The Reluctant Wolf (Book 1 Cloverleah Pack) (23 page)

Shawn chuckled.  The fight in the circle was coming to an end.  At the last moment, Jacob’s wolf stood over Xavier, looking back at his mate.  Then with one solid bite to the throat, Xavier was no more.
  Jacob stood once in wolf form and howled, his neck elongated and his head turned to the sky and then he shifted.  His young friend came forward with his clothes and once he was dressed, Jacob came forward to speak to Kane.

“Sir, I apologize on behalf of my pack for bringing trouble to you and your mate on your land.  I will arrange any retribution necessary to make up for the offence.”  Jacob looked shaken up, definitely sweaty and too young in some ways to be an Alpha but his voice didn’t quiver once as he made his formal speech.

Kane smiled at Shawn and then looked over at Jacob.  “The retribution owed by Xavier has been paid and order has been restored to your pack.  I know what you did today was not easy but my mate has a lot of faith in your abilities to lead well.  Anytime you need from me or Shawn all you have to do is pick up the phone.”  He held out his hand to the younger man, who appeared shocked.  Recovering quickly he grasped Kane’s hand and shook it briefly before looking around as if he wondered what he should be doing next.

Peeling himself off of Kane’s body, Shawn stood for a moment to get his balance and then he took Jacob’s arm and led him over to where Arthur, Claude and Lucius were standing. He was pleased that Kane had followed him, his hand resting protectively on his lower back.
He was still feeling wonky on his feet.

“Jacob, this is Arthur Matthews of the Denver, Colorado pack, Claude Murphy of the Tulsa, Oklahoma pack and Lucius Cooper representing Damien from the San Antonia pack in Texas.  Gentlemen, this is my cousin Jacob.  I would consider it a personal favor if none of you sought any retrib
ution for the events of today by Jacob’s pack.”

Arthur spoke up first, his gentle gaze raking over Jacob’s frame as if sizing him up.  “You have nothing to fear from my pack, Jacob.  I understand the abuse’s your pack members have suffered will take some time to heal.  Anytime you need any help from an older and slightly more experienced Alpha, please feel free to contact me personally.”  Reaching forward he shook Jacob’s hand
and murmured, “You did good today, boy.”  Jacob blushed.

Claude and Lucius both gave similar assurances and offers to help to the new Alpha and the younger man seemed strengthened knowing he would not be alone as he learned to lead his own pack.

Turning to Shawn and Kane he stood a little taller and said, “Thank you so much, for everything.  Me and my men will leave now and remove our mess,” he looked briefly at Xavier’s wolf form still laying the circle.

“You are welcome to stay for a meal if you like.”  Kane’s voice was warm and friendly.

Jacob blushed.  “Er, thank you again but there are four of us here that have male mates we haven’t been allowed to claim for three years or more.  We are in a bit of a hurry to get home.”  He looked at Kane and Shawn back in Kane’s sturdy arms, their mating marks clearly glistening on their necks. “I am sure you understand.”

Laughing, Kane said, “Of course. Take care on the
trip home.”  Jacob grinned giving a glimpse of the carefree lad he was capable of being and he ran off to gather his men.  Five minutes later, Xavier’s carcass had been scooped up and thrown in the back of one of the wagons and the cars peeled out of the driveway.

“Thank God that is all over.”  Kane sighed in relief as he and Shawn walked back up to the porch, the others following in dribs and drabs.  He noticed that Lucius was with Vincent and Claude was with Scott.  Dean and Griff were talking to two men from Lucius’s pack
and things were obviously going well there.  Only Troy was wandering up to the house on his own, but he had a picture in his hand and a smile on his face, so Kane left him to his thoughts.

“Oh my goodness, it is going to take me forever to prepare a meal for all you lot.”
  Yep that was his Mom on the porch.  Shawn laughed beside him and spoke up, “How about I get the meal this evening, ma’am, we have all had a really busy day.”

