Rough River Coyotes 8

Protecting a Wanted Mate

He was more than willing to serve and protect…

Ex–county deputy Billy Dornan is having the worst string of bad luck. When he came forward to clear an innocent man of murder, his secret life as a Dom was exposed, putting his job in jeopardy. Determined to find the real murderer, he’s thwarted by members of the press hounding him for salacious details. Finding a naked man in his bed only adds to the heavy burden, especially when the man is a picture-perfect submissive.

Cody Smith has only known a life of misery. When he smells his mate, he shifts and hunts Billy down. Relieved to be under the protection of his powerful alpha mate, Cody is stunned when unanticipated changes alter his form.

In a relationship rife with conflicts, Billy is still determined to protect his mate, but will he be willing to make a tremendous sacrifice to do so?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter Length: 40,863 words

PROTECTING A WANTED MATE
Rough River Coyotes 8
Anitra Lynn McLeod

EVERLASTING CLASSIC MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

PROTECTING A WANTED MATE Copyright © 2012 by Anitra Lynn McLeod E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-289-1

First E-book Publication: October 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley

All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

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Letter to Readers

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DEDICATION

For those who know that protecting the one we love is always a top priority.

PROTECTING A WANTED MATE

Rough River Coyotes 8
ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD

Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1

Normally, finding a naked man in his bed would be a dream come true for Billy Dornan, but not when every reporter in the country was trying to get a scoop on him.

“Hey.” Billy grasped the small man’s shoulder and gave him a shake. “Get the hell out of my bed before I call the police and have you arrested.”

The young man didn’t stir.
Billy sighed and went so far as to pick up his phone, but he held it in his hand, considering. Oh. Very clever. That would be just the tactic to get some more dirt on him. As if what they already had wasn’t bad enough. Billy just bet if he called the cops this guy would claim rape or some other such nonsense, so he put the phone back in the cradle. One reporter had actually tried to come on to him in the restroom of the Scorpion Café. When Billy turned him down, he said he was going to tell everyone he said yes anyway, so why not get a little something out of it? Billy had whipped out his smartphone and informed the man he had been recording the entire encounter. He hadn’t, but the bluff worked, and the reporter had left him alone.
Since then, Billy had made a point of avoiding public places unless he absolutely had to go out. Tonight, he’d waited until it was dark, and then he drove all the way over to Red Butte just to go grocery shopping. He had the entire place to himself since most people were out on dates for Friday night. But not Billy. No, he wouldn’t be dating again for a very long time, especially since his dating life was what had gotten him into trouble.
He’d returned home and put everything away, ignored the two dozen messages on his voice mail, and took a long and hot shower. He considered shaving his beard, but it altered his features enough that people didn’t automatically recognize him from the picture that had been splashed around the country. By letting his black hair grow out along with his beard, he decided he looked a little scruffy, a little dangerous, and hardly anything like Deputy William Dornan.
Now he was ready for bed, but someone had left him a little playmate. What annoyed Billy was that the man was precisely his type. He was at best five two, which put him exactly a foot shorter than Billy. The lightly muscled man probably weighed in at one thirty, which gave Billy eighty pounds on him. Even in the dim light, Billy could tell his hair was light brown and very fine in texture as the strands caught easily in the blanket he’d swaddled himself in. Since his eyes were closed, Billy had no idea what color they were, but that didn’t matter so much as the shape of them. What the man had that turned Billy on the most was an overriding air of incorruptibility. Long lashes rested against cheeks that would blush easily. Given the delicate arch of his orbital bone, his eyes, whatever color they might be, were big. On his knees, looking up the long length of Billy’s body, he’d look innocent and worshipful. Watching his cock slide between those soft red lips would be a vision he’d thoroughly enjoy.
Billy got an erection so fast he had to stand up and rearrange his dick in his shorts.
When he settled back on the edge of his bed, he noticed a scent he hadn’t been fully aware of before. Damn, but something smelled so astonishingly good Billy was having a difficult time keeping his hands off his slumbering bedmate. He only did by gritting his teeth and reminding himself that if he dared to lay a hand on this man, that was when he’d pop up screaming about how Billy had forced him to engage in kinky sex with him. It was another nightmare he simply didn’t need. Not that he needed the first one, but he certainly didn’t need to put any more fuel on that particular fire.
Running his gaze down the man’s body, Billy took stock of his form. After a long internal debate, he pushed the covers away so he could see his ass. Not to touch, only to look. What he saw practically made him drool. Two high, tight, and rounded buttocks would jiggle beautifully below a paddle or even his hand. The urge to reach out and smack him a good one was almost irresistible, but resist he did. Billy’s sexual predilections were what put him in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was determined to leave that life behind.
He chuckled at the pun, but then anger surged at all the crap he’d endured since coming forward to clear another man’s name. All Billy had wanted to do was ensure an innocent man wasn’t wrongly convicted of a felony. He had reached that goal, but in the same breath he’d destroyed his career in law enforcement. His case was pending, but he already knew he wouldn’t be going back to work as a deputy. As he obscured his features by refusing to groom himself, he was slowly but systematically obscuring the man he used to be, too.
Billy regretted the fallout, but notwhat he’d done. He knew Owen Conner wasn’t guilty of murder. He’d seen him and another man at the Basement. The BDSM club had been operating under the Last Resort bar for over two decades. There had never been an incident until a man was beaten to death. Owen had been wrongly accused of the crime, and when his high-profile lover, Noel Forney, had stepped forward to alibi Owen despite the damage to his reputation, Billy had been inspired to come forward as well.
Owen and Noel had been in the room where the fatal beating had occurred, but there had been another couple who came in after they had left. Billy knew for a fact that Owen had driven away with Noel on the back of his motorcycle before midnight because Billy had made a note of the license plate number. Billy had done this not because he’d anticipated trouble, but for years he’d wondered who The Mask was. When he found out it was paralegal Owen Conner, Billy had reveled in the information. Not that he intended to tell anyone. Just knowing was eye-opening and gave him a secret thrill.
To the outside world, Owen was just like Billy. He was a lawabiding citizen with a regular job. Owen worked, paid his taxes, and did all the things that good people did. He just happened to have a lust for kink. Just like Billy. If it was consensual, then there should be no problem. But there was. Most people didn’t understand the drive to engage in BDSM. Some people felt threatened by the very idea of that kind of leather-clad, raw sexual expression. To some members of the small community, they apparently thought that anyone who enjoyed such things was a sexual deviant who would eventually run amok in the streets and commit foul acts against unsuspecting citizens.
The very idea was ludicrous.
Just like any other well-adjusted man, Billy was in full control of his baser urges. It was just that when he wanted to have sex, he liked to have a little bondage and discipline. Not always, but sometimes. Nothing was better than slapping a nicely rounded butt rosy and then sinking his cock deep between the burning cheeks. And Billy never went against the three basic tenants of safe, sane, and consensual. That was what having a place like the Basement gave him. There, Billy could find like-minded partners. Together they could have their needs met in a controlled environment. But someone had gotten out of control. That someone had literally beaten a man to death.
If Billy did nothing else with his life, he was going to find out who killed Samuel Douglas. He was going to track down the man who had taken his kink too far. What sickened him was that the person had had Samuel’s consent to enact a very rough game. Samuel liked to be struck hard enough for the cane to draw blood, but only on his buttocks. The man interviewing Samuel had made a face of utter disgust when Samuel had said that, but Billy understood. To Samuel, the pain translated to pleasure, and when he was finally allowed to have an orgasm, he reached a place of sublime ecstasy. But his partner had gone overboard. By using a heavier cane and deliberately concentrating blows at the small of his back rather than his buttocks, the man had damaged Samuel’s kidneys beyond repair.
Whoever the man was, he’d also intentionally impersonated Owen Conner by wearing a mask similar to Owen’s and convincing Samuel he was The Mask. Because of a need to keep his identity a secret, Owen had taken to wearing a mask when he came to the club. Owen eventually picked up the nickname The Mask, and he was highly sought after. But Owen had not been with Samuel that night. By the time Samuel escaped his abuser and cried out for help, it was past one in the morning and Owen had been gone for an hour.
Billy had been there, and he’d done his best to render aid to Samuel, but he’d also disappeared as soon as the cops arrived. The last thing he needed was to be connected with a sex club. It was already bad enough his boss, the sheriff of Scorpion County, was the biggest homophobic jerk in the universe. If old Judd Kingsley got one whiff of Billy’s extracurricular activities, he’d never let him hear the end of it. But then an innocent man was arrested, and Billy had to tell what he knew or the guilt would have destroyed him.
Since he’d stepped forward two weeks ago, Billy had been hounded relentlessly by newspeople. He had been removed from his job as a deputy pending a review because of potential moral issues. What just about killed him was that he’d stepped forward because it was the morally right thing to do. However, he was later punished because he’d been engaged in “morally questionable” practices.
“I’m a moral man with questionable moral practices.”
Again, Billy’s gaze wandered over the buttocks of the man sleeping in his bed. If he truly had warped morals, he would tie him up, fuck him raw, and then toss him out on his thoroughly banged bottom. But since Billy wasn’t into that kind of garbage, he sat on the edge of his bed and wondered what to do. What was the correct moral thing for him to do in this situation?
The answer was complicated by the fact the man had done the wrong thing by breaking into Billy’s apartment. Or had he? Billy left the bedside. The front door of his apartment had been locked when he returned because he’d almost dropped a bag of groceries trying to unlock it. But that didn’t mean he’d locked it when he’d left. This man could have found the door unlocked, entered, and gone to sleep.
Closing his eyes, Billy pictured himself leaving for Red Butte. He’d pulled on his shoes, slipped his wallet in his back pocket, pulled on a baseball cap, dragging it low to shade his face even though it was dark out. He only covered up to thwart anyone trying to get a picture of him from a distance. He saw himself exiting the apartment and…yes. He had locked the door because he thought he’d heard someone comingup the stairs. In order to have his hands free, he’d quickly locked the door and stuffed the keys in his front pocket because he’d had to pull them out to get into his car.
So, he’d locked the only door into and out of his home. Next, he went in a methodical circle examining the windows. Since he was standing in the living room, he started there. Both of the windows were closed and locked, as was the window above the kitchen sink. He found the problem in the bathroom. The vent fan in the ceiling was brokenso he’d been cracking the window open after his morning showers. He remembered doing so this morning, and the window had been open when he’d showered this evening. Billy was sure it was psychological that he found the need to shower twice a day. Apparently, his little cleanliness issue allowed his slumbering bedmate a way into his place.
Checking the window again, he realized only a very small person could fit through that space. Even though the damage had been done, Billy closed and locked the window. There was no sense inviting more trouble in. And for some very strange reason he didn’t want his interloper to get out.
Billy returned to his bedroom, slid off his shorts, and found his playmate had swaddled the blankets back around himself. As much as he wanted to wake him up, he also didn’t want to. He’d obviously come here for a reason. Maybe he wanted a story. Billy wanted a warm body to sleep next to. Maybe the two of them could come to a trade.
“I should probably give you a name. Something descriptive.” Billy sighed as he looked down at—“Teddy. Because a man named Billy needs to have his teddy bear.” Although, in Billy’s adult fantasies, he didn’t just hold Teddy’s hand.
Billy slid into his bed and found that alluring scent was stronger now. Moving slowly, he stretched out so that he and Teddy were pressed together. Since both of them were nude, Billy was able to feel how smooth Teddy’s skin was. Maybe Teddy had used some lotion and that was what was making that wickedly alluring scent. Billy took mental inventory of the items in his bathroom, but he didn’t recall anything with that delectable aroma.
When Teddy moaned and wrapped his arm around Billy, he almost pushed him away. Almost. But something stopped him. Whoever he was, he was obviously exhausted. Maybe he didn’t have any connection to the news. Whatever his story, it would have to wait for the morning because Billy was too exhausted to worry about it now.
“Please.”
Billy lifted up and gazed down at the man in his bed. “What?”
“Please.” He clung to Billy’s shoulders and pressed his face against his chest. “I don’t want to go back.”
“Back where?”
“Back to the room with red-painted walls.”
Billy had no idea where that was, but red was a color that said stop, danger, or pain. In the club, red placards were placed on a door to indicate the participants were enacting a heavy scene that would involve screaming and bloodletting. It was a warning to other club members that they might want to stay away.
“Please.”
“I won’t make you go back.” Something about the way Teddy clung to him told Billy he wasn’t here for anything other than protection. For whatever reason, Teddy had come here because he felt safe.
“Thank you.” Teddy relaxed and fell back into a deep slumber.
Carefully, Billy slid back out of bed and pulled his shorts on. He felt like the worst kind of pervert. What the hell had he been thinking? Sliding into bed with a stranger when both of them were naked was practically begging for trouble. The only thing Billy could figure was that the smell, that goddamned compelling aroma, had infiltrated his mind and temporarily short-circuited his better judgment. But no more.
Billy grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the linen closet near the bathroom and stretched out on the couch. He got up, moved the couch over three feet so that it blocked the front door, and settled back in. From his vantage point, he could see into his bedroom. He supposed Teddy could always climb out the window, but he would hear him long before he could make a clean getaway. But that wasn’t why he’d blocked the door. That was just what he told himself. The real truth was he wanted to keep out the people who wanted to take Teddy back. Somehow, it was just emotionally safer to tell himself he was keeping Teddy in.
Sooner or later Billy was going to find out exactly who the man in his bed was and just what in the hell he was wanted for. But for now, Billy would watch over him, and protect him, because that was what a moral man did.

Chapter 2

Cody Smith awoke and had no idea where he was. He sat up and looked around, but the walls were off-white, the carpet was beige, and the blankets he was swaddled in were blue. This place wasn’t fancy, but it was more modern than where he had been. Best of all, there was no red anywhere. He sighed and slumped down. He had finally gotten out. He’d finally escaped from the men with the cold hands and cruel faces. Even though he didn’t know where he was, anywhere was better than where he’d been.

As he rose, he realized he was naked. He blushed and then spent several minutes looking at his cock. It seemed so foreign to him. But that wasn’t much wonder when he hadn’t been allowed to see himself—his entire naked self—in years. There was no hair on it now, not like there had been a lot before, but there had been some. He remembered that because the hair down there was darker than the hair on his head. It was curlier, too, but now it was bare. So were his legs. How funny. He knew all of this was part of his transformation, but he was so used to being covered with hair that to see his long, pale, and hairless limbs almost made him laugh. Almost.

He didn’t even chuckle because there was a scent that was so sweetly compelling he almost burst into tears. That was the smell that he’d followed. All the way down the mountain and across the red rock buttes, Cody had used the faint wisps of that scent to guide him to safety. Now that he was in the home of the man who made that delicious aroma, he knew he would find not only shelter, but his eternal mate.

