Steven had ever seen, because he was alive.
From one breath to another, tiger shifted to man, fur
sank into skin, and elongated pupils rounded into humanity.
"Mate," Dare whispered, his eyes dazed from the
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change.
"Mate," Steven echoed in an unsteady voice. "Do
you think you could get me down?"
Dare looked up at the hook Steven dangled from.
With a flexing of lean muscles, the weretiger lifted him up,
flipping the chains off of the hook. A few minutes of
tugging broke the links binding his wrists.
Shock and relief coursed through Steven's body as
he wrapped his newly freed hands around his mate. "I
thought I'd lost you."
"Never gonna happen," Dare said, holding him
tight. "I'll always come back to you." He looked around as
he released his hold on Steven. "We should see if we can
find any clues. That is the reason we came here in the first
place."
"There's a lab coat." Steven said pointing to a coat
draped across a chair.
"Find my nakedness distracting, do you?"
"Always."
Despite the blood caked across his face and
splashed across his body, Dare was still the most beautiful
thing Steven had ever seen. "Best get dressed or we won't
find any clues."
He got a brilliant smile before the man slipped on
the lab coat and proceeded to help search the warehouse.
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Like the one where Anthony was shot, there were no clues.
"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way,"
Dare mused.
"Yeah, what are you thinking?"
"They're careful. We're not going to find something
here. This is where they wanted to lure us so we could be
captured. This isn't their home. It's only a temporary
torture-the-prisoner hideout. We need to follow the money,
check on Cindy's former employer, and discover his
connection to the mutants. That's where we'll find our
leads."
Steven searched the body of the dead mutant, not in
the least surprised when there was nothing in the man's
pockets and no identification. "I think you're right. Let's get
back to the pack house and tell Silver what we've learned
so far."
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Chapter Five
Silver threw a glass against the door, shattering it
beautifully.
"You really need to stop doing that," Anthony said
from where he sat on the couch.
The alpha growled.
"You did
not
just growl at me," Anthony jumped to
his feet.
Everyone in the room stilled.
Dare sat stiffly next to Steven, watching the alpha
mates scowl at each other.
After a second of glaring, Silver scooped up his
beautiful mate and nuzzled his neck. "Sorry sweetness.
This whole thing has me so angry."
"I know, and that poor little glass paid the price. At
least the other alphas were sweet."
Silver gave a shout of laughter. "They were too
dazzled by you to even think about arguing about their
safety." Silver turned to the other werekin. Dillon, Parker,
Dare, and Steven watched the alphas with wide eyes. "You
should've seen their expressions when Anthony walked into
the room. He had them eating out of his hand, and I swear
every one of them was straight. I thought Moira, the alpha
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of the Sandstone pack, was going to slip in her own drool."
Anthony blushed. "She was very nice."
"Uh huh. I heard she ripped the head off of the last
guy who challenged her."
Shrugging Anthony gave a small smile. "I wasn't
challenging her, though
you
got awfully close."
Silver flashed a canine. "If you hadn't made it clear
you were into men I think she would've poached you in a
second." He nuzzled Anthony again, more possessively this
time. "Anyway, we still don't have any clue as to where the
mutants are staying or how they plan to take over the packs.
Madros said he'd be careful and double-check his food for
poison. They must have someone helping them from the
inside, so we need to look for anyone who would benefit
from the pack's dissolution."
"I didn't get the feeling the other alphas were
involved," Anthony said. Silver nodded his agreement.
"What do we do now?" Parker asked.
Silver sighed. "We keep our eyes open. We make
sure the pack stays close. Parker, I would appreciate it if
you would move into the pack condo."
"No."
Silver's eyes glowed. "Are you challenging me?"
Parker averted his gaze and tilted his head
submissively. "No, sir. I just can't leave my house. I can
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feel my mate is getting closer and I have my home prepared
with everything I need."
Silver raised an eyebrow.
"He means he's a Dom and he's waiting for his
proper little sub. And he'd prefer not to deal with that while
the entire pack looks on," Anthony offered.
"It's not like we're going to judge him," Silver said.
Dare could see the confusion on his alpha's face. "Hell, we
have all kinds of people coming through the club.
Remember Lyle? He used to come in with his sub's cock on
a leash. If that's what you want, then feel free."
Parker cleared his throat, his face beet red. "I prefer
to have my relationship private. I don't think my mate
would appreciate being brought in on a leash."
"Have you met him?" Anthony asked, his eyes
bright with excitement. The alpha mate loved seeing
members of his pack matched up. Remembering the other
man's intervention with Steven, Dare hoped Parker knew
what he was in for.
"No. But I've been having mating dreams, so I
know he's close."
Silver sighed. "All right, have it your way. Keep a
careful eye on things, and if you sense any danger pack up
your stuff and haul your ass over here."
Parker nodded. "I don't know when we'll meet, but
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the dreams are getting stronger."
The other pack members nodded in respect.
"Do wolves always dream of your mate before
meeting?" Anthony asked.
"No. It's a sign of a re-mating. It means that they
were mates in a previous life and are reconnecting in this
one." Silver offered, placing a soft kiss on his mate's cheek.