Cheryl looked at him suspiciously for a minute especially when Shawn flicked his fingers towards the house.   But then the smell of food hit her nostrils and she flew back into the house.  Coming back a minute later, her eyes wide, she yelled out, “Dinner is ready guys,” which was
obviously what the menfolk were waiting for as they all stampeded the house. 

Cheryl scuttled over to Shawn and Kane and said to Kane, “Are you bringing him home for Christmas?  You know I could do with that sort of the help in the kitchen.”  She settled for Kane’s vague, “We will see” and rushed back in to bully the men into some type of order so everyone could get to the food.

Tilting his head towards the house Shawn asked, “You want to go in for some food, my lover?”

“Can we have something out here please?”  Kane’s voice was quiet and sounded a little troubled.   Shawn flicked them up a couple of plates of food and they wandered over to the bench seat on the corner of the porch.  Kane pulled Shawn in close as they sat down and things were quiet for a while as they ate and listened to the sound of laughter and goodwill in the house.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Shawn looked around at the glade as he ate.  Kane’s home really was beautiful and the setting was perfect for his pack. He stared out over the trees and watched the sun setting, throwing out a mixture of purples, pinks and blues into the sky.  Just perfect, he thought.

“You know we haven’t had a chance to talk about a future together.”  Shawn had been lost in his appreciation of the setting and almost missed what Kane had been saying.

“We haven’t truly known we would have a future before today.  What is bothering you, Kane?  Talk to me.”

“I guess I am worried that the day-to-day here won’t be enough for you.  You have spent your teenage and adult life travelling around, seeing new places and new people and doing such a huge range of things.  I am a bit different.  I have my home, my pack and my business and most of the time I am happy just taking rides on my bike or visiting cars shows or sometimes going to Claude’s if I want company, not that I will be looking for company any time soon.”  Kane hastily added as he caught the look on Shawn’s face.

“Any time from now on, you mean.”  Kane nodded at Shawn’s stern voice.

“You know for a big tough, successful Alpha mate you have a few insecurity issues don’t you.”  Shawn’s voice was teasing but Kane got the point.

“Look Kane.  I was travelling because I was hiding.  I have spent more than ten years on the run. It wasn’t my choice. And in all that time all I ever dreamed of was the type of life you can offer me right here. Somewhere where I can be accepted and somewhere I can call home.  Of course I may have to ask you for a job because I figure getting killed by hunters is probably a good way of getting me fired from the diner, but apart from that everything I could possibly ask for is right here with you. Provided you still love me of course.  I realize things were really hard for you today.”

Burrowing his face in Shawn’s hair Kane pulled Shawn closer, wrapping his huge arms around him as if he would never let him go.

“You have no idea how hard it was for me, my love.” Kane’s voice was muffled by the hair but as Shawn could still hear him he didn’t try and move.

“Actually, I do, sweetheart.  I can read you and I can access your thoughts just like you can mine. But even when I was ‘out of it’ for a while I knew what you were doing.  I knew how you handled the men here today so you could get my wolf out from Xavier as quickly as possible.  I heard every word you said as you gave my spirit back to me.  My wolf might have been missing but my magic
spirit and my human spirit heard you and understood your pain and your love.  So why are you doubting that we can have a long life together.”  Then Shawn had an awful thought.

“Are you still only interested in sexual hook-ups?  Have you never wanted a full time mate of your own?”  Shawn tried to wriggle out of Kane’s arms but if anything Kane just hung on tighter
.  So Shawn put his hand on Kane’s forehead and lifted Kane’s head up so he could look at his face.  Kane was smiling.

“Oh Shawn, I never knew I could have a mate but I always knew I was looking for something more than a hook-up.  I guess I was a bit like you.  I was looking for a connection and I never found it until I had you.”

“So, why all the worry about me not wanting to live here and share your life?”