As soon as he looked past the room he was in, he saw him. Cody tilted his head, wondering why his mate hadn’t joined him in the bed last night. Or had he? Cody took stock of his body, but he didn’t feel any different. If his mate had claimed him, surely he would feel it. Wouldn’t he? Having never had so much as a kiss, he really couldn’t judge. Dismissing the idea for the moment, Cody went to the side of his mate and knelt down.

His hair was black and long enough to get tangled in his eyes if he didn’t keep it combed back. Right now it was a mess of strands tousled all over his head that made him look very becoming. A dark beard dusted the edges of his chin and cheeks, along with a mustache that decorated his upper lip. His facial hair wasn’t long, maybe only a quarter of an inch, but it made his mate look very manly and almost sinister.

Cody shivered despite the blanket around his shoulders. What kind of a person was this man who was his eternal mate? Just because they were destined to be together didn’t mean he was a nice man. Looking at his muscular arms and his very big hands made Cody a little afraid. If he were mean, he would be strong enough to really hurt him. Unsure, Cody didn’t wake him up. That might make him angry. Should he maybe do something to please him? That seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, since he didn’t know him, Cody wasn’t sure what would make his mate happy.

After giving it a lot of thought, he found a good answer. Food was always welcomed in the morning. Back before Cody had gone to the red place, he’d loved to cook. Surely his mate would appreciate a good meal. Cody would have cooked for him yesterday, but he’d been so tired. Maybe that was why his mate was out here. He was such a generous mate he had given up his bed so Cody could sleep. The thought alone warmed his heart and made him want to do anything he could to return his kindness.

In the kitchen, Cody was surprised to find more food than there had been before. That explained where his mate had been. He must have known that Cody was coming so he went out to get more supplies because now there would be two of them.

Taking items from the refrigerator, Cody set them on the countertop so he could make sure all the ingredients he needed were there. When the blanket got in his way, he tossed it aside. He felt a little strange making food naked, but he also didn’t have any clothes, and he couldn’t cook if he shifted into his fur. When the image of a coyote trying to cook came to him, he laughed. That would be funny.

Cody saw that his mate had a coffeepot, so he emptied out the old grounds, put in a fresh filter, carefully measured out new coffee grinds, added water, and then turned the machine on. While that was going, he got to work on making scrambled eggs and toast. The brands that his mate bought were not the ones Cody was used to, but that was okay. He would learn to like what his mate liked.

“So you can cook?”

Cody jumped and turned to find his mate in the archway that separated the living room from the kitchen. He wanted to say something, but his voice was stuck in his throat because his mate was huge. His eyes were so dark they seemed to be almost the same color as his hair. Cody might have cried out in terror but for the fact his mate’s eyes were very kind.

His mate’s features softened. “Can you talk?”

“I—I can.” Cody realized his mate was looking at his genitals, so he tried to stand still for inspection.
Yanking his gaze away from Cody’s hips, he looked at Cody’s face and demanded, “What’s your name?”
“Cody.”
“I guess I don’t get to call you Teddy anymore.”
“You may call me what you wish.” Cody bowed. He knew his name was based on something funny because the cruel men with the cold hands had laughed about it, but Cody never understood the joke.
“What the hell does that mean?”
When Cody looked up, hismate’s face was dark with anger. Unsure of what he’d done wrong, Cody dropped to his knees. “Please let me try again to please you.”
“What the fucking hell is going on? Who the hell are you, why did you break into my house, and why the fuck are you in my kitchen cooking?”
Stunned by his liberal use of vulgarities, Cody didn’t know what to do to please his mate. It was clear that cooking for him was not a good thing. Perhaps Cody hadn’t gotten the items together in the proper proportions or the man was used to making his own.
“Look at me.”
Cody looked up the long length of his mate’s body. Black hairs dusted all along his legs and arms, making him seem wild and untamed. When he finally looked his mate in the face, he saw something very strange. His mate swallowed hard and then moved a step back from where Cody was kneeling.
“Shit. Get up.”
Cody rose. “I’m sorry. I thought if I knelt you would be less inclined to hit me.”
Clearly appalled by that idea, his mate said, “I’m not going to hit you.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” He let out a long sigh and placed his hands on his hips. His chest expanded when he did that, making him look very powerful.
Cody felt a funny little rush shiver over his body, and when he looked down, he realized he was getting hard. He wanted to cup his hands over his cock, but doing so might upset his mate so Cody stood very still.
“What’s that scent?”
“I’m sorry.” Cody hung his head. “I can’t help but want you.”
“What?”
“It’s my mating scent. You are my alpha, so when I look at you and think of mating, that scent grows stronger.” Cody braved a look at his mate’s face, but when he found his gaze was cast downward, Cody looked at his mate’s hips. Below his shiny shorts, his cock was getting hard, too. Relief caused Cody to relax. At least they were attracted to one another. “Perhaps after we mate you can show me how I should cook for you.”
“Mate?”
“You do not know how to mate?” A new worry came over him then. “I do not know all the details of it, but you are supposed to know since you are my alpha.”
“You want me to—to…”
“Fuck me. Yes. You should fuck me soon.” How funny that his mate had used that word many times but never in the right way. “Once you have fucked me, our mating scents won’t be so strong.” In fact, the odor of his mate was making Cody crave all kinds of curious things. Forgetting for a moment that his alpha should set the pace, Cody stepped near to him, dropped to his knees, pulled down his mate’s shorts, and took his beautiful cock into his mouth.
“Holy shit!”
Codyclosed his eyes as the flavor of his mate’s pleasure burst upon his tongue. It wasn’t a full loss of control, but only the prelude to what would happen if Cody kept on sucking his prick. Still, even that bare bit of his flavor marked something in Cody as taken. But he needed more. His rectum quivered as he imagined his mate’s cock sliding deep inside him and releasing the full of his pleasure.
“Stop!”
Cody was stunned that his mate pushed him away and pulled up his shorts. He was looking all around as if he expected someone else to be in the room with them.
“There is none here but us, my mate. Please let me finish so that when you do fuck me you will last much longer.”
His mate’s mouth dropped open, and then he washed his hand over his face.
Confused by his body language, Cody stayed on the floor. When he looked down, he realized that just like his mate, his prick had released some pleasure, too. Curious, he swiped his finger across the tip and then lifted it up for his mate to taste.

Chapter 3

For the life of him, Billy didn’t know what possessed him to crouch down and suck the pearl of precum off his mate’s trembling finger, but he did. Ambrosia. Compelled by the luscious flavor, Billy found himself grasping Cody’s shoulders and pulling him up to a standing position. Just as he’d thought last night, Billy was exactly a foot taller than him. Overcome by a powerful instinct, Billy wrapped him in his arms and lowered his lips to cover his.

A whimpering cry from behind Cody’s mouth blotted out all coherent thought. Pounding through his body with the pulse of each heartbeat was the need to fill, mark, and claim. If Billy didn’t have Cody soon, he swore he would go mad. The scent that had seemed to overtake him last night, the aroma that compelled him to climb naked into bed with an unknown man, that perfume was one hundred times stronger now. Resisting his allure was impossible, and Billy wasn’t sure why he was trying to say no.

Just remembering how he’d fallen to his knees and sucked his cock practically made Billy climax. Big, innocent brown eyes had peered lovingly up at him, and all Cody wanted was to please him.

“Take me, my alpha.”
“Billy.”
“What?”
“My name is Billy.”
“Billy. My beautiful mate. Claim me so that everyone knows I

belong to you.”

Not un derstanding where he’d come from or anything about him at all, Billy took a trembling breath through his mouth and stepped back. To distract himself, he shut off the coffeepot and put the food back in the fridge.

A look of pain crossed Cody’s face, and he lunged for Billy, seemingly desperate to get back in his arms, but Billy needed room to think. “I’m not an animal.”

“Not yet, but soon. We will mate that way, too.”

Baffled by not only what he said but his whole demeanor, Billy did the only thing he could think to do. He didn’t want to frighten Cody, but he had to contain him and ward off his scent as much as possible. To that end, Billy retrieved his blanket from the couch and wrapped it around Cody.

“I am not cold.” Cody pushed the blanket away, which onl y wafted more of his scent up into Billy’s face.
“I need to cover you up.” If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure he could keep a hold of himself.
“Yes, my mate.”
Now Cody stood still as Billy swaddled him practically from head to toe. He lifted him up onto his shoulder and then took him over to where the vent from the evaporative cooler was, which was in the window of his bedroom. While Cody stood there, blinking and observing, Billy got next to the cooler so that Cody’s scent was pushed away from him. After a few minutes, he was able to think clearly despite the fact he had the most astonishing boner of his life.
“We need to start at the beginning.”
“Yes, my love.”
Skipping over that, Billy felt ready to grill him like a criminal, but one look into his big, innocent eyes made Billy reassess his strategy. “Why did you break into my apartment?”
“I followed your scent. I only came in the window because you were not here to open the door for me.”
That actually made sense, insomuch as the whole you’re-my-mate thing went. “How do you know that I’m your mate?”
Cody blushed, and Billy swore he wanted to chew his way through the blanket and kiss every bit of his delicate flesh. “Your scent arouses me like nothing else I’ve ever known. I was told this is the way mates find oneanother. The beta, that’s me, tracks his alpha”— up came Cody’s gaze to rivet on Billy’s gaze—“that’s you. Once I find you I am to surrender myself to you.” Cody looked down at the floor. “Which I did, but you don’t seem to know what to do.”
That made sense, too, and Billy couldn’t help but feel annoyed. “I know what to do.”
“Then why don’t you do it?”
Billy wasn’t going to answer that because his refusal said a lot about him that he wasn’t quite ready for this man to know just yet. Knowledge was power, and holding his hand back was wise. “Who are you running from?”
This time Cody’s gaze darted to the side, and he hung his head. “Please don’t make me go back. If you don’t want me—”
“Trust me, I want you.” Billy glared down at his throbbing erection. “There’s no way that’s going to be a problem.” But there would be if he tried to do anything long term. Cody was obviously innocent. He wouldn’t know anything about the kinky games Billy liked to play. As fun as the idea of having a mate sounded, and putting aside that the man liked to cook and be all strangely subservient, Billy didn’t think this was a good idea at all. Eventually, one way or another, Cody was going to get hurt. Billy sure as shit didn’t want to be the one to twist his handsome features into a mask of emotional pain. But that butt of his. Damn. Billy got even harder thinking of paddling him lightly until just the softest blush washed over his buttocks. Then he would cup his hands around that heat, pulling them apart so he could slide his prick against his quivering hole.
“Why are you trying to avoid my essence?”
Billy thought of the taste of his surprisingly sweet pre-cum and damn near blushed himself. He’d never done anything so shockingly intimate. “I’m trying to clear my head so I can think.”
“Oh.” Cody looked around. “What can I do to help you?”

Get back on your knees and pick up where you left off. That’s what popped into Billy’s mind, but he deliberately pushed that thought away. Yes, it would be wonderful to have a cute little twink around to indulge his every lusty mood, but that wasn’t fair to Cody. He wasn’t a sex toy but a real live man with hopes, feelings, and dreams. Cody deserved better than what Billy could give him. “Last night you said something about a red room.”

