The Power Of The Bite (21 page)

“Further east,” Dax said, his face scrunching up as if he was trying to remember where. “No wait, his land borders onto ours along the eastern edge, and then runs across the northern coven lines as well. From memory there are not a lot of dwellings, it’s mostly rural areas, which is probably why Carmine chose it.”

“Anton said there wasn’t a lot of pack left, after today’s massacre, so it shouldn’t be too hard to assimilate those members into this pack,” Zane said, thinking fast. “What if we built a new pack house? One that was spread over the Portrain and Carmine borders, but was closer to the coven house as well. That way, full moon runs could be held with both packs in the forest on the northern edge of town.”

“And the coven,” Dax shrugged, “if they wanted to come of course.”

“I know Van would, and if Van wants something, Broz makes sure it happens,” Zane said. He reached out and stroked down the side of Dax’s face, pleased when Dax moved into the touch. “But in the meantime, you and I live together in this pack house until the new one is built. We all run together on the full moon, and every couple of nights or so, you and I can go into the club. I think that place allows us to keep tabs on feelings within the human community and that’s important for pack and coven, as well as for you, as it’s your business.”

“It’s our business,” Dax insisted. “But what’s important to you? What do you want?”

Zane stopped himself from making a flippant response. He had to get his darling mate to understand that ignorance of a species and the way they behaved would only be tolerated for so long. Personally, he felt it had gone on far too long already.

“I am very old,” he said slowly. “Don’t ask me how old, because I stopped counting birthdays well before you were born. I have seen and lived lives you couldn’t even imagine – some good, some not so good, but every experience has contributed to who I am today. There is only one man I know who has more power in the paranormal world than I do. I’m not talking about political power, but honest, personal power that comes from within.”

“Broz,” Dax said, his eyes wide, but he was listening and that was the most important thing as far as Zane was concerned.

“Broz,” Zane agreed. “He is a big man in the paranormal world. Why he chose to hide away in a place like Portrain is beyond me, but he is happy here and I have never questioned his judgment. The thing is, while I understand your wolf’s need to protect me, hide me away in some sort of bubble and pray that nothing comes near me, I can’t live like that. It was hard enough for me living as a human, working as a detective. I used to tell myself that it was only temporary and I wanted to help the community I lived in. I won’t live like that with you.”

“That’s what an Alpha Mate in a pack does,” Dax broke in. “They care, they’re approachable, they are protectors and they balance the Alpha.”

“And I imagine that they have to live in the pack to do all that,” Zane reminded gently. Dax looked pained, and it wasn’t in Zane’s nature to hold a grudge, especially with his mate. He pulled Dax into his arms and let the man take comfort from his scent, taking enjoyment himself from the natural tangle of their limbs and the feel of Dax’s chest against his.

“The pack can’t adapt to a concept, babe. Until they live the reality of having a vampire Alpha Mate, their minds are always going to assume the worse,” Zane said, stroking through Dax’s long hair. “By living here, we can show them by example that they have nothing to fear, and I do believe the pack will be stronger because of it.”

“You cared about me when I treated you so badly in the beginning, and damn if you don’t give a darn good impression of caring for a pack that fear who you are.” Dax’s voice was muffled against Zane’s neck, but Zane could hear him clearly thanks to the quiet of the room.

“They are important to you, you are the only person important to me, so ergo, they have to be cared for by me.” Zane might not know about living in a pack, but he had some pretty good ideas on how to handle wolves.

“We’ll do it.” Dax sighed, and his breath felt warm against Zane’s neck. “Not trusting them meant I was second guessing myself, and keeping things from you was driving me nuts. If I…If I take a leap of faith and jump into this with you, will you catch me if I fall?”

“You won’t fall.” Zane was sure of that fact. “But if anything does make you wobble a bit, I promise I will lend my years of experience and knowhow to whatever comes our way.”

“And if that doesn’t work, you’ll let your vamp out.” Dax had pulled his head from Zane’s neck and was now looking at him intently – there was love shining in his mate’s eyes and Zane couldn’t be happier. He might take a bit of training, but his wolf shifter mate was all he could have hoped for and so much more. 