Kane was quiet for a moment.  “I think I was thinking that maybe you haven’t had a choice about things in your life before, and I wanted you to know you could still have them.  You could have a life that you wanted, on your terms.  I love you enough to give you that.”

“But you don’t love me enough to want me to stay?”

“It’s all I want.”  Kane’s fervent voice ringed with the honesty of his reply.

“Then you my mate, are a nutter of the highest order.”

“What, why?”

“Because if you have what you want and that other person wants that too, then why on earth would you change it? That makes you a nutter. So are you going to give me a job if I need one?  I am pretty handy with custom painting and fixing bikes.”  Smiling, because yes Kane could be a bit of an idiot sometimes.

“You don’t need a job.” Kane said, the smile on his face matching his mates. “You are my mate, my Alpha mate.  By pack law you own half my business, half my house and half of everything I have.”

Shawn shook his head.  “Oh great and all I bring to this is the ability to create a meal with a flick of the fingers.  I think you got the short end of the deal, lover.”

Kane’s face turned serious and he looked into Shawn’s ice blue eyes.  “Will you sleep with me every night?  Will you be by my side every day?  Will you come to car shows, and bike rides and all of those other things I like?  Will you tell me if there is something that you want to do so that we can do it together?”

Shawn scrunched up his face as if he was trying to remember all of Kane’s questions at once.  “Yes…Yes…Yes and…Yes.  Yep I think I got them all.”  Then he smiled.

“Then I have got the very best end of the deal.”
  Kane pulled them together for a very long, satisfying kiss.  It was only when Kane started moving his mouth to Shawn’s neck, which Shawn positively loved, did he manage to ask one last question that had to be discussed.

“What do you want to do about Claude and Damien?” 

Kane lifted his head.  “What you mean in terms of visiting and you doing the odd demonstration?”

“Yeah.  You said yourself you used to go to Claude’s when you were looking for company
and I am still a Master Dom for Damien’s club.  I am not into the lifestyle and I am definitely not using you as a sub in a club, but it can be a good night out as you know.”

Kane thought about it.  He was secretly fascinated with the thought of watching Shawn doing demonstrations.  It always made him so horny seeing evidence of his mate’s power.  Just thinking about it made him squirm in his seat, which of course Shawn noticed.

“So you like the idea once in a while?”  Teasing Shawn was back.

“Yeah, I think once in a while, when we do just want to go out for a night.  Claude’s has a separate bar and dance area as well, we could go dancing.
  I like dancing.”  Kane was warming to the idea and he went back to nibbling Shawn’s neck.

Pushing Kane off for one minute, Shawn held Kane’s face in his hands and fixed him with a determined stare.  “One rule and one rule only. 
You don’t touch anyone and no one touches you.  Are we clear on that? I do not share my mate in any way.”

Kane grinned, “Well in my defense I can’t really help it if other people think I am still available and start rutting all over me.”  Then he laughed as Shawn growled
. Deep and low Kane could feel it reverberate in his cock. “But you have 100% permission to break any heads of the people who touch what belongs to you.  Okay?”

“Okay.”  Shawn was laughing now as well.  “From the sounds of things the first couple of times we go to Claude’s I had better go when I am in a bad mood.  I am going to have to beat the suckers off you with a stick.
  Could be a bit of a tension reliever.”

Kane pulled Shawn in for a long, tender kiss that quickly turned passionate. Tongue against tongue, hard hands flying everywhere
.   Fingers grasping and stroking, teeth raking against skin both men seemed determined to devour each other.  Somehow Shawn ended up on Kane’s lap his long legs wrapped around Kane’s hips as they ground their denim covered cocks together.  It was heaven and hell all in the one go.

Breaking from Shawn’s lips just for a second Kane growled, “Zap us, now,” and seconds later they were in their room - the room they would share for all time
. And for the longest time it was skin against skin, a mass of entwined limbs and the coming together again and again of two men who didn’t know until that day that they truly had a future with each other.