Cody’s eyes got so b ig so fast that Billy feared he was going to have a seizure or something.
“Whoa. Calm down. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. You came to me for protection, and that’s exactly what I’m going to give you.”
Profound relief eased the panic off Cody’s sweet face. “Thank you, my mate—Billy.” Cody corrected himself, and Billy got the impression that Cody would always strive to please him even in the smallest ways. If Billy told him he liked the color pink, Cody would no doubt slather himself in nothing but pink clothes.
“I need you to tell me about this place and the people who hurt you.”
Cody fidgeted in the blanket.
Holding his nose, Billy went and got a chair from the small table in the kitchen, brought it to his bedroom, and had Cody sit. Some of his wicked scent still got into Billy’s nose and started taking over his body, but by drawing deep breaths of the clean incoming air, he was able to keep himself under control. But only just barely. Too much more of this and he wasn’t going to be able to have any control at all. When he realized Cody must be struggling with the same issue, Billy stood by Cody’s side so that his scent would be channeled away from Cody, too.
“Why do you fight claiming me?” Cody looked up at Billy and then frowned. “It is my ugly nose, isn’t it?”
“Your nose is perfect.” It was long and thin, but balanced out the softer curves of his features quite nicely. “I’m resisting because I don’t think it’s fair that you and I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Choice?”
“You should be able to pick your mate, not just get stuck with one because of some biological urge.”
“You feel you are stuck with me?”
“Not at all.” Billy deliberately softened his tone. “I’m lucky to get such a beautiful young man.” Just last night Billy had remarked to himself that Cody was exactly what he loved to have in a playmate. But that was part of the problem. From all Cody had said, this wasn’t a fling or casual encounter. This was a lifetime commitment, and to Billy that was serious. Having someone around to bed and do things with sounded good, but there were a lot of things they needed to explore before they jumped into the forever after, especially if they wanted it to be a happy ever after.
“And I’m pure.”
“Pure?”
“None has touched me in the way of mating.”
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!Billy’s cock practically danced in his nylon running shorts. A virgin. A sweet, innocent, untouched virgin. “Yeah, well, I’ve been pretty well handled.”
“You are alpha.” Cody grinned. “I would expect no less of you.”
“Let me get this straight. You have to come to me clean, but I can be the filthiest motherfucker in the world?”
Cody blanched. “You fuck mothers?”
“Let me rephrase that.”
Tragedy twisted Cody’s face. “You like women?”
“I like women just fine but not to fuck.” Heaven help him curb his dirty mouth. On the job, Billy had gotten good at suppressing that part of his personality, but two weeks away from work and he was nothing but a potty mouth. Having the press hounding him night and day certainly hadn’t helped his little problem, either.
“I have heard of some alphas making their beta dress as a female.” Cody hung his head. “I will do that if you wish.”
“What? No. I don’t want you to wear anything!”
“Then why did you wrap me in this blanket?”
“To protect you from me.”
“Protect me?”
Billy took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to explain without sounding worse than he felt. “I need to talk to you and not just go with my instincts.”
“Why?”
Because his instincts were screaming at him to put Cody in his bed, part his long, strong legs, and bury himself to the hilt. “Because I care about you.” And that was true. Billy found that as much as he lusted after Cody, he tried to keep his hands off him because he genuinely cared. Billy had gone into law enforcement because he was honestly concerned about the citizens of Scorpion County. Everyone, regardless of their economic status, sexual orientation, or race, deserved to have the respect of law enforcement. Sadly, Billy was just about the only deputy on the county side who felt that way. On the city side there were great officers, but that was only because they weren’t all related to Sheriff Judd Kingsley like they were on the county side. The last thing Billy would ever want on his conscience was hurting another human being for any reason. “Last night, you were exhausted, in my bed, and I could have just—had you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you were looking for help. You were afraid of being taken back to a place where you’d been hurt. I didn’t want to turn around and hurt you, too.”
“You would never hurt me, my—Billy.”
That remained to be seen. Determined to change the subject, Billy asked, “You escaped?”
“I smelled you. I think they tried to trick me, to make me mate with a man who was not my destiny, but they didn’t count on me beingable to smell you from so far away.”
“How far?”
Cody closed his eyes. “I came down the timber-filled mountains then across the high desert plains.”
Billy pictured how the tiny town of Scorpion sat in relation to the state of Utah and the southwest. The closest timber mountains were the La Sal Mountains, but there weren’t any houses up there or places where Cody could have been kept. Far more likely was that Cody had come from a more northern place along the Rocky Mountain Range. By his conservative estimate, Cody had probably traveled over five hundred miles.
Dropping down to his knees, Billy picked up Cody’s foot and carefully examined it. There wasn’t a scratch on him. He tilted his head as he continued to examine Cody’s calf and foot. He had what looked like a perfect, allover tan, and not one single hair marred the perfection of his skin. Even when he’d been looking at his pale buttocks last night, they were only made whiter compared to the darkness of the blankets, but they were the same color as the rest of him. What was making him crazy was that he’d seen a curious tan like this before.
“Oh, right.” Billy remembered now. It was Marshal Roberts who had a body that was seamlessly tan. “He turned into a coyote right in front of me.”
“I did?” Cody sighed. “I was probably scared. Please don’t be upset. Those men did things to try to make me shift on their command, and sometimes when I’m very afraid I will change without realizing I’m doing it.”
Billy looked up at Cody from where he was kneeling on the floor. He was one of whatever the hell Marshal was. And by extension, so was Billy. That day on the ranch came flashing back to Billy. His boss, Judd Kingsley, had been out to arrest Marshal’s boyfriend because he believed he was the Four Corners Bandit. It turned out he wasn’t, but Kingsley had been so convinced he was a hardened criminal that he’d insisted on enacting a felony arrest. Ordering Marshal’s mate facedown in the gravel driveway, Kingsley had then kicked him for some unknown reason, and Marshal had gotten so enraged he’d shifted into an enormous black coyote. When he’d jumped on Kingsley, the man had wet his pants and then passed out. For some reason he hadn’t understood at the time, Billy had helped the men of the Rough River Ranch concoct a story so that their secret would be safe. Now Billy understood that he’d been driven by instincts to protect his pack.
“You didn’t shift into a coyote.” Billy found himself gently caressing Cody’s foot and stood to get himself to stop. “I saw a man I know shift into a big black coyote.”
“You will be able to shift any time you wish after we mate. That is the gift I give to you.”
“And what exactly do I give you?”
“Protection. Pleasure. And hopefully someday love.” Cody tilted his head like a curious puppy as he looked up at Billy. “Do you not want to give those things to me?”
Considering his open, honest face, Billy found himself cupping Cody’s chin. “I’m happy to give you those things without you having to enslave yourself to me.”
“But that is my place. A beta gives to his mate, and his mate gives back to him. It is the way of things.”
“Right. That’s how it works. But what if you and I don’t see eye to eye on something?”
“Because you are taller?”
Christ. He took things so literally it was funny. And kind of sad sincehe was only so literal because he clearly hadn’t been around many people speaking colloquialisms. “No, I mean, what if we didn’t agree on something.”
“Like what?”
“Like, well, just for an example, what if I was into something kinky that you didn’t want to do?”
“I would do what you wanted me to do.”
“But that’s not right.”
“You wish for me to defy you?”
“No. Not that you should go against me just for the sake of going against me, but you should have the freedom to make up your own mind about things.” Inspiration hit. “For example, you said some alphas make their mates dress like women, and it was clear you didn’t like that idea at all. You should be able to choose not to do that regardless of what I want.”
Cody frowned as he considered. “You wish for me to make my own choice in things?”
“Right.”
“Then I shall.” Cody pushed the blanket away, stood, and plastered himself against Billy. “I wish to mate with you right now.”

Chapter 4

“No, no. I didn’t mean that.” Billy tried to push Cody away, but he managed to stay close to him anyway.
“But you said I should make up my own mind about things.” Cody cupped his hand to his mate’s cock. He was so hard and hot. The fabric of his shorts was slippery, allowing Cody to stroke him from base to tip with gliding ease. “I know my mind on this. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
His mate closed his eyes as Cody continued to stroke him. Eventually, he was overcome and reached out to cup Cody’s cock into his hand. Despite his bigger size, his touch was surprisingly gentle. Almost too much so because Cody wanted more friction. By twisting into his mate, he forced their hands to press harder since they were pushed closer.
“Oh, God.”
His mate’s voice was harsh, and the heat of his breath touched so briefly along Cody’s neck before the wind machine whipped it away.
“There has to be a way to ease each other without binding ourselves together.”
“But I wishto be bound to you.” Cody did not understand Billy’s reluctance. Something about a lifetime together caused him distress, so Cody tried to ease it by saying he would always follow his mate’s lead, but that only upset him further. Billy wanted Cody to choose and not just follow. However, when he tried to do that, Billy cautioned him not to. It was tremendously frustrating and terribly confusing. He had a headache, but he was pretty sure it was from the cold air and not his mate’s confusing rules.
“I know you do, but I’m not ready to be bound to you, okay?” Billy moved back just enough so he could look Cody in the eye. “I want to give us some time to get to know each other.”
Cody thought he understood. “We are destined, but you want to make sure that fate hasn’t made a mistake?”
“Something like that.” Billy closed his eyes and sighed. “Your hand feels so fucking good.”
“Let me please you. It will ease your pain and perhaps give us the time that you seek.” Cody wasn’t sure if his idea would work, but he was willing to try. He wanted to make his mate happy and show him they did belong together. Cody didn’t understand his reluctance, not completely, but maybe it was different for an alpha. As soon as Cody saw his powerful mate, he was ready to commit himself. Obviously, he did not fully appeal to Billy. But he would. He just had to show him that fate was not wrong.
“Let’s try pleasing each other.” Billy turned and shut the wind machine off. He took Cody’s hand away from his cock and used it to pull him over to his bed. “Lie down.”
Cody did as he was told. He watched with confused interest as his mate undressed and then joined him on the bed, but he lay down in the opposite direction. On the verge of asking for an explanation, he didn’t need one when his mate sucked Cody’s cock into his mouth. The intensity of his hot mouth over his cool flesh was astonishingly good. When Cody realized his mate’s cock was before his mouth, he followed suit. As soon as he sucked Billy’s prick inside, he uttered a growl that made Cody whimper in answer. They were making all the right mating sounds, but they were not technically mating. Or were they? And then all thought left his mind when his mate cupped Cody’s buttocks into his massive hands.
Rocking him back and forth caused Cody to quite literally fuck his mate’s mouth, which was wickedly wrong, making the act exciting in and of itself. Only his alpha mate should fuck, but this wasn’t totally bad because Cody was not penetrating his mate’s bottom. That would be the most wrong way of things that he could think of. This was somewhat strange, but it felt very good, and as he continued to rock his hips, he found himself sucking more of his mate’s cock within his mouth.
When Billy rolled and lifted him up, Cody was confused and pulled his mouth away until he realized this way his mate was able to pull more of Cody’s cock into his mouth. Looking down, Cody watched in a hypnotized trance as his prick went in and out of Billy’s firmly sucking mouth. With a cry of shock, Cody came. He thought for sure Billy would spit him out and be angry, but he did the opposite. Billy drank Cody’s release and seemed to find pleasure in doing so.
Now Cody turned his attention back to his mate’s cock and sucked him all the way down to the base. He cupped his hands around his balls, loving the heat and weight of them. Each pull drew a bit more of his mate’s essence out of him, but he knew if he kept going he would be rewarded with the full of his mate’s pleasure. Cody kept trying to make him climax, but his mate seemed to have tremendous self-control.
“Relax. Whoa. Slow down.” Billy eased Cody away from him.
Feeling like a failure, Cody hung his head.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” Billy sat up and encouraged Cody to sit up. Before he knew it, his mate’s powerful arms were around him, holding him, and all that did was make Cody feel worse.
“I can’t even please you!”
“What? Oh, God, Cody. I just wanted it to last.”
“I thought you wanted to ease us from our urge to mate?”
“Yeah, but, I didn’t want to go off super-fast.”
“But you made me go—oh. Only a beta climaxes fast. I’ve heard that.” Cody reached down and stroked his mate’s cock. He wanted to taste him almost desperately.
“No, that’s not what I was—just—let’s go do something else.”
“But I haven’t eased you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Billy stood up, and Cody knew he was going to pull his shorts on.
Desperate to please his mate in turn, Cody reached out, pulled him to the edge of the bed, and determinedly sucked his cock back into his mouth. He looked up to make sure he was pleasing his mate. When his gaze locked on Billy’s, he saw a curious thing. His mate lifted one edge of his mouth and snarled. It was so rough and alpha Cody shivered. He had a strange idea that his mate enjoyed standing and being sucked rather than lying down for it. Unsure what the difference was, Cody didn’t care as long as he got to finish what he started.
“Close your eyes.”
Cody did and discovered that not looking made him more aware of the feel of his mate’s cock in his mouth. He was big and now so hard it was almost difficult to handle taking him in too deep.
“Use your hand. Wrap it around my shaft and stroke up and down to help get me off.”
His words were spoken harshly, and Cody didn’t understand why that excited him so, but it did. He loved the sound of rough passion altering his mate’s voice from deep to tough and almost cruel. It was curious because Cody intuitivelyknew Billy didn’t want to hurt him, but Billy enjoyed standing above him and telling him what to do. His obvious enjoyment spilled over into Cody.
When Billy groaned and cupped his hand on the top of Cody’s head, Cody let out a long whimper of surrender. Just as he thought, his mate responded with a series of guttural growls and flicked his hips. If not for his self-control, he would have drilled his cock deep into Cody’s mouth, but he held back. Shallow thrusts mimicked what Billy would hopefully do to Cody’s bottom someday. The thought of that excited Cody, making him tighten his fist and suck harder.
“Oh, God, your sweet, perfect mouth.” Billy climaxed.
Overwhelmed by the eroticism of the moment, Cody lost his smooth strokes with his hand and instead sucked Billy’s cock deep inside. His taste was so luscious Cody didn’t want to stop pulling at his prick, but he knew his mate would be sensitive, so he backed off. As he released his mate’s cock from between his lips, he looked up.
Billy was breathing hard, looking down at him with a peculiar darkness casting his features into something almost frightening. He looked powerful and mean, but then something softened in his gaze. Billy reached down, pulled Cody up, and kissed him. His mate’s tongue filled his mouth, allowing them to merge the flavors of both of them. Rather than ease their mating urges, all they had done was toss fuel on the already dangerous fire.
When his mate reached down and grasped his buttocks, Cody squirmed against him, but he didn’t want to be free. He desperately wanted to turn around and present himself to his mate. Cody wanted to feel Billy’s prick fill his ass. He wanted that same gushing release to go deep within his body and thoroughly mark him.
“Please. I cannot wait.” Cody extricated himself from his mate and lowered himself to the bed.
“This was a bad idea. I’ve got to get you back over to the cooler to blow this scent away. I’ve got—I—oh, fuck.”
On his knees with his chest on the bed, Cody lifted his bottom as he looked back at his mate. “Please. You must claim me.”
“No. I should go and…and…fuck.” It was clear his mate was trying to stop, but the biological urge was far stronger than his rational mind. With dream-like slowness, Billy knelt down behind Cody, parted his cheeks, and then lapped at his hole.
A cry of surrender and bliss tore from Cody’s mouth. This went beyond any of his imaginings. Even when the cruel men had tried to make him dream of mating, those mindmovies didn’t compare to the ecstasy of this. Billy’s tongue was at once soft but textured. He would tease it in a sharp point around the puckered flesh then slide the smooth backside against the center of Cody’s hole. Each time Cody anticipated a breach, he lifted his body higher, but Billy only chuckled and continued to tease him.
“You are so impossibly sweet. I want to enjoy all of you. If I’m to be your mate for the rest of our lives, I’m going to make sure I claim you completely.”
His words were not classically romantic, but Cody found they touched his heart anyway. It seemed that even a very strong man like his mate couldn’t escape what fate had in store for him. Cody was grateful for that because he didn’t think he would know any tricks to make Billy want him. Luckily, his body took care of that with the compelling scent and the low whimpering call of the beta. Each time he let the soft cry free, his mate responded with an alpha growl that shivered Cody’s entire body. How strange that a scent and a sound could be so tremendously powerful.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Puzzled, Cody turned to look back at Billy. His face was a confusing mixture of lust and something he couldn’t readily identify. Was it fear? “Are you afraid of hurting me?”
“Yes.” Billy stroked his finger tenderly down the split of Cody’s bottom. “You are so perfect, and I am so broken.”
What in the world had happened to him to make him think that? “If you are as you say, then maybe I can heal you.”
Apparently, it was the right thing to say because Billy smiled. “Maybe you can.” He rose and had Cody stand, too. He was afraid he would find the strength to stop, but it seemed he simply wanted to be face-to-face with him when he claimed him. Somehow, that touched Cody. He felt the first strong stirrings of the mating bond wrap around their bodies.
Carefully, Billy drew Cody down onto the bed, and then he kissed him everywhere. Cody felt almost as if his mate washed him in kisses. His lips were firm, hot, and each burst of sound seemed to increase Cody’s pleasure. He knew without asking that his body was pouring off the mating scent in powerful waves because each time Billy drew a breath to ready another kiss, he uttered a small growl. This in turn made each kiss more passionate than the last. When his mate parted his legs and centered himself between, he lowered his mouth to capture Cody’s.
Hungry to feel his complete possession, Cody undulated below him and wrapped his legs around him.
“Wait. I need to ease my way.”
From the bedside table, Billy removed a tube of lotion that he poured out and smeared along his cock. He then reached down and stroked his fingers across Cody’s hole, but when he tried to press them inside, Cody pulled back.
“Please. Only use your cock.”
“But I don’t want to hurt you. If I use my fingers, I’ll open you up.”
“Go slowly and you will only need your cock.”
Billy frowned then chuckled lightly as he nestled close. “I suppose I can’t argue with that logic.” He cupped Cody’s chin and kissed him. “Why does it matter?”
“Because I’ve waited my whole life to feel my mate claim me. I want to feel your cock breach me, not your fingers.”
Something about what he’d said touched his mate because his features softened as he lowered his head to kiss him. This time when Cody lifted his legs to embrace him, Billy lowered his cock against his hole. For a timeless moment, Cody felt the power behind that which made his mate alpha. It wasn’t just his cock, even though that was the most profound symbol of the alpha male, but it was all that Billy embodied. Power tempered by compassion. Lust tempered by longing. And base animal needs tempered by his human heart. From what Cody had learned, some alphas could be cruel and rut wildly, hurting their beta, but Cody already knew that wasn’t his mate’s way.
Slowly, so slowly and gently, Billy eased his cock inside the tight channel of Cody’s bottom. He did this while holding his face and watching his expression. Cody knew without asking he was ensuring that he didn’t hurt him. Even when it was clear Billy was struggling for control, all Cody had to do was express the tiniest flicker of discontent and Billy would pull back and wait.
Eventually, his cock was buried deep within. “Are you okay?”
“I am so blessed, my loving mate.” Cody almost burst into song he felt so good. “Nothing prepared me for how intense this would feel. I am so close to you that I am almost a part of you.”
Billy smiled and kissed him tenderly.
As they moved their bodies together, something came over Billy. His breathing was labored, and he kept trying to get at Cody’s neck. Knowing what was coming, Cody held that moment off for a bit because he wanted to keep feeling the glorious slide of his mate’s cock in and out of his body, but he couldn’t deny Billy’s need forever.
Pushing his head to the side, Billy descended on Cody’s neck, and bit him hard enough to make him buck his body up in response to the pain. He cried out, but that only encouraged Billy to bite and suck harder. Against the sting, Cody suddenly discovered a dark pleasure.
“Mark me.” He stopped struggling and relaxed as his mate bit and sucked his mark upon his flesh. Cody had feared the idea of the marking, but now that it was happening, he found it was shockingly arousing.
Billy had filled him, and he had marked him. All he had to do now was claim him.

