Not My Wolf (4 page)

All the blood drained from
Laramie
’s face, leaving him pale and shaken. For a minute, Corey stood in shock and then he snapped, “Let him down, Devin.”

Instead Devin slammed
Laramie
again. “Apologize now.”

“Devin!” Corey roared.

He was about to move around his desk to force him to let go when
Laramie
whispered, “Sir, I’m sorry, sir.”

“Go,” Corey bit out, and Devin dropped him. He scrambled out of the office. Was this why Corrin fled? Devin would never treat his sister that way, would he? He got his answer with Devin’s next words.

“No one speaks to you like that. They
will
respect you, or I will deal with them.”

“Just as you told your sister,” Corey shot back, “I can deal with my own problems.”

Devin faced him. His breathing was heavy, causing his barrel of a chest to rise and fall at a rapid rate. Corey turned away so he didn’t have to see it.

“What you should have done was put him on his backside with your boot at his throat,” Devin advised. “That would have taught him and any others who wanted to mouth off at you to watch their tongue.”

“And what about your tongue?” Corey turned back and got up in his face. “What about you, Devin? You’ve disrespected me from the first time I met you. And what you did with that little stunt you pulled just now was undermine my authority. You think he won’t go tell others how his Alpha needed a stranger to control his man?”

Devin stepped closer as well. “I haven’t disrespected you. I acknowledged you, but you’re too stubborn to admit what you know is true.”

“The hell I do!” Corey shouted. “Do you have any idea what’s going on around here? You, who want what you want, don’t give a damn about the issues we’re facing, that
I’m
facing as the leader. I’ve got a hundred and fifty people out there I have to think about. Many are women and children. I can’t just make rash decisions.”

“I’m sorry,” Devin said grudgingly.

Corey’s eyes widened.

“I said I’m sorry.” Devin’s hands dropped onto Corey’s shoulders. His thumb traced circles on Corey’s cheek, and he felt all the anger from a moment ago dissipate. He told his feet to step back out of this man’s reach, but he couldn’t move. Devin came closer. Their bodies were just short of touching. “You have so much on you, and I should be helping you to stay calm, not riling you up.”

“I-It doesn’t matter,” Corey croaked. He broke their eye contact by lowering his head, but he didn’t move away. Every fiber of his being liked him just where he was and strained for more.

“It matters,” Devin insisted. “You’re under a lot of stress. You need a release. I firmly believe a good stress reliever helps when things begin to pile up. A person makes better decisions.”

“Don’t,” Corey told him.

Devin slid one hand down Corey’s arm until he reached his hand. Their fingers didn’t interlace, but they did play together a little with slight touches. Devin continued his movements until he circled around to Corey’s cock. The appendage grew hard and extended from the first caress. Corey drew in a shuddering breath.

“Don’t do that,” he forced out.

Devin massaged his cock through his jeans and squeezed. Corey could curse it felt so good. He put his hand over Devin’s intending to force him to quit, but he did nothing but hold him there, letting him run his fingers over Corey’s full length. Shame and desire twisted in his gut.

Devin moved in closer. He wrapped his other arm around Corey’s waist and pressed his body close. His hand continued to work Corey’s cock, but when he leaned in as if he was about to kiss Corey, he snapped out of it. He shoved Devin hard, sending the man stumbling back several feet until he hit the office door.

“I said cut it out,” Corey repeated. “I’m not like that.”

He assumed Devin would insist he was, but he just turned and left the office. Corey went around his desk and fell onto his chair. He laid his head on his folded hands and willed his erection to ease while he thought of a solution to all his problems.

Chapter Four

“So how’s it going?”
Blaine
asked.

Corey tightened his jaw. “You know how it’s going.” They stood at the side watching a couple of the men train in the workout room Corey had built a few years ago. The decision had turned out to be a good one since all of the men and many of the women used it. Mats were laid out in the center today so that people could spar. Shifted or in human form made no difference. Because of this, many in the room were naked, although they had the grace to keep a towel wrapped around them until their turn came.

Devin was among them, proud and strong. He stood above the other men, Corey couldn’t help admitting. His shoulders were wider, chest broader. Every part of his solid form was in top shape down to his meaty thighs and solid calves. The towel he wore hung low on his waist, barely knotted. The front extended out a bit giving the impression that he had much more to be proud of. Corey forced his gaze from there to the man’s face. He felt warmth entering his cheeks when Devin tossed the towel aside before he shifted. There were several gasps and even a few whistles of appreciation, but Corey refused to look for himself.

Devin’s stare met his, and he gave a slight nod before he was on all fours with fur covering his body. His coat was not electric blue like the rest of them, but it did have a blue blush to it. Even if he wasn’t full-blooded fenrir, he was massive like one, all corded muscle and power.

Corey glanced over at his opponent.
Laramie
of all men.
No match. He doesn’t stand a chance.

“Is that a look of pride in your eyes?”
Blaine
asked, and Corey pinned him with his glare.

