Vegan-licious Omega (3 page)

Chapter Two

The three largest wolves in the New
Haven pack hunkered down in the backyard of their Alpha to have an impromptu
barbeque. Their Alpha, Carlos Medina, had just come from a run, so all he wore
was a pair of jeans and an oil-stained apron that read “like my cooking or get
eaten” while he readied the grill.

“I was having a good run up in the
mountains hunting some deer. When I came back to town the first thing I get is
a call from the town mayor about my two Betas,” Carlos began conversationally.

Don and Derrick traded worried
looks with each other. While Don didn’t lie to Ricky about their Alpha being a
decent pack leader, he could be temperamental at times. Not good for a man with
high blood pressure, although most people wouldn’t guess that Carlos had health
problems just by looking at him. The man’s padded bulk of muscles could even
give Derrick a run for his money.

“Well, boss.” Derrick licked his
lips when Carlos held out a hand, motioning to Derrick not to speak.

With knife in hand, Carlos knelt
down to his fresh kill, which was nestled between the covers of an old canvas
sheet. The strong smell of blood hung in the air, coppery and especially
alluring when Don imagined the fresh meat that accompanied it. Only a single
ring of teeth dotted the deer’s twisted neck. It was a fast and efficient kill.

“As I was saying, the mayor calls
me, telling me my usually most behaved wolves are wrecking havoc by the
grocery.”

Carlos didn’t look at either of
them while he worked. He was an expert butcher. Like his kill, each slice was
precise, giving way to tender red meat that made Don’s stomach rumble. Being
one of the few wolves that didn’t eat meat Derrick looked unmoved by the
tempting offering.

“On one hand, I was thinking it was
fine if one of my enforcers was simply flushing out an unwanted intruder. I’d
just settle things with the mayor. It’s another thing when you’re told your
wolves are acting indecently in public. Now that is an embarrassment.”

Both of Carlos’ hands were covered
in blood, but he had even slices of steak now. These, he threw on the grill.
Don didn’t know why he bothered. Werewolves naturally ate hunted meat raw, but
perhaps their Alpha was tormenting them a little. Well, just
him
anyway, since being a diabetic wolf that didn’t eat meat meant that all Derrick
ate were sugar-free goods made by his mate.

Carlos let the uneasy silence drag
on, making them sweat before he finally spoke. “So what is it about this wolf,
Don, that you’d almost fuck him in broad daylight like a bitch in heat?”

Don stiffened. “I didn’t fuck him,
Carlos. He just gave me an unexpected blow job.”

“Oh boy.”

Don chose to ignore Derrick’s
comment. Since he was a newcomer, the other Beta didn’t know Carlos as well as
he did. They’d known each since they were boys. Grown up together, served
together, and got bitten together. Then they’d spent the next few years
controlling their beasts, and after that, tried to shape the group of rejected
wolves they were saddled with into a functional and formidable pack. Carlos
sighed, and began to serve his chops onto plates. He then offered a plate to
both of them. Don eagerly gobbled it up, while Derrick looked at it
tentatively. One look from Carlos made him nibble its edges. On any other
normal day, Don would tease him about it, but there were other important
matters at hand.

“Well then, Don. What’s your
assessment of this wolf you’ve decided to spare? What makes him so different
that you’d reconsider killing him on sight like any other shifter spy sniffing
around town?”

He’s our mate, Don’s wolf argued,
but he urged the beast to shut up. Now wasn’t the right time to bring that
particular sensitive nugget of information out, not until he heard what their
Alpha decided.

“The Omega’s relatively harmless.”
Don considered his next words carefully. Carlos munched on his steak, watching
him intently. “If he’s a spy, then he’s a poor one. He was really frightened,
Carlos. I’m not sure if he volunteered for the job or he was forced into it,
but he seemed reluctant to go back to his own pack.
Even at
the cost of his life.”

Carlos frowned, turning to Derrick.
“Ricky Starr’s from your old pack. What do you know about him?”

“He carries the Starr family name,
so he’s probably one of my father’s many bastards. I don’t know him personally,
but I do know that sack of shit he calls mate. Clive isn’t a dominant wolf any
submissive wolf would go to willingly for protection.”