Chapter 5

“Claim me, my mate. Now. Please.”

Billy wrenched his mouth away from Cody’s neck intent on asking him what that meant, but he instinctively knew. He had to climax. An urge to fill him and mark him in this last way pressed upon Billy, almost like a beast at his back. Each rock of his hips went deeper, pushing Cody down into the softness of the bed and his prick deeper into his ass. Unable to resist the need to go deeper still, Billy cupped his hips into his hands, forcefully tilted them up, and then thrust.

Cody cried out. It wasn’t from pain, but from his own release between their bodies. A fervor to join him exploded in Billy, and he knew he was close. Growling, he dug his fingers deeper into his mate’s flesh, holding him up for a series of slow, deep thrusts. As he bottomed out, burying himself as fully as he could go, Billy lost control and he came.

Intensity unlike anything he’d ever felt before made him literally curl over his mate as he climaxed with a guttural cry of conquest. Each spurt further marked his mate and bound him to Cody in unbreakable chains. As much as he’d feared that commitment, there was something of a relief at having no more choice now. Since it was finished and done, he couldn’t go back. He couldn’t walk away. Forever after, Billy would do all he could to protect Cody, even if that meant protecting him from his own twisted lust.

“Ah, my mate. It is a true bond. I can feel your cock growing and pressing against the sweet spot inside me.”
Billy had no idea what Cody was talking about until he felt the base of his cock swelling. The knot grew and hardened until he was firmly locked within Cody. “How long will this last?”
“Hours.”
Billy was going to ask if he was hurt, but it was obvious he wasn’t. Cody’s eyes were closed and his head was back almost like he was luxuriating in the moment.
“This is because we’re coyotes?”
“I do not know why, only that a true mating will make this happen to your cock.” Cody’s eyes blinked open, and he looked up at Billy. “Are you hurt?”
“No. It just feels…different.”
“It won’t last forever, and as far as I know it won’t ever happen again.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Don’t you?”
Billy considered. “Some of it seems to be instinctual, but you talk as if you were told things.”
“I wasn’t told directly.” Cody cupped Billy’s face.
As much as Billy wanted to grill Cody for information, now was not the time. Later, after they had finished mating, he would find out all he could. “You seem fascinated by my beard.”
“It’s softer than I thought it would be. And yes, it’s curious, because I cannot grow one.”
“Why is that?”
Cody shrugged. “It is the way of the beta. I don’t have any body hair from the nose down. See?” Cody lifted his arms over his head. “Not even in my armpits.”
“How do you know about mating and all that?” So much for not grilling his mate.
“In the red room I heard them talking. They knew all the steps and I think they were trying to find a way to change them or perhaps stop the process.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But they never got anything to work on me.”
Something in Billy’s heart shattered. “They experimented on you?”
After a long beat of silence, Cody looked up at him with his impossibly innocent eyes. He kept his voice very low and quiet, almost a whisper, like he was afraid those men would hear and come after him. “As soon as I was old enough to mate, they put me in the red room. They would have me smell things, eat things, and then they injected me with fluids, but none of it did to me what they thought it would. They got very angry with me.” Cody looked away and then back. “I knew someday I would find my alpha, and then I would be safe.”
“You are.” Come hell or high water, Billy was going to keep that promise. “I will never let anyone hurt you.” He traced his thumb lightly along his bottom lip. “Not even me.”
“You would not hurt me.” Cody beamed at him, and his expression was one of total trust. “Even when you were very aroused and aggressive, you were still careful.”
Something inside Billy shrank away, but Billy knew they would never work without honesty. “I like feeling powerful.”
“That’s why you stood when I sucked your cock. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“It didn’t bother you?”
“No. Should it have?”
“No.” Billy brushed his hair away from his forehead and kissed him gently. “If anything I ever do or say bothers you, I want you to tell me.”
“And you won’t get angry?”
“I promise to do my best not get angry at you.”
Cody flashed him a rather dubious frown.
“What you say might anger me, but that doesn’t mean I’m angry with you. Does that make sense?”
“I think so.” Cody took a deep breath. “I didn’t like it when you held yourself back from me.” Cody blurted this out very fast and then clenched his eyes tightly together.
Billy waited above him.
One eye peeked open, and when he saw that Billy wasn’t in a rage, hisother eye slowly opened, too. “You’re not mad?”
“No. I was holding myself back because I didn’t want to hurt you. It was your first time, and if I fucked you as hard as the pounding in my brain was telling me to, I might have hurt you.” Billy kissed Cody very softly. “As I said, I won’t let anyone hurt you, not even myself.”
“But I dreamed of feeling my mate lose control.”
“And in your dream what did it feel like?”
“You were an animal. It was rough, and we were growling and snapping at one another.”
“Didn’t you say we’d do this again as coyotes? Maybe in that form I won’t have any control.”
They talked until Cody started to doze. By moving carefully, they were able to stay locked together, but each was on his side. They fell into a pattern of some sleep, some gentle movement with a climax, and then talking that tumbled them back to sleep. Billy had no idea what time it was, and since he no longer had a job, he didn’t have to worry. But that wasn’t always going to be so. Eventually, he had to get a job of some kind. The idea of leaving Cody home alone, and vulnerable to the men who had hurt him, sent Billy’s emotions into the danger zone.
“What’s wrong?” Cody asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “You suddenly went all tense.”
“Nothing. I’m just thinking of what I can do.”
“To me? I can give you a list.”
Billy chuckled. “A list? Let me hear it.”
In shocking detail, Cody described all the sexual things he wanted Billy to do to him. Billy had never been so pleasantly surprised. Cody might have been innocent of body, but he was an utter degenerate in his mind. When Billy tentatively offered up the idea of each of them acting out a role, like in a play, Cody enthusiastically embraced the idea. As aroused as he was, Billy was also careful not to go overboard or read too much into what Cody said. Slowly, gently, they would explore all there was for them to do. But at least now Billy didn’t feel that he was utterly corrupting an innocent man.
Just as the first light of dawn filled his bedroom, the swelling at the baseof Billy’s prick subsided, and he slipped from Cody’s body. Cody uttered a forlorn cry and clung to Billy’s shoulders. Cody seemed worried that they were never going to be together in the same way again. After comforting him, Billy reminded him that they were together now, and there were so many things they could do together.
“There has to be more to us than just sex,” Billy said.
“Like what?”
“Well, like we have to be able to work together. In the kitchen, earlier, you were going to make something to eat?”
“For you.”
“Well, the way I see things, we can cook together for each other.”
“Oh.” Cody smiled at him. “You want to be partners.”
“Right.”
“I like that.”
“Good.” Billy brushed another kiss to Cody’s forehead, puzzling when he seemed to be hotter than he should be. When he turned on the bedside light, he was shocked to see that Cody’s eyes were heavily bloodshot. “Do you feel okay?”
“I feel so very sleepy.” Cody closed his eyes, and his body went limp.
Terror shot Billy out of bed. He scrambled through the house, trying to remember where his damn phone was, and then realized it was by his bedside. He yanked it up and then held it, staring dully at Cody. Who the hell could he call? His mind latched on to the one person who might know anything about treating a coyote-shifter.
Billy didn’t waste time calling information, not when that wouldn’t give him Marshal’s personal cell phone number. Yanking open the files stored at the bottom of his closet, Billy searched desperately for the spiral-bound notebook he would have been using last May. When he found it, he flipped through all his notes and finally found Marshal’s number.
His finger trembled as he touched out the number. It seemed to ring forever, and then he heard Marshal’s voice. Unsure how to explain, Billy hesitated as Marshal rapidly asked hello in a morningsleepy voice. It was barely six, and if he didn’t say something soon, Marshal was going to hang up.
“Hey.”
“Who is this?”
“Billy Dornan. I need your help.” Billy stumbled over how to get Marshal clued in to what he needed without actually stating it in direct terms. He didn’t come right out and say he needed a doctor for a shifter, but he conveyed it as clearly as he could. Cell phones weren’t protected communication. Given that he had reporters following him everywhere, he wouldn’t put it past one of them to bug his phone.
Marshal told him to come out as soon as he could, but he was wary and didn’t use names. Billy was now doubly grateful that he’d helped cover up Marshal’s shifting. If he ever needed a friend, he did now. When he turned and looked back at the bed, Cody was staring at him, but his eyes were strange.
“Cody?”
Just like that day out on the Rough River Ranch, Cody was sitting there like Marshal had been standing and then he was suddenly a coyote. Unlike Marshal, he didn’t weigh in at half his human body weight. Cody seemed to have shifted all one hundred thirty pounds of himself into a coyote. He was covered in fine light brown fur, the exact same color as the hair on his human head had been. Cody’s eyes were the same intense light brown, and that same human intelligence was there.
“Cody?”
He growled and held his place on the bed. A long line of drool fell from where his upper lip was stuck against his canine tooth. Whatever humanity Billy had seen in his eyes was gone. From the way Cody was wiggling his ass and backing up, Billy guessed he was going to attack. Instincts pushed Billy to run from the room and slam the door behind him. Thank God he’d shut off the cooler or he wouldn’t have been able to close the door.
He thought maybe he’d been wrong about Cody attacking him until he felt his body against the door. Shit! It was a good thing the doors in the apartment weren’t cheap hollow cores or he’d have a coyote on his back.
“Cody?”
Snarling, snapping, and a snout snuffling at the bottom of the door were his only answers.
Billy thought of calling Marshal back, but his phone was in his bedroom, and there was no way he was going back in there. Getting Cody to Marshal’s farm was also out unless he could get his hands on a goddamned tranquilizer gun. If only he knew someone who worked for Animal Services. Into his mind flitted the face of a man who had worked for Wildlife Services. He’d helped to hunt down the wild coyotes that were plaguing the Rough River Ranch. Given that there really weren’t any renegade coyotes, Billy was pretty sure that man was in on the whole animal-shifter thing. What was his name? Normally, Billy’s brain was very good at storing information, but he just couldn’t calm down enough to think clearly. Nothing like being attacked by his life partner after mind-blowing sex.
Billy looked down at the notebook in his hand. If he were very lucky…He flipped through the pages and found nothing. But he knew he’d gone too fast. Slowing down, he thumbed through them again. What was throwing off his rhythm were the sounds coming from his bedroom. Whatever Cody was doing in there, it was undoubtedly making one hell of a big mess. He heard tearing fabric, crashing, bangs—he used the noise to his advantage by sneaking away, grabbing the other kitchen chair, and returning to tuck it under the doorknob.
He realized his mistake when he noticed that the door opened in to the room, not out. All his chair trick would do was give Cody something to stumble over once he got the door open. However, he only had paws now. No matter how good he was with them, he wouldn’t be able to use them to turn the slick faux-brass doorknob.
Naked and rather oblivious to that fact at the moment, Billy settled down on thechair and slowly flipped through his notebook. “Dillion Palmer.” That was the name that went with the face in his mind. He’d met the man once before on another ranch, but he remembered him from the Triple R because Dillion and Kingsley hadn’t gotten along well together. Not that there were many people Kingsley actually got along with, but he seemed to rub Dillion the wrong way right off the bat. And Dillion had no reason to hold back his dislike since he didn’t work directly with Kingsley. In no uncertain terms, Dillion had told Kingsley just what he thought of him, and it wasn’t complimentary.
There wasn’t a number in his book, but that was okay. Billy could get Dillion’s address from information. It would probably be better to go in person. Cocking his ear, he didn’t hear anything coming from his room. Billy almost called out, but then he heard low, slow breathing near the door. It took him a moment to realize Cody the coyote was listening to him. Clearly, that meant he did have his human intelligence. For some reason that was more terrifying than being attacked by his own mate.
What the hell had happened? They’d come together so perfectly. If Billy had to throw his hat into the ever-after ring, he knew he could do much worse than Cody. So he’d done it. And then he’d found out that Cody had the soul of a kinkster. What a fan-fucking-tastic development and then—blam! He was a vicious bundle of muscle, teeth, and fur. Had something those bastards done messed him up? An experiment that had gone horribly wrong could account for how Cody got free from them. What if he’d taken out his revenge on the men who’d hurt him? Billy felt no remorse for them as they’d gotten exactly what they probably deserved, but now he had to find a way to cure Cody when he had no idea what was wrong.
“I don’t know if you can understand me, but I’m not going to abandon you. I’m going to get you help.”
A low whine filtered through the door, touching Billy’s heart. As much as he wanted to open the door and console his mate, he didn’t. There had been something in his eyes that warned Billy away. Obviously, some of his human self remained, but not enough to make him rational. Determined to protect him, Billy considered the best way to lock Cody in the bedroom. The chair wasn’t going to work long term. Cody couldn’t open the door with the doorknob, but if he managed to scratch and pull part of the lower half up he might be able to chew his way through. If Cody wasn’t fully aware of where he was and who Billy was, he might run off.
And now Billyhad his answer. He hadn’t been so sure about this whole mate thing and having an instant life partner, but the thought of Cody running off made his heart hurt. He had horrible visions of Cody getting hit by a car, or backed into an alley somewhere and shot by Animal Control. No way would he let something like that happen on his watch. Cody was his mate, and he was going to make sure he kept him safe.
“We’ll figure this out. Whatever it is.” Billy looked up and realized the linen closet was close. Without making any noise, he stood, opened the closet, and shifted through the contents until he found a rope.
Wrapping one end around the linen closet doorknob, he then tied the other end to his bedroom door. He’d just barely finished tying it off when Cody erupted into a spate of furious barking and digging at the door. Billy backed away. It wouldn’t be long before he literally dug and bit his way through the opening. Hopefully, his little rope trick would buy him enough time to get some reinforcements.
Inspired to get going, Billy looked down and realized he didn’t have anything on. His clothes were also in his bedroom along with his phone. He checked in the bathroom and found the clothes he’d peeled off the night before—what felt like a lifetime ago—were still in a heap on the floor. They didn’t reek, but they didn’t smell fresh, either.
“Quit your bitching. At least you don’t have to go pay a call in the buff.” Billy found his cap, pulled it low, tucked his wallet into his pants, and then patted himself down for his keys. “Shit.” Billy mentally walked himself through the last day and realized his keys were in his bedroom. So were his running shoes, but he had a pair of flip-flops he wore when he was just going out to get the mail. Well, he’d just have to leave the door unlocked.
Feeling somewhat foolish, Billy went to his bedroom door. “Cody?”
The scratching, digging, and growling at the door started up in earnest.
“I don’t know if you can understand, but I’m going to get you help. Okay? I’ll be back soon.”
Unsureif he’d heard, Billy sucked up his worries and made his way to the Scorpion Café. It was the very best greasy spoon he’d ever been in. As soon as he opened the door, he felt embraced by the comforting smells of deep-fried food, fresh coffee, and griddle cakes. He got change and a cup of coffee to go then got Dillion Palmer’s number from information.
Tucking the phone to his chin and then turning himself toward the wall gave him all the privacy he was going to get. His heart started to sink when the phone rang and rang. It was early as hell on a Saturday morning, but shouldn’t the man at least have voice mail?
“Hello?”
The voice was high-pitched and sleepy. Billy explained who he was and who he was looking for. The young man handed the phone off to Dillion, and Billy couldn’t help but breathe a deep sigh of relief. Again he explained as much as he could without using details. He knew he’d managed to convey the seriousness of the situation when Dillion told him to come right over. With halting embarrassment, Billy explained he didn’t have access to his keys.
“Go back home and wait for me.”
Billy felt the first stirrings of relief. He couldn’t believe how grateful he was that he’d followed his instincts months ago and protected his brothers during their time of need. Now they were ready to rally around him and offer the same protection. Maybe there was something to be said about following fate. His thoughts turned to Cody, and he wondered if he could have circumvented his shift. By delaying their mating, had he done something to cause him to shift and be so seemingly angry? It was just too easy to lay the blame on the nameless, faceless men who Cody said had hurt him. What if his change into a vicious beast was entirely Billy’s fault?
He deliberately pulled himself off that train of thought. Drowning himself in guilt—well-founded or not—wasn’t going to help him help Cody. What he had to do was put Cody first and foremost. Hunger rumbled Billy’s gut, but he didn’t want to take a chance on missing Dillion so he made his way home as quickly as he could.
From the parking lot he saw that his front door was open. Automatically, he reached for his hip, but the gun that used to be there was back in the gun case at the county sheriff’s office. Even if Cody had worked nonstop at his bedroom door, he couldn’t have possibly gotten out in the fifteen minutes that Billy had been gone. Much more likely was that neighbors had complained about the noise and the manager had gone in to investigate.
Billy ran up the stairs two at a time, terrified that the apartment super, an elderly man in his seventies, would open his bedroom door and get his face eaten off. When he charged into his apartment, he saw the last thing he ever expected.
Cody was out of the bedroom, standing on top of a man’s chest, growling. It was so reminiscent of what Billy had seen Marshal do he was dumbfounded by the similarities. The difference here was that Cody clearly hadn’t been content to just jump on the man. Blood dripped from Cody’s powerful jaw.
Another man was near the doorway into the kitchen. In slow motion, Billy watched the man raise a rifle and point it toward Cody. Instincts took over and Billy lunged into the line of fire. His only goal was to protect Cody. A shot rang out, and then everything in Billy’s vision faded to black.