Epilogue

Zane shared a silent smile with Van as they watched at least ten wolves go pounding across the forest floor, avidly trying to sniff them out. Van’s bright blond curls shone in the pale grey light of the full moon, but the leaves were dense, and so far the wolves hadn’t seen them. Van put his hand over his mouth to stop himself sniggering while Zane searched the forest floor with his keen eyes. The wolves would quickly realize they had lost the scent and come back, but even after four months of playing, the rugged enforcers from the Portrain pack hadn’t learned to look up.

“They’re not the only ones who don’t think outside of the box,” Dax’s voice came from Zane’s left and to his surprise his limber mate swung across from another tree and settled on the branch beside him. “You didn’t see or hear me coming.”

“Wolves don’t climb trees,” Van said quickly, while Zane pulled a pair of sweat pants out of his backpack and handed them to his naked mate. It was the one concession Dax gave him on the pack runs. If he was in human form, Zane preferred that Dax be dressed. Dax didn’t see the need for it, but he did it anyway.

“Living with a vampire is expanding my horizons,” Dax said brightly, his cheeky grin warmer than the sun. “You guys have speed on your side, and you use the whole environment, not just the ground. But a wolf has stealth and can move, dare I say it, like a cat. It’s taken me ten minutes to climb this damn tree, but you two didn’t even notice.”

“What have I told you about watching your back, young Van?” Broz’s voice rang out from where he was perched in another tree.

“I don’t have too, you do it for me,” Van yelled back, his laughter ringing through the forest. Zane listened carefully and sure enough, the enforcers were on their way back. Moments later, big furry forms padded quietly around the tree. The largest one, Lance shifted and stood with his hands on his hips.

“I’m still failing to see how you climbing trees is helping train these enforcers, Alpha Mate,” he called up, unconcerned with his nudity. Zane shook his head, and levering himself off of the branch with his hands, he landed softly on the forest floor below. He straightened up and smirked.

“It’s simple, wee pup,” he said with a laugh, even though he’d explained this to the enforcers a hundred times already. “You wolves track, you do it very well. But you make assumptions every time you do it. What if you were tracking a cat shifter, or a vampire for that matter? Just because you don’t climb trees, or buildings, or things like that, doesn’t mean that others won’t. You have to be alert to danger above, below and all around you.”

“Like you were, you mean?” Dax peered down through the leaves. “You didn’t hear me climb the tree, because ‘wolves don’t climb trees.’” He added the last bit in a sing song voice that made Zane laugh.

“Point taken, Alpha,” he said, still laughing. “But tell me, how are you going to get down, because if memory serves me well, you don’t jump as well as I do either.”

“You’re going to catch me,” Dax said firmly, and before Zane could tell him no, Dax pushed off his branch, straight into Zane’s arms. Both men landed with a thump on the ground and Zane could swear the wolfen enforcers were laughing at him. Lance certainly was.

“Be prepared,” Lance said, bent over he was laughing so much. “You always tell us be prepared. You definitely weren’t prepared for that.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Zane agreed, as he let Dax help him up off the ground. “But I can run a damn sight faster than you in either form. So let’s make it a race. I’ll even give myself a handicap to give you a sporting chance.”

“Last one back makes breakfast?” Lance said, his body tense, getting ready to shift. “What’s the handicap?”

“Your Alpha,” Zane said, as he swung Dax off his feet and took off running through the forest. It was a done deal that Lance would be cooking breakfast, although chances are it was already done. The women in the pack had been more than happy to keep up the housekeeping and cooking in the pack house once they realized that Dax couldn’t cook at all, and Zane wasn’t about to do it too often. Unlike in Nathaniel’s day, the pack had learned that the Alpha’s house was a place for laughter, and often impromptu meals and get-togethers. Dax was proving to be a fair Alpha, but he liked his fun as well and even the assimilation of the Carmine pack members had gone off without a hitch. Carmine leading all of the strong men in his pack on attack, and them getting killed, had certainly helped.

