From Pack to Pride (3 page)

He was pleased when Talan’s gaze followed the motion of his tongue like he was cramming for a pop quiz and Adrian had all the answers. For the first time Adrian remembered Kade had said he could pick from among the available men. Surely none of them were hotter than the man before him.

“How many males are in your pride?”

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

17

“Why? Do you think another would be more compatible?” Talan’s golden head snapped around to glare at his people. “Which do you think is better than me?” he snarled.

Ooh. The guy’s temper made Kade look like a happy, perky puppy.

Adrian carefully didn’t look at the other lions, not wanting to trigger the alpha into doing something unwise. “I was just curious. No need to get your tail in a knot.” Talan gripped Adrian’s biceps with his large hands. “Kiss me so my pride will know you have accepted my petition.”

“It doesn’t commit me to anything, does it?” He didn’t want to marry the guy within minutes of arriving. A test drive would be needed before he bonded with the gorgeous shifter; lion rules be damned. Though on pure physical responsiveness, he’d give the guy a score of about a million on a one to ten scale, which scared the crap out of Adrian.

He hadn’t confessed to his brother his greatest fear. That he would bond with one of the lions. The thought of never hunting with his pack and seeing the shining smile of his sister-in-law broke his heart a little bit. There was no way he could bring a lion home to live with the family, not to mention no alpha would leave his territory. You didn’t become an alpha by following your mate.

The thought of mating with Talan was both exhilarating and scared the piss out of Adrian.

“No,” Talan said, obviously missing Adrian’s slight panic attack, “it just means you’ve agreed to give me a chance to try to convince you I would make a good mate.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t exactly a hardship to agree to let this guy try to coax him into a permanent mating, but he was glad his brother had put in the clause that if it didn’t work out in six months, he could get the hell out of the pride lands.

Please don’t let it work out! Adrian didn’t really want to be the lone wolf in a pride of lions.

Talan inhaled the scent of his mate. Standing this close to the other man made it difficult to resist the urge to pounce. He’d been serious when he told Adrian that he needed to take it slow, but seeing the adorable wolf shifter close up made him want to claim his prize.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

18

The lion shifted uneasily beneath Talan’s skin as it checked out his prey. More than one lion shifter had torn apart his future mate through lack of caution. If was important that Talan’s lion accepted the wolf just beneath the surface of Adrian’s skin as well as the man.

Interspecies mating was tricky, but Talan was determined that this one would go off without a hitch.

After all, he already had the man right where he wanted him. On Talan’s home turf.

Now that he had him, there was nothing Talan wouldn’t do to keep the beautiful wolf by his side.

Looking down at the slender wolf, one thought circled through his mind.

The photo hadn’t done Adrian justice.

Despite the anxiety pouring off him, the little wolf smelled amazing, with none of the acrid stench of true fear. The younger man might be nervous with a group of larger people surrounding him, but Adrian wasn’t truly afraid. The desire filling the air told Talan the attraction was mutual, making the lion so hard he thought he was going to come just from the smell of the younger man alone.

Cupping the back of Adrian’s head, Talan pressed his lips against the small wolf’s mouth. Sliding his tongue between Adrian’s lips he sampled the flavour of his future mate.

Adrian tasted of heat, need and something sugary that teased Talan’s tongue.

Oh, sweet. The man must have had a butterscotch candy recently.

He could easily kiss Adrian forever.

“Hey where are your clothes, man?”

Adrian’s mouth jerked away. “What?”

Talan let out a growl. The loss of Adrian’s mouth was like taking a physical blow to the heart. He wanted to drag the smaller man to his bed and luxuriate in his scent, preferably while they were both naked.

Dillon was standing by Adrian’s car with an assortment of bags at his feet. “There are two laptop bags and only one suitcase. Where are your clothes?” Dillon asked again, giving the luggage a bewildered look.

Adrian pointed at the lone suitcase. “Those are my clothes.”

“Ooh, clothes shopping.” Talan heard Trisha gasp behind him.

The female lions loved to shop. His credit card bill attested to that.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

19

“I don’t need any clothes,” Adrian said.