Chapter 6

Cody knew something was wrong as soon as he and Billy separated. The next step for them to take was to shift and then mate in that form. But his skin felt hot, and a deep primordial fear welled up, overtaking everything else. Cody took a deep breath to calm himself, but what he smelled made him panic. He smelled the cruel men, Weasel and Owl. As he drew in several quick breaths, he realized the scent of the men was getting stronger. Fear and anger made a confusing soup of emotions that blotted out his rational mind. All Cody knew was he wanted to get out and get away. He couldn’t go back into that hell. He’d rather die. He didn’t even understand that he’d shifted until he looked up and realized he was looking at his mate through his coyote eyes. In an effort to communicate, he’d ended up terrifying Billy, who locked him in the bedroom.

Determined to get out before the cruel men came, Cody dug frantically at the door. He heard Billy outside the bedroom, but he was too overcome with terror to try to communicate with him. He wasn’t trying to hurt Billy, but they had to get away. For a fleeting moment, Cody wondered how the men had found him, but he lost that train of thought when the only thing that mattered was not getting back into their clutches.

What made his anxiety more acute was the fact that if they found him here, they stood a good chance of getting Billy, too. If they had a mated pair, something they had constantly longed to have, given how much they talked about it, Cody knew they would take drastic steps to make sure neither one of them ever escaped their compound again. That would mean even more stringent lockdown techniques and the terrifying possibility of powerful sedating drugs.

Cody’s escape had been a f luke. They had anticipated him shifting into a coyote at about half his human weight. They knew about the shadows and had taken steps to try to contain that most curious spinoff of shifting so they could study it, too. But something they’d given him had altered him. When Cody smelled the smallest particle of scent that was from his true mate, he shifted directly into a coyote, taking his full weight with him. Somehow, through their horrific experiments, they had eliminated Cody’s shadow.

Without a human shell to hold half his weight when he shifted, Cody took all his mass with him. They’d shot him with their tranquilizer gun, but the dose hadn’t been powerful enough for a beast of his size. In desperation, they’d tried to hit him again, but Cody was out andrunning at full speed. The one shot wasn’t enough to take him down or even barely slow him up given how much adrenaline was slamming through his veins. But he knew that was a mistake they would only make once. When they found him again, and Cody knew that they would, they would be ready to take him down, if not kill him outright.

The very real possibility of that was deeply terrifying. Cody knew where their compound was. He could identify both men in detail, where they were running their horrific scheme from, and how they were financing their house of horrors by selling marijuana. They had told Cody that no one would believe him, that there were places like theirs everywhere. “Escape from us and another shifter-abolition group will pick you up within minutes.” For a very long time, Cody had believed them. It just seemed likely that there would be more of them than there would be of shifters. So he’d stayed even when he’d had chances to run. Fear kept him there, and fear kept him docile, but fear didn’t stand a chance when his mating instinct kicked in.

When Cody realized Billy was trying to find a way to lock him in the bedroom, he’d tried to calm himself enough to shift back, but he couldn’t. To run he needed to be in this form.

“I don’t know if you can understand, but I’m going to get you help. Okay? I’ll be back soon.”
When he heard Billy leaving the apartment, he redoubled his efforts to get out of the bedroom. Once he did, he hoped the bathroom window was open so he could climb out the way he’d come in. But he had to get out of the room he was in first.
Digging at the door wasn’t doing a damn thing, so Cody looked around at the window. Half of it was taken up by the wind machine. If he could push it out, he could jump from the bedroom window. He wasn’t sure what was below, but anything would be better than sitting here and waiting for certain doom.
Even though his weight was tremendous for a coyote, it wasn’t enough to make the window unit budge. In desperation, he decided that if he couldn’t get out, he could certainly surprise whoever came in. Since Billy’s phone and keys were on the floor, Cody decided he hadn’t gone far. He said he was going for help, maybe from the man he mentioned last night, the one he’d seen shift. If so, that was good. More people here who knew about their kind would put the cruel men at a disadvantage. They might even stay away if they saw a lot of people in or near the apartment. Still, Cody had to have something in place in case Billy didn’t get back in time.
Knowing the layout of the apartment gave Cody a distinct advantage as did knowing the men would figure out he was in the bedroom. He’d heard Billy doing something to try to secure the door from outside the room. If it looked as obvious as it had sounded, Owl and Weasel would realize he was in here. Against the same wall as the bedroom door was a small bureau. Carefully, Cody climbed on top of it, and crouched down. When they opened the door, he’d be ready.
While he was sitting there, waiting, he tried to remember a time before the two men, but he simply couldn’t. It seemed to Cody that he’d grown up in their home and had always been groomed to be their caretaker and subject to their experiments. As he got older and closer to the time when his maturing needs would assert themselves, the men had grown evermore frantic to uncover the secret of the change. For all Cody could tell, they professed to hate shifters and called them abominations, but it was just as clear they envied his yet-to-show abilities. Cody now believed they had been trying to find the elusive thing that made him shift so they could have it for themselves. They didn’t hate him or his kind. They envied them to the point they were willing to maim or even kill to get the secret.
Since he was up against the wall, he pressed his ear close. He heard what he thought was the front door closing. Given the smell coming through the machine in the window, the men who hunted him were close enough to see Billy leave. Or so he thought. It was curious how Cody could know that they were close but also sense their hesitation. They wanted him back with a desperation he could smell, but they were also afraid of what he could do to them in his primitive form.
The men who had never debated long about how to alter his chemistry waited a surprisingly long time to enter the apartment after Billy left. What stunned Cody was that they attempted to kick down the front door when Billy hadn’t locked it. Since his keys were visible from where Cody was sitting, he knew he hadn’t. Cody would have laughed at their idiocy but for the fact they were going to come charging into the bedroom once they got into the apartment.
He heard them examining the rest of the house, whispering to each other as they went. After what felt like forever, Cody then heard them remove whatever Billy had installed to keep him in the bedroom. Cody was expecting them to crash the door in, but one of them, the one with the glasses, the one he called Owl, opened it slowly, peering through the tiny split to get an idea of what he was up against.
Cody had closed his eyes down to slits so that he would look more like a dark pile of clothing than a coyote. His ruse apparently worked as Owl’s eyes went right past him. As soon as he had the door open about six inches, Cody made his move. He leapt at the man who had inflicted so much trauma on him. A roar of pure fury escaped his powerful jaws because this man had messed up Cody to the point he wasn’t able to fully mate with his alpha. The look of fear on Billy’s face would undoubtedly stay with Cody the rest of his life. And he blamed this man.
Screaming, the man tried to slam the door shut, but he was too late. Cody was on him, staggering him back into the living room where he jumped on his chest. Reacting without thinking beyond the immediate moment, Cody snarled into the man’s face. Hungry for revenge, Cody lowered his powerful jaws and ripped out his throat. Hot, thick, and sickly sweet, the taste of blood filled his mouth and his nose, sickening him. Cody snarled, spraying the man’s lifeblood out, splattering the beige carpet and off-white walls.
Cody looked up and right into Weasel’s face. Horror turned him ashen, and he struggled to get his rifle up. With his canine eyes that were made more to notice movement than discern details, Cody couldn’t tell if it was a rifle that shot tranquilizers or bullets. Either way, he wanted to avoid getting shot. Before Cody could do anything, his mate entered, saw him on top of Owl, and then noticed Weasel with the gun. And then Billy did the most dangerous, heroic, and craziest thing Cody had ever seen. Billy jumped in front of the gun, taking the shot that was intended for him.
“Oh shit!” Weasel screamed.
Billy crumpled to the floor and lay unmoving.
Weasel dropped the gun and turned toward the door, obviously intent on running, but Cody managed to get a hold of him and yank him back from the doorway. He sunk his teeth deep into the meat of his calf, but the blood made his grip slippery, and Weasel got away. Cody wanted to follow him and finish what he’d started, but he was more concerned about his mate.
“Woof?” Cody nosed Billy so that he rolled over onto his back. His chest rose and fell, making Cody breathe a sigh of relief. When he looked down, he saw the little dart sticking out from his belly. Cody pawed it away and then licked Billy’s face. He was still sitting there, trying to awaken his mate when another man entered the apartment and closed the door.
“Holy shit.”
That was about what Cody was thinking. The man who had entered was huge. He had to be over six and a half feet tall and at least three hundred pounds. One sniff told Cody that whoever he was, he was a coyoteshifter, and Cody’s fear for his mate was washed away. This must be the man he’d spoken of. He was a friend, not a foe.
“I’m Dillion Palmer. A friend of Billy’s. And yours, too, if you want.”
Cody nodded. He would very much like to have this man as his friend. Despite his enormous build, he kept his voice low and he fairly brimmed with genuine concern and kindness.
“Can I take a look at him?”
Again, Cody nodded and backed away from Billy so Dillion would have more room to examine him.
“You got the dart out. Good.” Dillion picked it up, examined it, and then carefully wiped his fingerprints off of it before dropping it back on the floor. “Whoever they are they’ve got money. This dart and that gun”—he nodded to the gun the man had abandoned—“don’t come cheap.”
Cody darted his gaze from Dillion and Billy to the man lying dead.
“Yeah, I see him, but he’s dead and I can’t do anything for him but mourn him.” Dillion looked up at Cody and frowned. “I have a feeling that if I knew him, I wouldn’t grieve a bit for him.”
Cody nodded.
“I kinda figured men who came out here with a tranq gun weren’t hunting for people. They know what you are?”
Cody nodded.
“And that’s why he was trying to capture you?”
Another nod.
“Okay, well, given the noise and the fact that I saw the lady who lives downstairs peeking out the window with a phone pressed to her face, we’re going to have company soon.”
A new wave of panic sent Cody’s heart racing.
“I’m assuming if you could you would have shifted back, so clearly, something is preventing you from doing that.” Dillion looked over at the dead man and sighed. “We’ve got to get you and Billy out of here, but I’m afraid dead guy is going to have to stay.”
Cody ran to Billy’s room and retrieved his keys. They jingled merrily when he dropped them in front of Dillion and barked softly.
“Yeah, let’s get him some gear.” Dillion rose, grabbed a bag from the kitchen, went into Billy’s bedroom, and stuffed it with some clothes and Billy’s phone. On the way out, he bent down and picked up a spiral notebook, tucking that into the bag as well. “I’m sorry as hell to have to stick this on Billy when he clearly doesn’t need any morehassles with the law, but I’ve got a choice between getting you two to safety, or sticking around and trying to answer a bunch of questions that I really can’t tell the truth to. Oh, yeah, and they will most definitely put you in a cage.”
A new kind of fear infused Cody. He did not want to imagine what it would be like to be stuck in some cage waiting to be euthanized. Animals who killed men were not afforded clemency no matter how viciously that man had tortured said animal. But more than that, Cody was sorry. Not for killing Owl but for making more trouble for Billy.
“I’m going to pick him up and carry him out. You just follow right along behind me.” Dillion got his powerful arm around Billy and then pulled him up. Cody was grateful that Billy had called a big man. Otherwise Billy would have stayed on the carpet until he recovered from the shot. Given the powerful drugs Owl and Weasel were likely to have put in the dart, that could be a half a day or more.
As soon as Dillion got Billy on his feet, he started coming around.
“Hey, Billy. There’s really no time to explain so just lean on me as I take you to my car. Okay?”
Billy mumbled something and tried to focus on Dillion.
“Don’t worry about a thing. Your mate is safe, and he’s coming with us.” Dillion walked out of the apartment without bothering to close the door. Cody followed right behind. When they got to the car, Dillion poured Billy into the passenger seat, belted him in, then had Cody jump in back.
Just as Dillion turned the key, a police car turned into the parking lot.