Epilogue

One Month later

Claude’s was busier than it would normally be on a Wednesday night but word had got around that Master Shawn would be making an appearance and would be whipping one of the
house subs on the center stage.  That had garnered a fair bit of excitement amongst the BDSM crowd and the mood among the audience was high as some of the house subs were setting up the stage.

Kane stood at the back of the crowd feeling more relaxed and happy than he had in a long time.  He
, Griff and Shawn had all wanted to come to Claude’s before now, but there were a lot of customer’s at Custom Rides that needed tending too after Kane’s week off to deal with the Xavier issue.  Trisha had indeed replaced Shawn when she thought he was dead and Kane was secretly relieved because he loved having Shawn working with him at the workshop everyday.

News of Shawn’s role as a Guardian was also circulating around the packs
and there had been a steady stream of visitors by Alpha’s from half a dozen states all coming to meet and greet and form alliances.  Shawn had taken it all in his stride, but Kane could tell this overwhelming support from wolf packs was difficult to deal with after his life on the run.  An off shoot of all this attention also meant more business for Custom Rides as many of the visitors had an interest in bikes or cars. Shawn was proving to be a dab hand at fixing and renovating bikes which gave Kane and the others a chance to work on the car orders they had.  Kane loved the fact that although his man could strip and repair an engine with magic in a split second, he actually preferred to work with his hands and he was meticulous with what he did.  Kane had a lot of happy customers.

But tonight was a chance for them all to unwind.
Kane was planning to watch the demonstration and then he hoped to take Shawn dancing. Griff had already gone off to the adjoining bar because he preferred to watch the dancing rather than the BDSM acts.  Scott, Dean and Troy all elected to stay home, which surprised Kane because he thought that after Claude’s visit the month before Scott would have jumped at the chance to see him again.  But Scott had just shrugged when he was asked and pleaded tiredness.  Kane made a mental note to have a talk to him about it when he could. 

Troy appeared quiet but happy.  He was getting infrequent emails from Anton which he would
read and re-read for days.  When he wasn’t answering them he was working on a car of his own in his spare time.  A 1970 Chevrolet Nova in Tuxedo Black.  He absolutely loved the car and wanted it in prime condition by the time Anton came back from overseas.  Dean was going to help him with a custom paint job when Troy had finished all the rust and panel work.  Dean didn’t want to come to the club purely and simply because he didn’t like them.  He had never seen the need to go to clubs and would far rather stay home and work on his art projects.

Standing up a bit straighter Kane could see that the stage was almost set.  Two of the house subs had led in a naked slim blond man
and were in the process of attaching him to the cuffs on the St Andrews Cross that stood center stage.  Once they had finished they stepped to the back of the stage, there to provide any support if anything went wrong during the demonstration.  Snorting to himself, because how could anything like that happen with Shawn at the whip, Kane waited patiently for Shawn to appear. 

When they had
first arrived at the club many people took pains to tell Kane that Master Shawn was known for arousing the most pleasure a man could experience with a whip without ever drawing a bead of blood. Although it was not something Kane himself had wanted to experience he was still keen to see how his mate operated.  Then all thoughts drained from his brain when Shawn came onto to the stage.

My God he looked magnificent.  But it wasn’t just the tight black leather
pants, thick leather belt with a wolf buckle and muscle top that had Kane drooling. No, it was the look on Shawn’s face.  His face was hard and determined and Kane could see the power radiating off his shoulders.  Looking around the room Kane could see that a lot of other people had noticed it too. The Master’s watching all seemed to try and stand up a little straighter and the subs in the room were positively quivering with excitement.

As Kane watched
, Shawn went over to the Cross first and checked the sub’s bindings, murmuring quietly with the man as he made sure that he had enough room for movement without the cuffs being too loose. Kane had seen enough of these demonstrations to know if the restraints were too loose then the man on the Cross could move too much as the whip hit and that could cause permanent damage to the sub involved. 