Talan was pleased to see the younger man’s colour was high from their kiss. “No. You don’t need any clothes at all,” Talan agreed.

“I mean,” Adrian’s lush mouth pressed into a firm line, “any more clothes. What I brought is fine. I don’t need much.”

“Did you leave most of your wardrobe at your old home?” The thought that the man was hedging his bets about leaving, rubbed Talan wrong. Adrian was here to stay. He made a mental note to send some pride members to get the rest of Adrian’s stuff. The alpha knew deep in his bones that Adrian was the perfect mate for him.

Adrian just didn’t know it yet.

The wolf shifter shrugged. “I left behind some furniture since I didn’t know how much space I’d have. I also didn’t bring my desktop computer system. Other than that, that’s all my stuff. Wolves are pretty basic.”

Considering how high maintenance lions were, it was refreshing that his future mate was so laid back. That didn’t mean Adrian wouldn’t soon find himself with a new wardrobe.

Talan’s sisters wouldn’t be able to resist dressing a gorgeous man badly in need of a wardrobe.

Talan searched his mind for which room would make the best office for his mate. There was a well-lit room off the conservatory that Adrian might like. They could have it completely redesigned so it met the needs of the wolf.

Yes, he liked that idea. A study, one that Adrian could help design, would be just the thing to help make the gorgeous wolf feel more at home. Until he could hire a designer, Adrian could use the room off Talan’s master suite as both bedroom and office. It was the guest room where Adrian would sleep until they were officially mated. There was a desk there that could be used temporarily. Once they were mated Adrian could continue to use it as an office until his other one was ready.

“What do you do with all your computers?” It struck Talan strange that as much as he knew about the man’s background and family, he was only roughly aware that Adrian did something with computers for a living.

“Computer consulting for game companies. Designing custom software, video games, that sort of thing.”

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

20

All the male lions perked up.

“What kind of video games?” Dillon asked, gathering Adrian’s bags.

“I was the head designer for the Prince Stryker game.”

“No!” Dillon shouted. “That was my favourite game last year. The battle between the dragon and the scorpion was brilliant.”

There were noises of agreement by the other lions.

Adrian gave a wide, proud smile, making Talan’s breath catch in his throat. If he thought the man was gorgeous before, smiling, he was stunning.

“Thanks, that was my creation.”

“Can we keep him?” Dillon begged, batting his eyes at Talan. “I don’t suppose head designers get new games early?” he asked Adrian.

“Of course. I always get a copy before official release.” There was a collective whimper among the male lions.

“They’ll be even more useless than usual,” Trisha muttered.

Talan couldn’t stop smiling. His lover’s place in the pack was assured. Now all he had to do was convince Adrian to stay.

“Come, I’ll show you your room.”

“Let me grab my bags.”

Talan shook his head. “The guys will bring them.”

“Okay.” Adrian shrugged and followed Talan through the crowd of lion shifters piled on the porch.

A roar had them scattering.

“Do you do that often?” Adrian asked.

“When I need to.” It was important to assert that he was alpha of the pride. Luckily, since he was gay, there was little competition from other young male lions to contest him for mates. Hell, he was related to all the females anyway. It still didn’t stop the occasional stranger from wandering into Talan’s territory and thinking he could come in and take over.

More than one rogue lion met a sad fate for that kind of thinking.

If his parents had lived, Talan would’ve gone nomad and looked for another pride, but his sisters needed him. His only problem was finding a companion. Now that he had Adrian, his life was complete.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

21

It was only a matter of keeping him. Interspecies matings rarely worked. Of course they were also rarely attempted because the creatures that came out of a mixed animal mating were the things of nightmares…if they survived. Luckily two men mating didn’t have to worry about that. That just left the cultural differences.

Lions liked luxury while wolves were the type to relish living off the basics and surviving. Talan decided it was probably easier to get Adrian to like luxury than to get Talan to live in a cabin in the desert. Talan hoped his future mate didn’t become disgusted with the lions’ excess. Adrian’s eco-car didn’t bode well for the future of Talan’s garage. He’d have to keep the Hummer under wraps.