Chapter 7

“Oh, my head.” Billy had the absolute worst headache of his life. It was like having the flu but going on a bender anyway then waking up with a hangover and then deciding to drop acid.

“It will start to fade in an hour,” Dillion said.

“So says you!” Billy said this very dramatically, pointed at

Dillion, then burst out laughing.
“Yeah, well, as a former hunter for Wildlife Services, I know a
thing or two about the drugs used in tranquilizer darts.” Dillion
slowed down to take a sharp curve, and Billy realized they were on
the River Road. He breathed a sigh of relief because that meant they
were headed out to the Rough River Ranch. “Although from what I
gather, those two idiots could have put all kinds of crap in there.” “Where’s Cody? Did I run him over?” Billy’s mind was a mess of
confusion. He thought he’d been driving a car, but he was in the
passenger seat now.
“He’s fine. He’s in the back seat.”
Billy looked back there, but all he saw was a big brown dog that
was happily thumping his tail. Dismissing the idea of having a dog as
a mate, he turned his attention onto something else. “I don’t know
why that salesman shot me.”
“He wasn’t a salesman. You’re just hallucinating because of the
ketamine.”
“Sure.” For a long time, Billy was happy to simply stare out the
window and watch the Colorado River scenery go by. But then a new
and terrifying thought came to him. “Did I kill that guy on my floor?” “No. You didn’t.”
When Dillion didn’t elaborate, Billy tilted his head to the side and
tried to think of what had happened, but his memory was a mess. It
was like each thought was a piece of spaghetti and they were all
tossed in a bowl. He couldn’t follow the thread of one for long before
he was off following another strand.
“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” Billy’s gut was telling him his already-
big problems were a hell of a lot bigger now.
“Yeah. Sorry about that, but I couldn’t get you two out and clean
up before the cops arrived. Do you remember them pulling up as we
pulled out?”
“I don’t pull out. I like to keep it in there and get the job done.”
Billy laughed and then forgot why he was laughing. “Christ. I feel so
fucked up. What did I do again?”
“Just go to sleep, okay? I would tell you, but you’re too messed up
to remember for longer than sixty seconds.”
Billy nodded. Maybe he’d gotten so sad about losing his job he’d
gone out drinking and Dillion had come to pick him up and drive him
home. That didn’t sound like him at all, but he’d been feeling pretty
out of sorts lately. Since he had nothing else to say, he pressed against
the door and went to sleep.
By the time Billy came to, he was feeling a lot better, but utterly
baffled about where he was. Well, not utterly since he knew he was in
a bedroom in a house that had to be pretty damn old because the
ceiling was very tall and all the furnishings seemed to be about one
hundred years old. At that realization, he was pretty sure he was in
Marshal Roberts’s farmhouse. Billy was as relieved as he was
nervous. Despite the fact he’d covered for him with Sheriff Judd
Kingsley, Marshal didn’t owe Billy anything. But if nothing else, he’d
at least given Billy a place to hang until the drugs got out of his
system.
“Woof!”
He looked over and saw Cody, in coyote form, sitting guard by the
door of the room. On the floor next to him were Billy’s wallet, his cell
phone, and his keys.
“Cody!” Billy stood and almost face-planted. He was dizzy as
hell, and his mouth felt dryer than dust. Going down to his knees, he
opened his arms and wrapped them around Cody. “I guess you
weren’t trying to hurt me after all, huh?”
Cody yipped and licked his face.
“I can’t tell you how worried about you I was.” Billy wrapped his
arms a little tighter. “When I saw the door to my apartment was open,
I thought someonehad hurt you, or taken you away, or maybe you’d
run off.”
Cody uttered a low whining yip that almost sounded like he’d
said, “no way,” in some kind of strange coyote language. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m not leaving you, and
you’d better not be leaving me.”
Rather than answer, Cody buried his face against Billy’s neck and
shoulder. It was as close to a hug as he could get at the moment. And
it told Billy all he needed to know. Just like him, Cody was in this for
the long haul.
“We’ll figure this out. Okay?” Billy held Cody close. What
amazed him was that he didn’t feel one bit of weirdness. His mate was
a coyote, and that was okay because they were going to work things
out. What should have been a million shades of weird simply wasn’t. “You feeling better?”
The low voice caused Billy to look up. Dillion stood in the
doorway. “Yeah. We’re safe at Marshal’s place?”
“We are. For now. Why don’t you and Cody come on into the
kitchen so we can have a little confab with everyone. Cassidy put on
some coffee and Storm made, uh…” Dillion trailed off as he looked
toward what Billy thought must be the kitchen.
“Just say ‘coffee cake,’” a man said. Billy assumed that it must be
the man named Storm. “I’m not going to try to help you pronounce
the German word again.”
“Do you think I could shower first?”
“I don’t think Cassidy or Storm would mind you using their
bathroom.”
Billy looked down at Cody. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
After a quick shower, Billy picked up his belongings and
distributed them throughout his pockets then he followed the sound of
voices. The kitchen was big, but homey. A long, battered wooden
table that looked like it could hold over a dozen men dominated the
room. When everyone settled in, that was about what they had.
Introductions were made, and Billy found himself sitting with
Marshal, the owner of the ranch, and his mate, Elliot, on one side of
the table. On the other side were Dooley, the ranch vet, his mate,
Tristan, and Doc, who was sitting next to Dillion. Standing and
serving everyone were Cassidy and his mate, Storm.
“Just one more minute—ah.” Marshal motioned in Jake Tanner. Jake entered but didn’t sit. “Given the nature of what you’re going
to discuss, maybe you don’t want an attorney present.”
“Sit down, Jake. The only one here who committed a crime did so
as a coyote.” Marshal pointed to Cody, who seemed to hang his head
in shame. “Hey, buck up, kiddo. You aren’t the first, and Lord knows
you probably won’t be the last.”
Cody lifted his head, and his big winsome gaze seemed to be
leveled at Billy.
“Hey,” Billy said. “Remember how we talked about doing things
that might make me angry at what you did but not at you? This would
be one of those things.” Billy didn’t stop looking at Cody until he
nodded.
“Yeah, well, it still might be best if I didn’t know what you were
planning to do,” Jake said. “I mean, if it’s going to involve anything
illegal…”
“We need unbiased legal advice.” Marshal pointed to the open
space on the other side of Billy. “Please stay.”
Clearly reluctant, Jake settled in. Cassidy brought him a cup of
coffee while Storm served up plates with a crumbly cake. Billy looked outside and realized the sun was just now setting so he hadn’t eaten in
over twenty-four hours. He made quick work of the cake. “Can I get something for Cody?” Billy asked Cassidy. “I’ve taken care of him.” Cassidy grinned, and Cody woofed
enthusiastically. “And I think you need a little something more than
cake.” Cassidy placed a plate piled high with fried chicken, potato
salad, and corn on the cob.
“Oh, God. Thank you.” Billy was hardly able to speak around all
the drool. He’d never been so famished in his life.
“You’re welcome.” Cassidy grinned.
There was silence while Billy ate the best meal he’d ever had in
his life and everyone sampled the cake, and then they erupted into a
chorus of praise for Storm.
“Thank you.” Storm gave a little bow. “I thought we needed
something to energize us for this talk.”
“Well, since I brought him out, I guess I’ll start.” Dillion toyed
with his fork while he spoke.“Like I said, the guy at Billy’s apartment
is most definitely dead. It’s not going to take a rocket scientist to
realize he was killed by an animal since the teeth marks are pretty
distinctive. For what it’s worth to Cody, he made a clean kill. The guy
didn’t suffer and no one but no one can say Billy did the deed
himself.”
“Doesn’t mean they won’t accuse me of sicking the animal on
him.” Billy just imagined what the investigators would make of all the
things they would find in his apartment. None of it was illegal, but he
had a stash of BDSM porn, quite a few sex toys, and some chromeencrusted leather Dom duds. “I can already see my soon-to-be-ex boss
spinning the story that the man was my lover and we were doing
something weird to the dog.”
“Well, you’re screwed in the realm of public opinion, but at least
you’ve got us.” Jake flashed him a weak smile.
“A bunch of guys desperate to get rid of you.” Marshal gave Billy
a look of chagrin. “I know you helped us out that day with Kingsley,
and while I appreciate it—”
“Don’t sweat it.” Billy had a gut feeling this was coming, and he
didn’t blame Marshal one damn bit. Billy was their brother, but
Marshal had to think of the group as a whole. “I’m glad you’ve helped
me just have a place to get over the damn tranquilizer dart.” “Yeah, how did that happen?” Dillion asked. “Did the guy intend
to hit you?”
“That son of a bitch was going to shoot Cody.” Billy looked over
at his mate. “I thought it was a regular gun.”
“And you leapt in front of it?” Elliot’s big green eyes got bigger. “Talk about cojones.” Cassidy lifted his cup of coffee in salute to
Billy.
“He’s my mate.” Billy found himself looking at Cody and
realizing that despite all the problems and his hesitation with
committing, he really did care about him. It wasn’t love, not yet, but
he had a feeling that would come. Maybe fate was better at setting
him up than he was.
Cody met his gaze, and Billy felt the brush of his mind against his.
He couldn’t fully understand him, not in words, but he felt his
emotions in flashes of pictures. After a few seconds of looking at him,
Billy knew Cody was sorry for everything that had happened. “I know you are. You shifted because you smelled those men
coming.”
“You’re able to talk with him?” Dooley, the ranch veterinarian,
made a note on a piece of paper.
“Not with words but more with pictures.”
“And you haven’t mated in animal form?” Dooley asked as if it
were the most normal discussion in the world.
“No.” For some reason Billy felt weird talking about mating when
his mate was currently stuck in his canine body.
“It’s just that so far couples can’t mentally communicate until they
mate in both forms.” Dooley made another note, and Billy found
himself staring at the paper while he considered taking it. “Oh, wait.” Dooley liftedhis hand palm out. “No names, nothing like that. I use codes. I just keep notes so that I can get a handle on treating other shifters. Like with Cody, he’s at his full mass in coyote form and most guys shift into a coyote that’s half their human mass. This is probably
why he was able to knock down a pretty bigsized man.”
“I noticed that, too.”
“You did?”
“I was here when Marshal shifted, remember?” Billy thought of
that day. When Marshal had changed into a coyote, he’d probably
tipped the scales at one fifty, which was half his three hundred
pounds. “Is Cody okay? I mean, did you look at him?”
“I did.” Dooley left it at that.
“When you looked at him, did everything…” Billy had no idea
how to finish that sentence.
“He seems fine.” Dooley seemed to want to say more but
hesitated.
“But?”
“No but. He’s fine.” Dooley smiled at Cody, who woofed. “He’s
totally healthy. I’m just wondering what would happen if you shifted.” Billy looked around the table and realized every man’s gaze was
on him. “Hey, if I could shift, I would.”
“I think the drug cocktail might be interfering. Normally, when the
beta mate shifts, the alpha follows and they mate.”
“Actually, I think it’s because when he shifted, I thought he was
attacking me.” Billy briefly explained what had happened in his
bedroom. “But now, after the pictures Cody…spoke to me—for lack
of a better term—he smelled those men through the swamp cooler and
shifted in panic.”
“That’s why he attacked the one man?” Dillion asked. Billy nodded. “I don’t know all the details, but he said something
about a red room, and intimated there were experiments.” Silence descended.
“Fuckers,” Storm snarled the one word that managed to succinctly
sum up Billy’s feelings.
Cody woofed.
“Okay, well, getting back to the issue about the bite mark on the
fucker’s neck, they also might realize the bite marks match the marks
on the two men who were found dead out here.” Marshal shook his
head. “That’s all I need. Another excuse for Kingsley to come onto
my land and share his nasty self with everyone.”
“Good news there.” Jake swallowed his mouthful of cake. “Since
Billy’s apartment is in the city limits, the county probably won’t be
involved.”
Billy remembered the two men who’d been found dead on
Marshal’s ranch. He didn’t know which shifter was involved, and he
didn’t want to know. Ignorance was bliss. But that’s what had gotten
Kingsley intent on hunting down the “goddamned coydog menace” on
Marshal’s ranch.
“I don’t know what will happen to your case, though. What with
you disappearing when there’s a dead man in your apartment.” “Well, I don’t think I’ll be getting my job back, but at least I won’t
be blamed for his death.” Billy thought back to yesterday when the
most important thing he’d wanted to accomplish was to get his job as
a county deputy back and find out who killed Samuel Douglas. It was
now obvious it wouldn’t matter anymore. The sheriff’s department
was never going to take him back, and he could no longer schmooze
his way around the BDSM scene without everyone knowing who he
was.
A forlorn sigh made him look over at Cody. “Hey, I’m not mad at
you. Remember? We talked about that.”
Cody nodded, but he still looked so downtrodden it just about
broke Billy’s heart.
“Well, we’ve got another bee in our bonnet.”
Billy looked over at Marshall.
“Seems that the police caught the other man who was in your
place because of the wound on his leg.”
Billy looked over at Cody, and he flashed him images. “Good for
you for biting him. I’m glad you did.” Billy looked at the other men
around the table. “I know it’s going to cause more trouble for me and
probably all of you, but I’m happy that Cody has gotten back at the
men who hurt him.”
“I am, too.” Elliot looked at Cody and smiled. “You were only
trying to protect yourself and your mate.”
Cody thumped his tail in agreement.
“Well, the man he bit is in custody and refusing to talk.” “Good,” Billy said. “But how long is it before blowhard Kingsley
tries to link him to my kinky sex life?”
“Apparently not long.” Jake sighed and pointed down to his
smartphone. “Seems our esteemed windbag has issued a BOLO on
you.”
“Fuck.” Billy hung his head. “I thought this was a city matter?” “Since the city and county law enforcement share the same
building, Kingsley was bound to hear what happened. Given your
suspension and the suspicious activity at your apartment that Kingsley
says ties to another case”—Jake looked up at everyone—“I’m sure he
means the death of the two men out here”—he lowered his attention
back to his phone—“he’s claiming jurisdiction. The city is gladly
handing the whole mess over to the county.”
Billy let fly a string of unrelated expletives that did nothing to
make him feel better. When Cody came near and put his head in his
lap, that actually did make him feel stronger and more able to cope.
Idly, Billy stroked his fingers over Cody’s fur, marveling at how soft
and warm he was. Billy didn’t speak, and neither did Cody. They
didn’t need to when their actions said it all. They were in this
together.
“As much as I’d love to offer out the welcome mat, there’s no way
you can stay here. Not that I don’t want you here, because I do, just
that I know Kingsley is going to be out here sniffing around. Anything
to do with missing men and he—” Marshal’s cell phone cut him off with the most obnoxious piece of musicBilly had ever heard. “Speak
of the devil.”
“You gave Kingsley his own ringtone?” Jake chuckled. “I don’t like to miss his calls.” Marshal pulled the device out of
his pocket, but before he answered he pressed his finger to his lips,
indicating he wantedtotal silence. “Hello?” He yanked the phone
away from his head, and Billy heard Kingsley bellowing at the top of
his lungs. Unable to make out the words, it was still clear from the
tone that Kingsley was blaming Marshal for something. “I don’t know
who you’re talking about.”
Another longwinded yelling fest followed.
“If I see him, I’ll—he hung up.” Marshal shut the phone off and
put it back in his pocket. “Okay, folks, we’ve got to get moving on
this.” Marshal looked up at the window, and Billy followed his gaze.
He couldn’t help but grin when he noticed there was an old-fashioned
cat clock with a swinging tail. Billy hadn’t seen one in ages, and
something about the nostalgia of the clock made him happy. “It’s
almost ten, which means we have about ten hours before Kingsley
shows up on our doorstep.”
“Don’t worry.” Billy stood. “We’re out of here.”
“That you are. But you’re not alone in this.”
Billy had no idea how having the moral support of his brothers
was going to help him. He looked at his life and saw himself running
and trying to hide himself and Cody. It was a life of nothing but
misery. And then Billy had to make the toughest call he’d ever made
in his life. “Can you keep him here?”
Everyone looked over at Cody.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve got to turn myself in. If I do, it will take the heat off all of
you and Cody. If they’ve got me to question, they won’t be coming
out here, sniffing around, and putting all of you at risk.”
Cody whined low, and from the pictures he was flinging at Billy,
he didn’t like the idea one damn bit.
“Hey, wait.” Cassidy came closer to the table. “I’m not okay with
this idea.”
“Look, it’s really simple. One guy—me—for all of you?” Billy
laughed lightly even though he felt horrible. “Do the math and you’ll
see the best thing for me to do is turn myself in.”

