alpha's good side he didn't need to piss him off at this
juncture. If keeping Silver happy took admiring his best
friend's new bauble, it would be well worth it.
Silver pulled a desk drawer open and handed over a
black leather ring box. Opening the jewelry box, Steven
caught his breath. He wasn't a man given to jewelry but he
knew his friend would adore this. Inside the box lay a
heavy, gold man's ring with a giant square amber stone and
two rows of pavé diamonds circling the band. Steven bet
that if the ring was held up to Anthony's face it would
exactly match his friend's eyes.
"I've never seen a yellow diamond before."
Silver smiled. "They're very rare, just like
Anthony."
Would puking ruin his chances? Who knew the big
alpha was a big softy inside? He wisely refrained from
commenting on the fact. "It's beautiful and I'm sure he'll
love it." Really, he just couldn't resist. "You know, you
could just pee a circle around him. The werekin will know
you're marking him and the humans will be disgusted
enough to leave him alone."
Laughing, Silver shook his head. "Somehow, I don't
think my mate would appreciate the sentiment."
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Steven smiled at the image of Anthony that sprang
into his mind. It was best Silver didn't follow his advice
because he didn't want to think about what Anthony would
do in retaliation.
Silver frowned at the ring a moment before sliding
it back inside his desk. "He'd better like it; I had to contract
with weremoles to get a rate I didn't have to sell the
building for."
"You know Anthony would love you even if you
didn't give him a ring." Steven didn't want Silver to fall into
the same trap many men did when trying to keep a
beautiful lover interested. As much as Anthony loved gifts,
he wouldn't care if his lover couldn't afford them. Steven
was confident his friend loved Silver with or without the
trinkets.
"I know," Silver sighed. "But I want his parents to
know I can take care of him. His father didn't seem
convinced we are fated to be mates. At least the ring will
let everyone know my man is loved and appreciated and to
back the hell off." The alpha gave a self-conscious shrug.
"Enough about me. What did you come here for?"
Steven took a deep breath. "I'd like to join the
pack."
Shrewd eyes examined him. "Why now? You've
never shown interest in the pack before. Unless there's
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more to the story I heard about a big cat dragging you out
of the bar last night."
"Dare is my mate." Steven rushed the words out like
a run-on sentence. A ball of fear lodged in his throat as he
admitted the truth out loud. It was almost painful to give up
on the dream of a wolf mate, but he wouldn't give up his
weretiger for anyone. Tenderness filled him as he
remembered waking in the other man's arms.
"Are you sure? If he really is your mate I would've
thought you'd know earlier."
Steven blushed. "I kind of did. I just wanted him to
be a wolf."
"Ah. Well, I can't say I don't understand. My life
would be a lot easier if Anthony was a wolf. Less
interesting, but easier. Does Dare know you avoided him
all this time because he's a cat? Has he agreed to be your
mate?"
"He'll agree," Steven said with a low growl. "He
had better agree, but that's not why I came here. I want to
help you find the mutant pack."
Silver stood up. "I'll give you temporary
membership to assist the others. We can use all the help we
can get. However, until Dare accepts you fully I can't admit
you as a full pack member unless you want to enter as an
unaffiliated wolf."
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"What's that?" His werewolf lore wasn't the best
and he was still finding gaps in his knowledge when
dealing with werewolves who grew up in a pack.
"It would mean you joined without any affiliation
except the bonds of friendship. Your connection with
Anthony is enough to have you join as a lone wolf."
Steven shook his head. "I'll wait until Dare accepts
me. If I join as lone he might think that means I don't want
him and I did enough damage already."
"Then welcome as a temporary member."
He shook the alpha's hand, tilting his head to
acknowledge his pack submission.
"You're going to have to do that for Anthony also,
you know."
Steven let go of his new alpha's hand. "Shit."
Turning, he stomped out the door.
Dare was sitting where he left him, sipping a cola
out of a clear glass. A few members of the club sat with
him, chattering about something or other, Steven didn't pay
attention. What he did notice was they were all sitting too
fucking close to his man.
"Come on, babe. I'll take you to Parker's."
Dare gave the other men a nod and, after dropping
his glass off at the bar, let Steven lead him outside.
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Chapter Two
Parker's house was nice. Dare looked around, his
eyes bright and curious, taking in the plush chocolate
brown carpet and the sky blue walls. The house was ranch
style with wide, spacious rooms and a feeling of a home.
He could understand why the other man didn't want to give
up his house to have one of the pack apartments.
"Curious kitty," Steven whispered in his ear. Since
entering the home, the wolf was oddly attentive. He stayed
within arm's reach of Dare at all times and always put
himself between Dare and the other men whenever they
stood together. If he didn't know better he'd say the man
was possessive. It was probably wishful thinking on his
part.
The four of them sat around Parker's round dining
room table. Steven pulled Dare's chair as close to his as
possible without having the other man sit on his lap, which
would look stupid since they were the same size.
"Have we investigated Cindy's employer at the
construction company?" Dillon asked the group. Cindy was
a human who had been abducted by mutant werewolves.
Since the vampire, Alesandro, killed the first mutant they
encountered, they weren't able to question him.