"Does it happen very often?" Anthony asked, tilting
his head for another kiss.
"No," Silver smiled at Parker. "It will be a strong
mating. Congratulations, Parker."
"Thanks."
"In the meantime, I want everyone to make a list of
different factions who might be interested in seeing the
werekin fail as a community. We'll brainstorm tomorrow. If
anything comes up before then call Anthony or me. Dare,
that's a good idea about tracing the money. I'll get our tech
people on that."
The shifters nodded and cleared out the room.
Dare turned to Steven. "Are you going to join the
pack?"
Steven stopped walking and turned to him, surprise
evident in his expression. "I thought we were mates."
Dare nodded, looking down at the floor.
Steven put a hand under Dare's chin tilting his head
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so their eyes met. "I'm sorry if I resisted you before, my
sweet kitty. I'm done denying you. We are forever mates. I
know things won't always be calm between us, but I'd like
to try." Dare smiled as he felt the love pouring from his
mate.
"Come live with me and join the pack. I know
Anthony would approve you."
Steven snorted. "Don't you mean Silver?"
Dare smiled. "And I thought you were Anthony's
best friend," he teased.
"Good point. I have enough dirt on Anthony I can
make him let me in. But I won't join the pack unless you're
part of the package."
Dare hoped his eyes conveyed the love he felt.
"Then I guess we'd best start negotiations. I think my
bedroom would be the best place to discuss the future."
Steven gave him a wicked smile. "Yes, I do believe
you're right."
The two men headed for the elevator in perfect
accord.
Dare's apartment door barely closed before Steven
slammed him against the surface.
"When we were captured, all I could think about
was how I never told you how much I love you."
The words enflamed Dare as much as the kisses did.
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He never thought he'd hear Steven say the words he'd
dreamed of since he'd spotted the dark-haired wolf.
"You love me?"
Steven's blue eyes lacked their usual teasing light.
"You are everything to me. When that creature said they
were going to kill you, part of me died."
Dare's heart beat faster in his chest. He couldn't
believe the man of his dreams was saying exactly what he
wanted to hear. Hoping he was still awake, Dare pinched
himself.
"Ouch."
Steven laughed. "What did you do that for?"
Dare gave him a sheepish smile. "I was hoping this
wasn't a dream."
"It's not a dream, beautiful. It's reality. I know I've
been an idiot in the past, but I'm through with all that. All I
want is for you to be my mate and for us to spend the rest
of our lives together. I want to move into this apartment
and argue with you over what to have for breakfast,
grumble about pack dynamics, and investigate the mutants.
I don't want to go home alone and long for you to be beside
me when I wake up in the morning." Steven brushed Dare's
cheek gently as if checking to make sure he was real. "I
almost died earlier, and all I could think about was you."
Dare blinked back the tears. Shit he was turning into
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a girl. "I'd like that too."
"Good."
Before he could say anything else, Steven kissed
him.
It wasn't the hot, controlling mastery of his other
kisses. This one was about gentle sharing and love. It was
soft, sweet, and made Dare wanted to throw the man down
and fuck the hell out of him.
A low growling filled the room. It took Dare a few
minutes to realize it was coming from him.
Steven pulled away to stare at him. "That is so hot."
Dare laughed. "I don't usually growl like a dog. I
guess your possessiveness is wearing off on me."
The wolf captured Dare's head between his hands,
forcing him to meet Steven's gaze. "I don't care how many
creatures come after us. I'm never letting you go again.
There isn't a wolf in the world that is a better match for me
and I was an idiot to think there was."
"I know," Dare said, snuggling Steven up close.
"My heart broke a little more each time you took one of
those wolves home. I was about to give up and start dating
again when Anthony pulled his stunt."
It was Steven's turn to growl. The wolf's grip
tightened around the weretiger. "I'm glad you resisted, I'd
hate to have to take out an innocent man for touching what
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is mine."
Dare gave a wide grin to his mate. "I'm not yours,
yet. You haven't claimed me properly."
"Trust me, honey. When I'm done tonight you'll feel
officially claimed."
A low rumble rolled from the weretiger's chest.
"I thought you didn't purr?"
"I didn't," Dare said indignantly. "I'm not a house
cat."
"Of course not." Steven said, smiling. "I don't know
what I was thinking."
* * * *
Steven stroked a hand through his mate's hair. His
heart ached with the love he felt for the sweet tiger. The
reasons for resisting Dare were inconsequential compared
to the benefits of bonding with this wonderful man. That
split second he thought Dare was dead was the worst
moment of his life. It was when he realized the beautiful
man in his arms was the only one for him.
Wolf or not, Dare was his.
For the first time, he understood Silver's
determination to make sure everyone knew his mate
belonged to him. Maybe it wasn't such a silly compulsion,
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after all. Steven knew tagging Dare like Silver did to
Anthony wouldn't be possible, but he would have to see
what they could do.
"How do you feel about tattoos?" he asked between
passionate kisses. His cock was granite hard and yearning
to sink into his mate. They'd never discussed who would
bottom; Steven would take whatever position got him
closer to his mate. He usually topped but he was willing to
reconsider when it came to his beloved tiger.