Chapter 8

Cody had never felt such fear in his life. Just the idea of being parted from his mate was far more terrifying than the idea of returning to the hands of the cruel men. Cody wanted to scream out with frustration because he couldn’t talk, but then he found that he could because somehow his anxiety caused him to shift.

“Please don’t leave me behind.” He looked up at his mate and then launched himself at him.
Billy enfolded him in his powerful arms. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
“Not if you go.” Cody realized he was naked, but his modesty wasn’t what made him cling to Billy. It was his deep-seated fear that if they parted now, they would be parted forever.
“It’s okay.” Billy looked over his shoulder. “Can we have a minute in that bedroom?”
“Sure.” Cassidy nodded. “You’ll find some sweats and shirts in the second and fourth dresser drawers.” When a couple of the men at the table tilted their heads, Cassidy explained, “Hey, Storm likes to see me bend over just as much as I like to see him do it, so we staggered which drawer belongs to who.”
“Whom,” Storm automatically corrected. “If it belongs to him, it belongs to whom.”
“Yes, dear.” Cassidy bussed his cheek. “You and your helpful grammar rules.”
Billychuckled, but Cody didn’t understand. He understood the crack about grammar but not the thing about the drawers. When he looked up at his mate, confused, Billy shook his head. “I’ll explain. Let’s go.”
Using Billy’s body as a shield, Cody went toward the bedroom where Billy had recovered. Once they were alone, he relaxed marginally, but not fully. “Please don’t leave me.”
“Cody, I…” Billy trailed off and rather than look at him, he turned to the dresser and searched through the drawers. As soon as Billy bent over to examine the items in the lowest drawer, Cody understood what everyone else had been chuckling about because he thoroughly enjoyed watching Billy bend over. His mate’s body was very long and strong.
“I can lead you to them.”
“What?” Billy grasped a piece of clothing, closed the drawer, rose, and turned to face him.
“I can show you where those men held me.”
“Cody, look.” Billy approached with a shirt and pants in his hand. “I know they hurt you, but the only one who’s left is in custody now. Knowing where they held you won’t really do us any good.”
Desperate to stop Billy from going to the police, Cody remembered how keen Dooley had been to write things down. “They kept notes. About me. About everything they did.”
Billy hesitated, and Cody saw his chance.
“Dooley wants information about how to help our kind. Owl and Weasel knew a lot about me and what happens to those like me. Like us. They were always talking about things.”
“That’s how you know so much about our kind.”
“Some of it I wished I didn’t know.” Cody had always wondered how they’d gotten him, but when the time came to run, he had, and he’d never looked back. Until now. “If we can find out what they did to me and why, then maybe we can fix me.”
“You’re not broken.”
“I am.” Cody took the clothing and slipped it on. He felt a small flush of pride when he noticed that his mate couldn’t take his eyes off him. “They did something that messed up my normal shifting and mating.”
“We don’t know that.”
“We should have mated in animal form.”
“It might just be stress.” Billy reached out to straighten the T-shirt Cody had pulled on, but then he was gently caressing Cody’s shoulder. “I have to turn myself in.”
“But you didn’t do anything.” Guilt was a far more crushing feeling than fear could ever be.
“That doesn’t matter. I’m wanted for questioning. If I go to them voluntarily, I can spin a story that absolves me and has nothing to do with the men out here. Or you.” Billy sighed and looked away. “In order for us to be together, we’d have to go into hiding, and that’s no way for you to live. You deserve better than that.”
“I deserve to be with my mate.”
“You do.” Billy came close and pulled Cody into his arms. “You deserve to have a life in the sunshine, Cody. I can’t give you that if I’m a hunted man.” Billy eased him back enough so that they could see each other. “I won’t subject you to a life in hiding. I can’t. I—” Billy abruptly stopped talking and kissed Cody very softly.
Pictures flowed into Cody’s mind, and he found himself pouring over them as he felt the love in his mate’s gentle touch. Images of them together doing everything from mundane household chores like laundry and dishes, to them sitting along a riverbank fishing, to their bodies twined together in passion—all of the images were of the life Billy wanted to build with him. Even though they hadn’t mated fully, Cody knew they had a strong bond since they could communicate without words. Usually, that only happened to fully mated pairs, just like Dooley said.
“I can’t give you that life if we’re in hiding.”
Cody wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Billy showed him the exact life he’d always wanted. Moreover, he knew Billy wouldn’t do well as a wanted man. He was a man of honor who believed in law and order. Why else would he have made a career for himself in law enforcement?
“I understand.”
“Do you?” Billy brushed Cody’s hair off his forehead. “I want so much to have that kind of life with you, but I have to clear this up first.”
“And it’s all my fault.”
“No. It’s the fault of those two men for taking you against your will.” Billy suddenly frowned and looked away.
“What?”
“How did they find you?”
“You mean when I was a kid? I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t with them, so maybe they had me from birth.”
“Well, there’s that, but I’m speaking more of how they found you at my apartment. No matter how good of hunters they are, there’s no way they could have tracked you over that distance. Not without some kind of help.”
“They always knew where I’d been and what I’d done. When I was little I thought they were magic because it seemed to me they could see through walls, but I know now that’s silly.” Cody had lived in terror of Weasel and Owl. “One time when I was seven or eight I ran away and they were waiting for me at the end of the street. I didn’t run again after that. Not until I smelled you.”
Billy smiled and cupped Cody’s chin. “I’m glad you found me.”
“Are you? I don’t see how after the mess I made in your apartment, not to mention your life.”
“Hey, that wasn’t your fault. Animal instincts kicked in. You saw it as a life-ordeath situation, and you attacked. I don’t blame you.”
“No?”
“No. You did what you needed to do to protect yourself. You should always, always, follow that instinct.”
“Are you really glad I’m your mate?” Cody knew he was being needy, but he wanted to make sure that Billy wasn’t leaving because of him.
“Yeah.” The smile that lifted the edges of Billy’s mouth was at once sexy and shy. “I really am.”
Cody pressed into him, locking their lips together, and he knew he was more than welcomed when Billy uttered a low growl and grasped his buttocks, pulling him close. It was a mating call of the alpha that Cody answered with a soft whimper.
“I want you.” Cody fumbled with Billy’s fly.
Billy cupped his hand and drew it away. “They’re waiting for us.” He looked the direction of where all the men were, but Cody thought it wouldn’t take much to make him change his mind.
“I don’t think this will take long.” Cody pushed the bedroom door closed, locked it, and then returned to Billy. “Besides, you said I should speak up when I want something. And I want you.”
“We really…”
But Cody was already sliding Billy’s zipper down. “Please. It will make it easier for me to let you go.”
Billy’s expressive gaze darted between Cody and the door, but it was clear his lust won out. Grasping his buttocks tightly with one big hand, Billy slid Cody’s borrowed sweats down and wrapped his other hand around Cody’s cock. “Damn, but you’re about ready to blow.”
“I know. I just got close to you and—oh.”
Billy was on his kneessucking Cody’s cock into his mouth. When he looked up, he slid Cody’s cock out of his mouth. “What? Only you can get on your knees?” Billy grinned. “Enjoy the feeling of power.” Billy closed his eyes and sucked Cody’s prick back into his mouth.
For a moment, Cody stood still, unsure what to do. He’d never imagined his alpha doing something like this to him. But then, as he looked down, Cody enjoyed the feeling of lording over his mate. Not in any cruel way, but just that wicked sexual way like the role-playing they’d talked about. Trailing his fingers through Billy’s hair, Cody rocked his hips and watched as Billy hungrily sucked him in and out and oh, God! Cody climaxed so hard he growled.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” Billy kissed Cody’s softening prick and then stood. “You getting all power hungry and—hey!”
Cody pushed Billy onto the neatly made bed and then climbed up after him. “You lie there and let me have my way with you.”
Grinning, Billy put his hands behind his head. “I’m all yours.”
Cody grasped his mate’s cock and sucked him into his mouth as deeply as he could, but then he pulled him out, fisting his shaft as he teased the tip in a circle with his tongue. It didn’t take long for Billy’s breathing to grow hitched and uneven. When he came, he uttered a low whimper that filled Cody with a rush of power.
Letting go of his cock, Cody slid up his body and merged their mouths. The combined flavor of their lust was astonishingly good. For a moment, Cody thought he would shift, but something, perhaps the fact they didn’t have time to mate in coyote form, pulled him back.
Cody knew he had shown Billy his weakness, but now he would show him his strength. He’d always believed when he met his alpha, all his troubles would be solved. Cody still believed that, but now he realized he had to help solve those dilemmas. “When you come back for me, then we will mate.”
“We will.” Billy kissed him as they rose together. “You’re okay?”
“I will wait for you. And I will be strong for you because I know you need to do this.”
They didn’t stop kissing as they each fixed their clothing.
“You are so much tougher than you think you are.” Billy smoothed down Cody’s shirt. “So incredibly strong to come as far as you did and give yourself to me without any reservation.”
Cody looked down then up. “I thought you would fix everything for me. But now I know that’s something we’ll do together. Not just now, but always.”
“A true partnership.” This time when Billy kissed him, there was just as much heat, but there was more passion. Not lust, because that they had sated, but a true passion was growing between them.
Hand in hand they returned to the kitchen, and it was clear the men there knew what they’d been doing by the grins they flashed their way. Cody didn’t feel embarrassed, but he d id feel a little strange.
“I think we’ve got another problem.” Billy’s announcement caused Cody’s hand to tighten on his. “I think they put some kind of tracking device on Cody.”
All the men’s gazes riveted to him, and Cody felt like the clothes he’d just put on turned into smoke and vanished.
“There’s no other way they would have been able to track him. From what Cody described to me, he had to have come from at least three hundred if not five hundred miles away.”
Dooley whistled. “That’s about how far Tristan came.”
“Were you in coyote form when you traveled?” Tristan asked.
Cody nodded.
“It’s okay, really. All of these men are our friends. I told them because I know they can help us find it and get rid of it.”
“Or use it.”
Billy and Cody looked at Dooley.
“Just because we find it doesn’t mean we should destroy it.” Up went one brow high over his beautiful lavender eyes. “They don’t know that we have Cody.”

Chapter 9

“You intend to bring those sick bastards onto my land?” Marshal gave Dooley a glare that would have stripped the hide off a lesser man, but Dooley met his laser intensity with folksy, down-home charm.

“Hear me out.” Dooley lifted his hand to Marshal.
“I’m willing to listen.” Cody let go of Billy and settled at the table. Billy joined him feeling more and more impressed with his mate.

Each minute they spent together, Cody was maturing by leaps and bounds. Gone was his bright-eyed, blinky innocence. He would never be a shrewd gambler with an impeccable poker face, but Cody was becoming a man who could hold his own. For the first time, Billy genuinely admired him and didn’t feel he was abandoning a defenseless man in order to clear his name. Too, what Cody said in the bedroom helped to ease Billy’s conscience. Obviously, Cody intuitively understood that Billy had to turn himself in not only because that’s the kind of man he was, but because then they could have the kind of life they wanted to have. Together. As partners.