As Zane ran, with Dax’s hand loosely wound around his neck, Zane felt rather than saw other forms joining him. The coven, which now had ten members, all came out for pack runs, and although it wasn’t perfect, the high edge of tension that was normally seen between the two species was gone. One of the new vampires, Alex, had found his mate in the Carmine pack, a sweet little omega wolf called Ryan and with the boundaries between territories virtually erased, life in Portrain was definitely better for all concerned.

“You happy, my mate?” Dax asked as Zane ran up onto the porch, letting Dax slip down his body to stand on his own two feet. He pretended to consider the question. The simple answer was yes, Zane was and he didn’t need to have wolf senses to know that Dax was too.

“Hmmm,” he said with a sly grin. “Hot food, a sexy mate, the possibility of a sleep in all day because of the full moon run. Can’t think of anything to be unhappy about.”

Dax laughed and threw his arms around Zane’s neck, pulling him into a long kiss that spoke of passion and promises. Nope, he definitely didn’t have anything to be unhappy about. As Zane sunk into the kiss, he sent up a note of thanks to the Fates. It was just amazing what the power of one little bite could do. For Zane, and Dax, it had been a life changer.

The End

Note to readers: This book was always meant to be read as a complete standalone, separate from any of my other series (see list below). However, my characters all mean a lot to me, and I can’t help thinking that maybe Alex and Ryan’s story might have to be told, or maybe Lance and Nico’s. I have a feeling they will, but it won’t be until next year (2016). In the meantime I do hope you liked this story, and if you did, please leave me a review.  Have a great holiday seaso
n
.

Other Books By Lisa Oliver

Cloverleah Pack

Book 1 – The Reluctant Wolf – Kane and Shawn

Book 2 – The Runaway Cat – Griff and Diablo

Book 2.5 – It’s All In The Blood – Griff and Diablo’s trip – short story (Will be written early 2016)

Book 3 – When No Doesn’t Cut It – Damien and Scott

Book 3.5 – Never Go Back – Scott and Damien’s Trip and a free story about Malacai and Elijah

Book 4 – Calming the Enforcer – Troy and Anton

Book 5 – Getting Close to the Omega – Dean and Matthew

Book 6 – Fae For All – Jax, Aelfric and Fafnir (M/M/M)

Book 7 – Watching Out For Fangs –Josh and Vadim

Book 8 – Tobias in Turmoil – (Coming Jan/Feb 2016)

Bound and Bonded Series

Book One – Don’t Touch – Levi and Steel

Book Two – Topping the Dom – Pearson and Dante

Book Three – Total Submission – Kyle and Teric

Book Four – Fighting Fangs – Ace and Devin

Book Five – No Mate of Mine – Roger and Cam

Book Six – Undesirable Mate (Coming early 2016)

Stockton Wolves Series

Book One – Get off My Case – Shane and Dimitri

Book Two – Copping a Lot of Sin – Ben, Sin and Gabriel (M/M/M)

Book Three – Mace’s Awakening – (coming March/April 2016)

Alpha and Omega Series

Book One – The Biker’s Omega – Marly and Trent

Book Two – Dance Around The Cop – Zander and Terry

Book 2.5 – Change of Plans - Q and Sully – short story, (Coming early 2016)

Book Three – The Artist And His Alpha (Coming Jan/Feb 2016)

Shifter’s Uprising Series – in conjunction with Thomas J. Oliver

Book One – Uncaged – Carlin and Lucas

Book Two – Fly Free (Coming March/April 2016)

About the Author

Lisa Oliver had been writing non-fiction books for years when visions of half dressed, buff men started invading her dreams.  Unable to resist the lure of her stories, Lisa decided to switch to fiction books, and now stories about her men clamor to get out from under her fingertips. 

When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it, is to promise her chocolate.  Lisa will do anything for chocolate.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers.  You can friend her on Facebook (
http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor
), catch up on what’s happening at her blog (
http://www.supernaturalsmut.com
) or email her directly at
[email protected]
.