A thin growl tickled out of Don’s
throat. He could feel his pupils dilating as his control over his human half
wobbled. The way Ricky smelled and reacted was still fresh in his mind. Deeply
rooted fear rolled off him in waves and every muscle in his body tensed.

Carlos ignored him, but Don had a
feeling the Alpha noted how he reacted. “What kind of wolf is he then?”

“The kind that’s
a last resort.
In the Starr Mountain pack, only the strong survive. The
weak are expected to fend for themselves. Sometimes that means baring their
throats and bellies to another dominant wolf who won’t hesitate to abuse them,”
Derrick said sourly.

“We can’t allow him to go back to
them.” The words burst out of Don’s throat before he could control himself.

The urge to protect the weaker
wolf, to curl himself possessively against the Omega was so strong it nearly
overwhelmed him. The thought of another wolf wanting to take advantage of what
was rightfully his drove him crazy to the point of insanity. With only his baser
and primal bestial instincts guiding him, he’d hunt down that bastard and rip
him to shreds until there was nothing of him let to find. Once that wolf was
gone, he’d leave his marks all over Ricky so everyone knew the little Omega
belonged to him.

Submissive wolves appealed for the
protection of dominant wolves, and the dominant wolf would fight and defend the
weaker wolf with their lives. That was how it worked.

Dangerous thoughts.
After so many unsuccessful matings, didn’t
I swear to myself I’d never bother finding one again?
Those wolves meant
nothing to him though. Don had never reacted as strongly to anyone like how he
reacted to the other Omega.

“Do you want to adopt him and take
him home then, Don?” Carlos asked him in a mocking voice. “What happens if you
tire of him?”

“I won’t tire of him, Carlos.
What’s your verdict on this?”

“The Starr Mountain pack will have
someone tailing him from a distance,” Derrick observed. “They’ll probably be
wondering why they haven’t heard from him by now.”

“Ricky won’t tattle.”

“Don, how many times have you told
the other wolves to not let emotion get in the way of cold logic?” Carlos asked
him calmly, although Don could see his patience was at an end. “If he could
report nothing, then he’s free to leave, but only because you both say he’s
relatively harmless.”

“If that’s your decision, then that
means I can do what I want with him, right?” Don challenged, despite knowing he
was pushing the boundaries of their friendship.

“Give your Omega a fucking-tastic
send-off if you wish, but I want this matter closed and dealt with.”

Once Carlos retreated inside the
house, Don spoke to Derrick in a low voice. “You’re sure there’s another wolf
from the Starr Mountain pack involved?”

“I’m sure.” Derrick gave him a long
look of appraisal. “Don, you really care for this wolf, don’t you?”

Don ignored his question. For some
reason he was a hundred percent certain who Ricky’s contact would be, and he
needed to be the one to deal with him.

“I need you to pass a message to
the other pack enforcers. They can keep tabs on this intruder, but none of them
are allowed to touch him. It’s my kill. You understand?”

Derrick slapped his shoulder in
agreement. “I’ll pass the word along. It’s your kill.”

****

Ricky paced the length of Don’s
small but comfy apartment, occasionally glancing at the clock in the living
room. His nerves weren’t just frayed. They were shot to hell. Time seemed to
crawl at a painful pace and walking restlessly like this wouldn’t do him any
good.

During the chase just now, he’d
lost his smartphone and it would’ve been too suspicious to backtrack and find
it with Don breathing down his neck. Despite the sexual tension threatening to
burst between them, the Beta still distrusted him. Pity was the only reason Don
and Derrick let him live. Don even trusted him enough to leave him in the
apartment alone, but Ricky had a feeling if he’d crossed the line, the Beta
wouldn’t hesitate to do what needed to be doing.

“So why am I still here?” Ricky
wondered out loud, glancing at the clock again.

It was nearing six now, three hours
past the agreed upon meeting time. Somewhere outside the borders of New Haven,
Clive was waiting impatiently for his first report, and Ricky suspected he
wasn’t all that happy. The prospect of a thrashing didn’t appeal to Ricky, but
his body was used to taking beatings. What he wouldn’t be able to take was the
emotional beating he’d give Don if he continued to involve the dominant wolf
with his problems. Ricky’s wolf was never this attracted to any other wolf and
he still couldn’t entirely make sense of the confusing mess of emotions he
harbored towards Don.