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No one knew what talents this new breed might
have and it was a priority to find out what these enemies
could do. All they knew at the moment was that they had
gone through some sort of transformation, giving them
stronger wolf senses than most werekin but freezing them
in a human-werewolf form, unable to pass off as anything
other than a mutation. Right now, they were trying to
pinpoint where the other wolves were based so they could
capture a few for questioning. It was possible they weren't
all hunting Silver's pack, but until they knew for sure, all
the local packs were staying close and pulling extra
security around pack homes and businesses.
"Her boss, Richard Hale, smelled of corruption."
Parker said with a sneer on his handsome face. "I assigned
Sheila and Farro to watch their headquarters."
Steven frowned. "I don't think I've ever met Farro."
"He doesn't come to the club very often. His wife
died a few years ago and he hasn't recovered. He spends
most of his time raising his little boy," Dillon said.
This time it was Dare who showed his curious kitty
side. "I didn't think wolves could survive the loss of their
mate."
"She wasn't his mate, she was his wife. Farro is
bisexual but sensed his mate would be male. He wanted a
cub so he married a human woman. They might not have
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been a mated pair but he loved her. She died in a car
accident a year ago, leaving him alone to take care of their
five-year old boy."
"That's so sad." Dare's eyes glistened with tears.
"Shh. Babe, it's okay." Steven stroked his head in a
soothing manner. Dare resisted the urge to rub against him
like a cat in heat. There was something compelling about
the werewolf touching him. It calmed him down to his toes.
The other two wolves looked at them curiously.
"Is there something you two want to tell us?" Dillon
asked.
"Dare's my mate," Steven said.
Dare jerked out of his hold. "What do you mean,
I'm your mate? I thought wolves could sense their mate? If
I was yours, you would've known months ago."
He saw Steven swallow and he knew the truth. The
man had known they were mates when he was fucking
around. Nausea churned in his belly.
"I need to go call Ben," Dillon said, jumping from
the table.
"I need a cold drink," Parker followed the other
werewolf with what Dare considered unseemly haste.
Bastard.
"You knew." Dare jumped to his feet with quick,
feline grace. Steven watched him warily. "All this time,
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Denying Dare
Amber Kell
while I was lusting after you and you slept with every piece
of wolf tail you could find, you knew we were mates. You
bastard!"
"No. It wasn't like that." Steven grabbed Dare's
arms to stop his pacing. Dare flashed his fangs at the other
man but the wolf held on tight. "I thought you might be my
mate, but I didn't know for sure. I never got close enough to
be certain."
"Because I wasn't wolf," Dare hissed. The pain
caused by the idea that his mate thought he wasn't good
enough knifed through his chest. Having a mate who didn't
want to be yours was a special kind of hell. Every shifter
dreamed of finding the one fated to be theirs; unfortunately,
as Steven proved, it wasn't always a happy event.
Steven
nodded,
confirming
Dare's
terrible
statement. "I won't have secrets between us. I wanted to
mate with a wolf, I can't deny that, but I didn't have sex
with all the wolves I left with. Sometimes we just went out
for a meal to see if we were compatible. Now that I know
for certain you are my mate, I wouldn't trade you for
anything." He gave Dare a little shake. "Or anyone. You.
Are. Mine. And I will kill anyone who tries to take you
away from me."
Dare's eyes searched Steven's eyes. All he saw was
honest need. He couldn't blame the wolf for wanting one of
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his own species, but it hurt to know he was only wanted by
default. If they weren't fated mates, the wolf would never
have wanted to see him again. He could keep the pain close
to him and make them miserable for the rest of their lives
or he could acknowledge his mate made a mistake and be
happy with what they had now. Looking up he saw the
anxious expression in the wolf's face and knew he only had
one real choice.
"All right."
A wide smile crossed Steven's handsome face.
"You'll be mine?"
Dare nodded. The lump in his throat made it too
difficult to do anything else. The joy on his mate's face
went a long way towards resolving any resentment he felt.
Steven wrapped him in his arms and gave him a
tight squeeze before placing a bone-melting kiss on his lips.
"Come on, baby. Let's go hunting."
* * * *
They sat in their car outside the main office of the
construction company, watching people come and go.
Sheila and Farro had left an hour before to get some rest.
Typical of a small company, the office was a yellowish two
story building with the name of the company plastered on
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Denying Dare
Amber Kell
the outside and nothing else in the way of decoration. A
steel chain link fence surrounded the machine yard housing
the expensive construction equipment. At this time of night
there were no signs of movement.
"Maybe we should send Cindy inside to spy for us,"
Steven said, watching the guards check an incoming car.
"Yeah. I'm sure Alesandro will take it really well
when his mate becomes upset because we're endangering
his sister."
"Hmm. Vampires can be touchy," Steven agreed.
"Would you really do that?"
"Do what?"
"Endanger that girl in order to find out
information."
Dare wasn't certain how he felt about this ruthless
side of his mate.
Steven nodded. "I wouldn't like it, but if it's a choice
between traumatizing one girl to find out who's trying to
kill the pack or letting these mutants destroy us, I'd toss her
to the enemy in a heartbeat."
Although he appreciated the honesty, Steven's
answer made Dare queasy. He understood the need to
protect the pack, but he'd met Cindy and couldn't imagine