Shawn touched the man on the shoulder and then went over to one of the house subs who held up two whips for him to choose from.  Kane was
surprised to see that Shawn picked the longer, 12 foot bull whip as opposed to the 6 foot stock whip.  He and Shawn had discussed this earlier, Shawn saying the smaller whip was easier to deal with although he did admit his preference was for the longer one.  When prodded Shawn said that he felt Kane would be a distraction in the crowd that might make the larger whip a bit more difficult to control.  Obviously Kane’s fervent promise to do
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
to disturb Shawn had the desired effect and he was going with his whip of choice.

Shawn had gone back to the sub and let the man know which whip he was using.  Everyone in the room heard the sub
’s fervent, “thank you Master,” as Shawn paced out the distance he needed and turned to the Cross.

“Thirty lashes
, straight through, no respite.  Count them out.  Do not come or I will stop.  Understood?”  Shawn’s deep voice rippled through the room, powered and focused.  It sent a shiver down Kane’s spine and his cock started to harden.   Glancing around he could see that he was not the only affected.

“Yes, Master.”  The subs voice was tinged with excitement and Kane could see the man was already fully aroused, his cock purple and dripping.
The guy must have been a real pain slut to be prepared to take a full thirty lashes without stopping.  But Shawn had made it clear he was not about to spend any time soothing the sub; the exhibition was of whipping skills alone and Shawn’s ability to bring the man to climax through pain.

Raising the whip above his head, Shawn flicked it and the whip made a resounding thwack against the sub
’s skin.  His back arched into the pain the sub called out “one” before Shawn hit him again.  Welt after welt appeared on the subs skin, bright red and raised without a speck of blood.  The lines were a perfect distance from each other.  One straight line after another crossing first one way and then the other way down the man’s back and across his buttocks.

After each hit the sub arched
and flexed his body, his butt clenched as he called out the required number, his voice rising with each welt.  As the number hit 20 the sub was clearly having trouble holding back his climax and the feeling seemed to be echoed throughout the room.  Kane’s own cock was threatening to burst out of his own leather pants and he was starting to rethink the dancing idea.  Claude had rooms upstairs including his own private suite which he had offered to the two of them when they arrived.  Yeah, maybe they would go there first.

“Twenty one”

Thwack.

“Twenty two.”

Thwack.

“Twenty three.”

Thwack.

“Twenty four.”  The sub was clearly close now.  His voice stretched and whining as though he was begging through the count.  The mood in the room was electric and thick with arousal as everyone in their head was counting down for the magic number of thirty to arrive.

“Well, you are a big one aren’t you?”  A gr
owly voice echoed in his ear as two big arms came slamming around Kane’s chest, pinning Kane’s arms to his side.  An equally big clumsy hand started unzipping Kane’s pants and fumbling with Kane’s cock that had softened the instant he was hit. Kane sniffed.  Fuck a bear shifter. He was never going to get out of those arms without some help.

“Twenty five.”

Thwack.

“Twenty six.”

Wriggling and stomping as best he could, Kane struggled to get free but it was useless.

“So who do you belong to boy?”  The growly voice was in his ear again.

“Him, Master Shawn on the stage.  You had better let go of me or he is going to be pissed.” Kane growled out, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Ha, that pipsqueak.  I am sure he will be happy to loan you to me once he knows who I am.  It’s not as though he is going to have any choice in the matter.
”

“You don’t know him
” Kane insisted, still struggling as best he could.  “He will be really pissed off that you touched me.”

“Well big guys like you who obviously bottom for their Master’s are hard to come by.  I am not leaving here without you.”