“I know nothing good would come out
of this, so why am I still here waiting for Don to come back? Why don’t I just
leave?”

Just thinking about Don’s hand
fisting his hair as he guided Ricky to his waiting and eager
cock
made him flush
with desire again. It had been hours since Don left him,
but his skin still tingled with anticipation when the other man’s flesh brushed
against his. What he wouldn’t give for their flesh to violently collide, and
their beasts to fight and tangle with each other again.

He hooked a finger into his shirt
and sniffed, closing his eyes to inhale a lungful of the dominant Beta’s
wonderful scent. Ricky made his decision. He was a coward and had always been a
coward, but he wasn’t running this time to save his own skin. The thought of
indirectly hurting Don was just something he couldn’t swallow.

“If you keep rubbing your little
nose all over my scent like that you’re going to drive me mad.”

Ricky jumped at Don’s voice. A
shiver crawled down his spine at the man’s wonderful masculine laugh.
Fuck. Damn him and his sexy laugh.
Noticing
the other man had an armful of groceries with
him,
Ricky followed him to the kitchen and leaned against the counter, crossing his
arms. His stomach rumbled, even though he’d already devoured an entire box of
microwave Tofurky patties.

Strange.
I don’t smell meat at all.

Greedily eying the bags, he asked,
“You did some grocery shopping?”

“I’m cooking dinner. You look a
little worn out. Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Why? I’m not tired.” Ricky yelped
when Don leaned over the other end of the counter and grabbed his shirt.

He sniffed at Ricky, then pressed
his nose to his cheek and slowly sniffed his way downward to his neck. The
strangely intimate gesture made him shudder, especially when he felt Don’s wet
tongue lick the side of his neck. Wetting his lips, Don licked Ricky’s neck
again, as if he wanted more than a mere taste. It felt like the other wolf was
intent on marking his territory. The thought made the bulge in Ricky’s jeans
grow embarrassingly larger. Possessed suddenly by need, Ricky eagerly leaned
forward when he felt the edge of Don’s teeth.

Don abruptly let him go. “You smell
and taste like anxiety. So get your little furry ass to bed. My bedroom’s just
past the living room.”

Disappointed but not angry, Ricky
only nodded and obeyed. He understood all too well what would happen if Don
marked him. That path would only take him a step closer to being claimed by the
other wolf, and he couldn’t have that if he wanted nothing to do with Don.

The last thing he wanted to do was
hurt the only man who’d showed him some measure of kindness. Don could be one
scary son-of-a-bitch dominant wolf, but some part of Ricky knew the Beta would
never hurt him intentionally.

The press of the bed’s warm cotton
sheets against his tired body made him
sigh
. Ricky
breathed in Don’s scent deeply because that was all he was getting.
Safe.
He felt safe and it was a wonderful feeling not
needing to be alert every second because hurt was just around the corner. Why
he even thought of leaving earlier made him feel foolish. After what seemed
like a long time, Ricky let himself be lulled into a deep and dreamless sleep.

It was the smell of something spicy
and heavenly that woke him up. Rubbing his heavy eyelids, Ricky pulled the
blanket off him and padded out the room. The smell of curry and spices wafted
through the entire apartment, making his mouth water and his stomach rumble. The
smell lured him back to the kitchen where a full pot was shimmering with thick
yellow curry.

“Had a good nap?” Don asked.

Physical hunger was replaced by
another kind. Barefoot, wearing only a pair of jeans and a faded thin cotton
blue apron, Ricky practically salivated at the sight of Don’s exposed flesh. He
could see the other man’s nipples through the almost sheer apron, and the curl
of dark hair trailing down to the line of his jeans.

“Ricky, I know you’re hungry, but
don’t drool over the pot,” Don chided. The evil glint in his eye told Ricky the
other man knew it wasn’t just the food he was drooling at.

Trying desperately to regain his
dignity, Ricky cleared his throat and peered inside the pot. “Smells delicious,
are there any veggies in there?”