Vielä nytkin viivyttävät.
Eivät soisi ensinkänä
Miestä miehestä tulevan,
Ottavan omin varoinsa
Aikamiehen askelia,
Saapuvan sillen sijallen,
Jossa Ruotsi rehevänä
Ijän kaiken istununna.
Paljon on jo Suomi päässyt,
Paljon viel' on pääsemättä
Kahlehistansa kovista;
Jos vaan vertaamme jälellen
Vuotta kuusikymmenisen,
Kuin oli vielä ruotsin valta
Ylimmillensä yletty,
Koulut kaikki kaupungeissa
Ruotsin rahkeissa kovissa;
Mistä sai nyt kansan lapset
Oppia nyt ollenkana?
Oli tuohon tyytyminen
Oman vanhemman opillen.
Kun oli vielä vanhempamme
Aivan oppimattomia;
Samoin suomeks' kirjallisuus
Sekin ol' varsin vähässä.
Samoin kaikki virkakirjat
Ne oli ruotsiksi rykätty
Eikä suomella omalla,
Talonpojan tuttavalla.
Vaan ei vieläkään viikingit,
Herrat ruotsikot rupeisi
Suomenkieltä suosimahan.
Aina vaan he väittelevät,
Kielikiistoja pitävät,
Niinkuin näissä valtioissa,
Sanomalehdissä samaten
Paraan mahtinsa panivat
Kiistellessä kielen päältä,
Että pitäis heillä olla
Ylivalta, ylivoima,
Olla päänä, päsmärinä.
Suomalaiset saavat olla —
Mitä pöydältä putovi,
Alta ottoa muruja.
Ihme on ikäni ollut,
Minun kumma mielestäni,
Mist' on jäänynnä jälellen
Ruotsinkielen ylivalta,
Vaikk' on väkensä vähäinen,
Kaikesta osa kaheksas.
Jo nyt soisin Suomelleni,
Että nousis nuori kansa,
Suomen poiat pontevasti,
Herrat niinkuin talonpoiat;
Oisi meillä yksi mieli,
Yksi mieli, yksi kieli,
Yhdet armaat ajatukset
Kerroksissa kaiken kansan.
Niin mä luulisin lopuksi
Kielikiistain katkeavan,
Vähenevän väittelyiden.
SUOMENKIELEN ASIA RITARI- JA
AATELISSÄÄDYSSÄ VALTIOPÄIVILLÄ
1894.

Kuten sanovat sanomat,

Viikkolehdet viestit tuovat,
Mitä herrat Helsingissä,
Arvoaatelit sanovat
Suomenkielen suosiosta,
Kun ei kuulu heillen vielä
Suomi suosittu olevan,
Että kelpais keskustella
Suomalaisilla sanoilla
Aatelistenkin asiat.
Tuosta on hyvä todistus
Nähty näillä valtioilla,
Kuinka Yrjömme yritti,
Koetti Koskinen puhua
Ensikerran aatelissa,
Puhevuoroa piteä
Suomalaisilla sanoilla
Arvoisellen aatelillen.
Vaan siell' ei suomea suvaittu,
Kieltä kehnoo käytettävän.
Joka ensiksi esiintyi,
Von Poriini ponnisteli,
Kovin vastusti kovasti
Viimeiset viikinkivoimat.
Samoin muita muutamia
Suomen kielen sortajia
Yhdistyypi yhtä mieltä.
Sanoivat sanalla tuolla,
Ettei kelpaa keskustella
Suomen kieli kuultavaksi
Arvoaateli-suvullen.
En siltä sanoa saata,
Arvoaatelis-sukuiset,
Niinkuin miehet muutkin herrat,
Onhan niissä oikioita
Suomenkielen suosijoita,
Jotk' ei soisi sortumahan
Suomi-äidin suomenkielen,
Jonka ennen äiti neuvoi,
Oma vanhempi opetti
Lapsillensa laupiaasti.
Vielä teillen viikinki-herrat
Kansan puolesta puhelen:
Miksi teillä mieli musta,
Miksi, vaino ja kateus
Ompi oman kielen päältä,
Koska kerran ollaan kaikki
Yhden Suomen synnyttämät,
Yhden kantamat kanaset,
Vaikka häivyimme hajalle
Suomen saaren seutuville.
Miksi siis ei yksi mieli,
Yksi mieli, yksi kieli
Ylhäisillä, alhaisilla
Kaikuis kaiken kansan suusta;
Suomi suosittu olisi.
Sitten loppuis kielikiistat,
Kovat väitökset välistä,
Selviäisi seuraelämä,
Kateuskin kahden puolen
Ylhäisien, alhaisien;
Vielä voisi veljeskättä
Tarjotakin toisillensa
Sovinnon suloista kättä,
Joka rauhan rakentaapi.
HILJAISET VALTIOPÄIVÄT 1899.

Hiljallehen ensin hiihä,

Ettet väsyne välillen,
Maseneisi matkan päällen:
Sananlasku sangen vanha,
Valmistettu vanhemmilta,
Meiltä mielehen otettu.
Samaa saattavi sanoa
Vielä näistä valtioista,
Päivistä pidettävistä,
Hiljaisista hiihtäjistä;
Kuin ei kuulu kuulumia,
Sanele sanomalehdet
Miesten mietteistä mitänä.
Ain' on maalla arveluja,
Suomen suurilla saloilla,
Miten siellä miehet jaksaa
Tehtävänsä toimitella.
Onko miehet ollenkana
Täysin terveessä tilassa,
Vai lie tullut taudin aika,
Lentsutauti liikkehellä,
Joka maalla matkustaapi;
Tahtoopi se talvikaudet
Ukkosia uuvutella.
Vaan on arvelun alaista,
Puhe puusta katsojalla,
Tohtiskohan tuokin tulla
Suomen suurehen kylähän,
Herraisehen Helsinkihin,
Joss' on rohdotkin ramilla,
Vastamyrkyt valmihina
Taudin synnyt tappamahan.
Näitä kansa keskenänsä,
Näistä päivistä puhuvat,
Vähän leikkiä lisäksi.
Vaan sen arvaamme asian
Mekin maalla matkustajat,
Ett' on siellä edessänne
Arkaluontonen asia,
Joka säädyt seisottaapi,
Painaapi pahallen mielen,
Ajatukset ahtahallen,
Että puuttuupi puhetta,
Miettehissä meininkiä.
Mitä miehet tehtänehen,
Soveltuva sotalaki,
Jota suosis Suomen kansa
Sekä kelpais keisarillen —
Se on tointa tärkeätä.
Tästä jatkui pitkä juttu,
Vaikk' on ainoa asia