“Shut the hell up.”

“You have to admit there’s something between you.”

“No, actually, I don’t. He’s not mine.”

Blaine
leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched Devin floor
Laramie
with ease, but another wolf joined in the fight—not uncommon. Corey restrained himself from moving.

“Why can’t you entertain the possibility?”
Blaine
asked him. “I mean look at him. He’s perfect. He broke it off the second he saw you, but kissing him was good. Maybe I should make another play for him.”

Corey jerked
Blaine
’s shirt front. “Keep your damn hands off him, even in playing around.”

Around them several people gasped and watched them rather than the fight. Corey released
Blaine
.

“Whoa, buddy, okay,”
Blaine
said chuckling. He held up his hands in surrender. “I won’t touch the guy who is definitely
not
your wolf mate.”

Corey pretended he didn’t hear the sarcasm.

“Anyway, he’s been going around defending your leadership, putting down anyone who would speak against you, and hinting that you’re working on fixing the problem with the rival pack, saying they need to be behind you rather than flapping their gums with complaints. He’s your biggest fan. Some have suggested that you brought him in to help quell the dissention among the ranks.”

“He’s overstepping his bounds is what he’s doing,” Corey grumbled. “I will have to haul his ass into my office again and have another talk. I let them stay, but that can be overturned at any time.”

Blaine
shrugged. “His methods may be caveman, but you know these shifters respond better to aggressiveness. They’re like humans in many ways, but they’re still part animal. The wildness needs to be tamed by a firm lead. Whoa, whoa before you start thinking I’m accusing you of not being a good Alpha, that’s not what I mean.”

“Then why don’t you make it clear to me what you’re saying,
Blaine
.” Corey narrowed his eyes at him. “And be careful of what you say. Or do you at last want to challenge my position?”

“No way. I’m happy with my lot in life,” his friend assured him. “What I’m saying is you know how we believe our mate is the missing part of us?”

“Yeah so?”

“So what if your mate is the one that tames the wildness.”

Corey clenched his hands into fists. “That’s like saying I can’t lead my men.”

“No, I’m saying your mate tames the wildness, the animal. You’ve led us into the twenty-first century with modern technology, with interaction with humans. You run this homestead like a business and made it more profitable than any Alpha before you. You’re everything we needed, Corey, and no one knows that better than I do. So, don’t think for a moment that I’m with the
few
that say different.”

He answered with no more than a grunt and focused back on the fight. Devin had put down the next man, along with two more who came at him. In the end, each of his opponents bowed to his superiority even if they resented it. Devin changed back to his human form, and Corey noted the gash on his thigh. That led to seeing his cock, jutting out from his body, hard and thick. Corey jerked his gaze away and turned his back. He left the gym giving himself the excuse that it was about work and not about running away from his physical reaction to Devin.

* * * *

Devin woke up from the feeling of hands around his cock. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his top lip. He pushed the sheet away and discovered his shaft had grown erect. He sighed. The dream had done it, another one where he held Corey in his arms after they’d made love. In it, Corey had pushed has ass back toward Devin’s crotch and begged for another round. Devin had been all for it because he was not satisfied. Now that he was awake he knew why. He still hadn’t come. His aching need for his mate made him feel like he was going out of his mind. Never in all his scenarios thinking about what their first meeting would be like did he consider that his mate wouldn’t be gay.

He rolled to the side of the bed and sat up. Running a hand through his messy hair, he pushed it back off his forehead. His gaze caught the cut at his thigh. He’d felt Corey’s alarm seeing him hurt, and then the naked lust afterward. That meant he’d seen him naked. Devin grinned. He had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to his body, and he’d shown it by purposely tossing aside the towel before he shifted. He wanted Corey’s eyes on him.

I want more than his eyes on me
, he thought and stood up. He listened at Corrin’s door before he left the cabin and headed in the direction of Corey’s. While he walked, he picked up on several night watchmen who rotated shifts to be sure no one infiltrated the area. Devin had a few ideas on making that system more efficient, but for the time being he kept them to himself. Corey wouldn’t welcome his interference again. Not directly anyway. He had no intention of stopping what he was doing among the members. They would follow his mate if he had to beat them into submission.

He grinned at the thought. He’d never been behind his former Alpha as he was behind Corey, even if he didn’t believe it. Devin knew he wasn’t a Beta, so
Blaine
had nothing to worry about. He was an Alpha, but if he couldn’t have that position—because he refused to fight Corey for it—then he would support him.
Corey
. His heart ached for his one, not to mention his body.

Devin stopped outside of Corey’s cabin and looked up at the windows. They were dark. He knew the door was locked, but the powerful drive to be nearer to Corey wasn’t something to be denied tonight. The moon shone brightly overhead, almost taunting him to go inside. Living by their wits over the last few months, Devin and his sister had experienced situations that caused Devin to pick up a few tricks. He knew how to pick a lock.