Fuck the guy thought he was a sub even though the way Kane was dressed clearly indicated he wasn’t.  Kane was sweating now and not in a good way. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He had promised not to disturb Shawn.  He glanced around to see if he could see Griff or Claude but neither of them were around and if he struggled much more Shawn was bound to notice.  Keeping his eyes focused on Shawn Kane, tried not to panic as the bear continued to try and stimulate him, his own huge cock pressed firmly against Kane’s ass.

“Thirty.”  Finally Shawn had finished.

“Come for me.”  Rippling around the room Shawn’s voice spurred on a number of orgasms, not least the sub who after climaxing and moaning in a magnificent fashion, collapsed, passed out on the cross.   Shawn quickly went across to the man and checked his pulse and eye lids before indicating to the two house subs to take care of the man.

Er hon, I need some help here.

Shawn’s head shot up and his eyes found Kane instantly in the back of the room.  Then his eyes narrowed as he took in the shifter who had captured him. Jumping from the stage Shawn strode through the crowd, his anger almost visible.  His ice blue eyes flashing he said in his murderous voice, “Take your hands off him, Bruce.  He is mine.”

“Oh come on
Master
Shawn”, Bruce’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he mentioned Shawn’s title.  “Share your little subby with me, I will make it good for him.”

“He is not my sub, he is my MATE.”

Bruce laughed.  “You mated your sub, oh how precious. Come on.  One use only.  You know you can’t take me wolf, so let’s just get this over and done with.  If your boy is real good then it shouldn’t take more than an hour or so for me to tire of him.”

Gripping the bear’s wrists firmly, Shawn wrenched them away from his mate
with sheer brute strength and then Kane felt a small zing of magic.  The bear was frozen still and couldn’t move.  Shawn grabbed hold of Kane and pulled him out from the bear’s reach and into his arms.

Are you okay hon?

Yeah, a bit violated and shaky but I will be okay in a minute.

Stand behind me.  I know this guy.  Damien’s looking for him.  Let me deal with it okay.

Yeah hon, good idea I think.

Fuck Kane must be mixed up if he was letting Shawn deal with a bear shifter on his own.  Shawn knew he had to act quickly
.  Putting Kane behind him, he scanned the crowd looking for Claude who was heading towards them with a couple of his own bear shifter bouncers in tow. “Get Griff” he mouthed to Claude, who directed another man into the adjacent bar. Then Shawn fixed his gaze back on Bruce the bear who still hadn’t moved.

“Are you a member here, Bruce?”  Bruce tried to work his mouth but Shawn’s spell was holding.

“Yes, he is,” Claude said, “Been here about a month and his membership was approved just last week.”

“Did he mention that Damien’s looking for him after he lied on his application there?  This man
has no training as a Master but he did manage to damn near kill the last two subs he had before Damien realized it.”

“Why, you ugly fucker. I will kick you out myself.”  Claude made to step forward to take on the bear himself but Shawn held up his hand.

“Sorry Master Claude.  I know this is your club but this man violated my mate and for that he has to pay.”  Shawn was stalking around
the bear, who still couldn’t move.  Claude stepped back and actually grinned.  This was going to be good.

Fixing the bear’s eyes with his, Shawn
nodded his head and Bruce collapsed to the ground. Resuming his pacing, Shawn let his power build to match his anger as he went around and around the bear.  Then he raised his hands and a huge blue sphere appeared, tinged with red and purple.  In one smooth move he flung the sphere at the man on the ground so it encompassed him completely. The reds and purple in the blue started moving through the bear in and out in a crazy dance.

Bruce arched up and started to yell and growl, writhing in pain as bolt after bolt of magic hit him.  He tried to shift, but the magic held him firm.  In just a few minutes he was shrieking in pain, begging to God, to Shawn and to anyone at all to “Just make it stop.”
  Standing impassively Shawn just watched the anger still evident in his eyes.

After five long minutes Shawn lifted his hands and the magic returned to him, seeping back into his skin.  Bruce lay on the floor exhausted and barely moving.  Looking up at Shawn he rasped out, “Who the hell are you?”