Talan escorted the beautiful wolf to the room adjacent to his. It was a pretty room, but without character as most guest rooms were, but it did have its own bath. He didn’t want the others to see his wolf naked.

Even with Adrian coming, Talan hadn’t made the room more personal because he didn’t plan to have the wolf sleeping in it for long. Soon Adrian would share Talan’s room, as a proper mate should.

“Here it is,” he said with an all-encompassing wave. “I’m right through that door if you want anything.” Hooking an arm around the wolf’s waist, he pulled the smaller man into his arms. “And I do mean anything.”

Lowering his head, he brushed his lips against Adrian’s, eager for another kiss. The man tasted just as divinely as before.

With a leap, Adrian wrapped his legs around Talan’s waist.

“Yes, that’s it, honey. Take what you want,” he encouraged.

Grabbing Adrian’s tight ass, he pressed his future mate closer. Adrian’s cock was definitely larger than the man’s smaller stature implied. Talan felt as if he was going to burst before he ever got to see Adrian naked.

He slid his hand beneath Adrian’s shirt, relishing the silky skin underneath. Adrian’s back was a study of typical shifter muscle definition. You rarely saw an overweight shifter.

Their metabolisms ran too high and the exercise they got in their shifted form burned through the calories.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

22

Ducking his head, Talan inhaled the sweet scent of his mate. He nuzzled into the nape of Adrian’s neck, seeking the source of the smell. Adrian must’ve put some sort of cologne on before coming. It was driving Talan wild.

“Mmmm.” He licked the spot at the base of Adrian’s throat, tasting salty sweat and the yummy wolf beneath. “I could do this all day,” Talan muttered against Adrian’s skin.

“Where do you want your stuff?” Dillon asked, barging into the room. He had one laptop bag across his shoulder, carrying the two other bags in his hands.

“You can put the suitcases on the bed,” Adrian gasped as Talan bit down on his neck.

“Fuck.”

“Wait a minute, big guy,” Dillon said, “some things I don’t want to see. Not to mention, you know you’re rushing things.”

Dillon set down the luggage, wrapped an arm around Adrian and pulled him gently from Talan’s embrace before setting him on the floor.

Talan was pleased when Adrian snapped his teeth at the young lion.

“Hey, I’m saving you from making a mistake,” Dillon said.

“What kind of mistake?” the wolf asked in a sullen tone.

“First step is touching. Any more than that at first meeting exceeds mating ritual.”

“Is that true?” Adrian’s eyes snapped to Talan.

“Yes,” Talan admitted grudgingly. He’d rather rip out his claws than stop touching the sexy wolf, but Dillon was correct and he was in a bad position to challenge the mating laws.

He should’ve had them changed before his mating began. Everyone knew a lion wasn’t in his right frame of mind during mating.

“Get out of here, Talan,” Dillon said, pointing to the adjoining room door. “Before it’s too late and you lose your objectivity.”

Talan glared at Dillon. He particularly hated that the other lion was right. Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on Adrian’s cheek, rubbing his face against the other man’s to mark him before leaving.

“Very subtle,” Dillon smirked.

“I don’t have to be subtle,” Talan said. “I’m the alpha.” Eager to leave Adrian before he lost his mind, Talan left the room without a backwards glance.

FROM PACK TO PRIDE

Amber Kell

23

Chapter Three

Adrian looked at Dillon. “How long does lion mating last?” Dillon shrugged. “It’s different for each couple, but he’s really not supposed to do more than touch you for the first few days. It helps his lion adapt to your presence. It’s particularly important since you’re a wolf. He has to make sure his lion doesn’t see you as prey. Mating can go anywhere from a few days up to a few weeks. I’ve even seen it go as long as three months before the couple felt they could proceed without injury.”

“Three months before mating!” Adrian couldn’t hide his shock. “I was thinking a few days. I don’t know if I can wait that long.” Dillon pierced him with his golden eyes. “Lions take mating very seriously. There are reasons it’s important to get to know our mate before claiming, especially for a mixed species mating. If Talan’s beast doesn’t know you, you could get hurt, even killed. My brother didn’t get to know his mate well enough before he tried a mating.” The lion’s eyes filled with tears.