“If there is a tracking device that they followed, then we can lure them out here.” Dooley pointed to the table.
“For what reason?” Marshal asked.
“I’m thinking we toss that son of a bitch in a cage and get some answers.” Storm settled next to Dooley, his intention with the nameless, faceless man who had hurt one of his own pretty clear.
“You’re talking about illegal detainment.” Jake sighed and stood up. “Forgive me, but this is exactly the kind of talk that I shouldn’t be hearing since I’m an attorney.”
“I hardly think we have to worry about violating his civil rights after what he did to Cody.” Storm crossed his arms and glared at Jake.
“Hey, hold up, Captain Red-Hot Pokers.” Dooley grasped Storm’s arm. “I’m not talking about tossing him in a cell and beating the shit out of him. That’s crazy.”
“Right. You never get good information out of a torture victim anyway.” Billy added his two cents. “Not that I personally wouldn’t like to kick the living shit out of him, but as a former deputy, I learned in the academy that torture really isn’t an effective way to get facts out of someone.”
“I’ve heard that,” Cassidy said, pouring more coffee for those whose cups were empty. “They will say whatever they think you want to hear just to get the pain to stop.”
“For the record I wasn’t talking about torture. Not exactly. Maybe withholding basic needs.” Storm considered the men at the table. “Nothing deadly.”
“I really don’t think I should hear this.” Jake waved off any more coffee. “Come on, Billy. Let’s go talk strategy.”
“Hey, no. You don’t have to go with me.”
“I’m not planning on it.” Jake grinned when Billy’s eyebrows rose. “But I’m thinking I can help you go over what you’re going to say.”
“I appreciate it, but I don’t want to miss out on this conversation where they’re speculating about using Cody as bait.”
“I can listen and tell you.” Cody looked up at Billy, and it was clear to him that Cody wanted to learn to stand on his own. Surprisingly, it hurt a little. Not that he wanted Cody clinging to him like a burr but, damn. He thought he would need him a little more than this. “I’m not going to agree to anything until we talk about it.”
“But I was going to head into town tonight.”
“I’d recommend you don’t. You’ll just end up doing time in a cell until someone, probably the walking gasbag, gets into work. What time is that usually?”
“On a good day? Ten.” Billy laughed. “Most of the time he says he’s running the River Road looking for illegal campers.”
“Right. And I only watch sports for the thrill of the game.”
Billy hesitated. “That’s not why—”
“He watches for that but also to admire the hunky athletes.” Tristan grinned, and Dooley gave him a raised brow. “What? I like to watch for that reason, too. Besides, he has really good beer at his house.”
“I watch all sports with one eye toward the game and the other toward hot men. Except for bowling. That I watch strictly to learn good form.” Jake waved Billy over. “Come with me to my place. We’ll have a few drinks and discuss your strategy. I’ll bring you back here after.” Jake looked at Marshal. “Is there a room free?”
Marshal hesitated, and Billy wanted to withdraw Jake’s request. The last thing Billy wanted to do was put Marshal on the spot or worse, put Marshal in Kingsley’s crosshairs. Just as he opened his mouth to say he and Cody could find a place in town, Marshal shook his head.
“For one night I can handle it.” Marshal pointed upward. “Go up the first flight of stairs, turn right, down one door on the right. That will be your room. You don’t have your own bathroom, but it’s a nice bed and it’s yours for the night.” He pointed down the hall from where they were. “Bathroom’s down this hall, first door on the left.”
“If you’ve hit the office, you’ve gone too far.” Cassidy chuckled. “Although there is a bathroom in there.”
“Thank you.” Billy nodded to all the men at the table. “I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for both of us.”
“Hey, you’re one of us now.” Cassidy poured more coffee into his mate’s cup.
“If you need me, you call me.” Billy wrote his cell number on a piece of paper and handed it to Cody.
“I don’t have a phone.”
“Someone here does.” Billy watched as the innate fear that Cody had was gently nibbled away by his newfound strength.
“I will call if I need you.” Cody rose, kissed him good-bye, then settled back in at the table.
Billy had no idea that walking away from him for even this short amount of time would be so difficult. But it was. In a way, he felt he was the one who needed reassurance.
“He’ll be fine,” Jake said, leading Billy out of the farmhouse. They walked over to a compact car. “Get in. Really. We’re just going up the road a bit.”
Billy looked at the car then back at the house.
“Or we could just sit on the porch.” Jake chuckled and slapped Billy on the back. “And you were worried about him.”
“Yeah. Don’t tell him, okay?”
“Your secret is safe with me.” Jake and Billy returned to the porch and settled on the swing. For a moment Billy worried that their combined weight would be too much for the old-looking thing, but he was wrong.
“Marshal rebuilt it so he and Elliot could sit out here.” Jake sighed and looked toward his car.
“Sorry about—”
“Don’t be. I really just wanted you at my place because Nathan is in California this week. Our house feels so big and empty when he’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“Ah, it’s complicated.”
“Oh.” For a while they sat there, swinging gently, listening to the music of crickets. Since the air was cooling off, their song was slowing down. “What do you think I should do?”
“Tell the truth.” Jake grinned, and his smile glowed a little in the dark. “You weren’t there to see what happened to the dead man on the floor.”
“Neither were you.”
“Dillion filled me in while you were sleeping.” Jake looked away. “You know, Cody didn’t leave your side. Even when Cassidy tried to tempt him with food, he wouldn’t budge. We were worried it would wake you up, but we finally let him eat in there. He’s devoted and you haven’t even fully mated.”
“I know. He’s a good man, and I’m lucky.”
“He is, too.”
“That remains to be seen.” Billy sighed. “Christ, I didn’t mean that to sound so pessimistic. Just…I’m not too thrilled with my chances of getting away from this clean.”
“I am.”
“You are?” Billy turned on the swing so he could see Jake.
“Tell them the truth of what happened and there’s nothing for them to hold you on.”
“But the dead man on the floor—shit. I don’t even know where to start with that one.”
“Start with the truth that you had nothing to do with him. You went out to the diner to get coffee. People saw you there, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You came home and your door was open. You went up and found he was dead, right?”
“Right. I saw—”
“Ah!” Jake tapped Billy’s knee. “That’s not what I asked you. Don’t volunteer information.”
Billy laughed hollowly. “Two weeks off the job and I’ve forgotten all the interview techniques.” One of the worst things subjects did was try to come up with an answer for everything even when they had no idea what had happened.
“Don’t overthink this, Billy. Just like that day when you witnessed Marshal shift. All of us were shocked, all of us saw it, but that’s not the story we told, is it?”
“No. Not even close.”
“But we didn’t really lie, either.”
“Not really. We just left things out.”
“Right. That’s what you need to do now. Answer their questions, but leave things out, and for the love of God do not try to explain everything. The situation is nothing but a big ball of confusion, and that’s exactly what’s going to make the sheriff’s department fumble.”
Jake and Billy sat on the swing, their legs moving them back and forth with gentle strokes, as Jake played devil’s advocate. He asked Billy every question that Kingsley was likely to, and some that he probably would never think of, but Jake believed in being thorough. After an hour, Billy felt he was ready for just about anything.
“You’re going to do fine. You’re going to answer to your part in the confusion, but you don’t have to solve the story for them, right?”
“Right. I came home, saw what I saw, some guy I don’t know shot me with a tranquillizer dart, and disoriented, I wandered off.”
“That’s right. Dillion saw you and brought you out here. Stick with that and they are going to let you go. And in case they don’t.” Jake slipped his wallet out of his jacket pocket, extracted a card, and then handed it to Billy. “That’s the office number, but it also has Owen’s number. He’d be more than happy to represent you.”
“Oh, man. Wouldn’t Kingsley have a shit fit over that!”
“Given that you destroyed Kingsley’s murder case against him, yeah. He’d really piss his pants if Owen could turn around and do the same favor for you.”
As compelling as the idea was, Billy was reluctant. “It just smacks of one hand washing the other, you know?”
“I do. But Owen is there if you need him.”
“Thanks.” Billy tucked the card away.
“And I’m sure Noel will be interested in helping, too.”
“No, really, don’t—”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean with you. I mean with Cody. Helping him if we can’t.”
For the first time Billy realized Cody might need counseling for what had happened to him. “Shit. I should have thought of that on my own.”
“Hey, you’ve got a lot on your plate right now. Try cutting yourself some slack. Besides, that’s why you have all of us. We can help.” Jake looked back toward the house. “I think Cody seems well adjusted if not a little needy, but that’s understandable, given what he’s been through.”
“Yeah.” Billy thought again about Dooley’s hesitation to discuss Cody’s checkup, but he had enough on his plate and moved on. “But what if…hell. It’s not like Cody can tell a shrink what he is and why he was imprisoned. They’ll lock him up.”
“Cross that bridge if and when you come to it,” Jake cautioned. “Don’t be borrowing trouble.”
“Right.” Billy considered. “Do you really think taking Cody back where he was tortured is a good thing?”
“I honestly don’t know. If you’re there with him, it might be good for him to confront everything that happened. Take it down in his mind to a realistic level, you know? I don’t think it’s good to let him just dwell on those men and what they did to him.”
“Yeah.” Billy had to agree with that. The way Cody spoke of them was like they were allpowerful. No wonder he’d panicked so deeply when he smelled them back at Billy’s apartment. “Clearly, we need to get a shrink out here on the ranch.”
“We?” Jake chuckled. “Are you and Cody thinking of moving out here?”
“I’d like to. My career with law enforcement is over. And I’m okay with that. But I need to do something with myself.” Billy looked around. “It’s good out here. Peaceful. Safe. Cody would have a big cushion of land and lots of good men to show him not all men are selfserving pricks.”
“This is true.” Jake let out a long, slow sigh. “You really could have something with us. I think Marshal would be happy to have both of you out here.”
“But what the hell will I do for him? I’m not a cowboy.”
“You can learn. Hell, anyone who managed to put up with Kingsley has got to have amazing learning skills.”
Billy laughed and then sobered. There was some truth to that. “Should we go back in?”
“Yeah. Let’s find out what they hashed out.”
Billy had barely stood up from the swing when Jake placed his hand on Billy’s shoulder.
“One thing you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re here for you. I know Marshal said he didn’t want you hiding out here, and that’s true enough, but I knew you weren’t a man to hide. But when you go into town, all of us will be here protecting Cody. Okay?”
Unable to turn around because he didn’t want Jake to see the depth of the emotion in his eyes, Billy patted Jake’s hand, offering that in lieu of a verbal thankyou. He’d never really been close to his two brothers, and he’d never really kept in touch with his family. To be thirty-five and find himself with a huge extended family was a lot nicer than Billy could have ever imagined.
“Buck up, Billy. We’ve got to go in and see your mate.”
Billy laughed and led the way into the house. From the front room, he heard a lot of laughter coming from the kitchen, the sound of which added more emotion onto what Billy already felt. If he wasn’t careful, he was likely to cry. Not that doing so would be the end of the world, just that he couldn’t remember anything in the recent past that touched him so deeply. Finding Cody, realizing their potential together, then joining up with more men just like themselves…it was magical.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Cody had his head back and he was laughing. He rolled his head forward, and their gazes connected, locking on one another like wild animals sizing each other up. A shock of recognition went through Billy when he saw himself in Cody. Something had changed about him in a very short time. His eyes were slightly more intense, not in color, but in clarity. Almost as if he was now looking at Billy in a totally different way. What stunned Billy completely was that he recognized that look. It was the expression of an alpha male on the hunt.
“Come on, let’s go up to bed and I’ll tell you all about our plan.” Cody was up from the table and at Billy’s side with minimal movement. It was sleek and practiced, almost as if they’d done this a thousand times. When Cody was at Billy’s side, Billy couldn’t shake the feeling that Cody seemed taller. Billy looked down and saw that Cody was barefoot, so it wasn’t shoes creating an illusion. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Billy shook off his strange perceptions as simply holdovers from the drugs he’d been injected with. “I think I’m just tired.”
“So I guess I can’t sex you up?” Cody leaned into him as they walked in measured strides up the stairs.
Again, it struck Billy strange that Cody was taking the lead. Not that he minded, just that it was curious.
“Billy?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m—where are we going?” He recalled that Marshal had given them explicit instructions, but he couldn’t seem to remember them now. It was strange because his memory was his most prized possession as a deputy. Billy had always been able to recall names, faces, and places with effortless ease. Latelyhe couldn’t remember his own name.
“Up the first flight.” Cody gripped Billy’s hand in his. “Now we turn right and go down to the first door on the right and voilà!”
Billy followed Cody into the room and left his flip-flops by the door. Moonlight spilled through layers of lace curtains, making the room surprisingly romantic. The bed was a king, same as Billy had at home, and it looked so comfortable he felt like he wanted to sleep for a week. “I can’t believe I’m so tired after sleeping all day.”
Behind him, Cody locked the door. “What makes you think I’m going to let you have any sleep?”
Billy chuckled as he turned, but he found Cody pressing into him as he guided him backward toward the bed. Something was inherently different with his mate, but Billy couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
With a hungry growl, Cody eased Billy onto the surface of the bed and then started to remove his clothing with skilled fingers. Billy wasn’t certain what came over him, but he let Cody do what he wanted. He was so tired and so worried about his interview tomorrow despite the fact that he’d gone over everything with Jake. There was something inside Billy that feared the inevitable showdown with his former boss.
“I want to kiss every part of you.” Cody’s voice was greedy as he pushed Billy’s pants down along with his briefs. “I want to know you everywhere.” His tone turned hungry as he helped Billy remove his shirt.
Somewhere between getting him undressed, Cody managed to rid himself of the clothing he’d borrowed. When their naked bodies rubbed together, Billy let out a whimpering cry of bliss. Cody felt so warm, strong, and powerful that Billy wanted to lose himself in his embrace and forget all about what hell waited him tomorrow.
“I feel like I’ve waited for you forever.” Cody rolled Billy over, parted his buttocks, and then licked softly at his hole. The sensation was foreign yet familiar, making Billy’s head spin. He couldn’t quite catch his breath, and each time he tried to speak all that emerged was a guttural whimper.
What startled his eyes wide was when he felt Cody teasing his finger inside his ass.
“Whoa.” Billy tried to roll over, but Cody felt so powerful.
“What?” Cody chuckled and managed to get Billy on his back with one gentle nudge. “Are you demanding I claim you right this very second?”
“I—”
Cody kissed Billy hard and pulled him close with one strong arm while the other plunged down between Billy’s legs. “God, you are so fucking tight.” Cody’s fingers slid around Billy’s puckered flesh, teasing and taunting him. “So sweet and soft. Tell me you waited for me.”
“I’ve never done this.” Billy swallowed hard, gasping at how good Cody’s probing fingers felt. He’d never been much interested in being touched there, but it felt so good he was afraid to say anything lest Cody stop. “I want you.”
“I want you, too.” Cody rolled away suddenly, causing Billy to groan and try to pull him back. “Just a second. I’m sure our host— ah.” From the bedside table, Cody removed a tube of what Billy hoped was lube. “I’m definitely going to need help getting inside you.”

Chapter 10

“Please hurry. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life.” Billy’s voice was high and sweet, plucking at the baser instincts in Cody’s soul the way a skilled harpist’s fingers danced over taut strings.

Working together, Cody got his cock slicked up, and he rose over Billy. Looking down at him in the moonlight, Cody was surprised to see Billy had a beard and a mustache. That wasn’t right at all. His mate should have no hair from his nose down after shifting into a coyote. Ah, that was it. Billy hadn’t shifted yet.

“Cody?”
“Yes?”
“Hurry, please.”
Cody wanted to heed his mate’s yearning call, but something held

him back. Something wasn’t right with this, but he couldn’t remember what.
“What’s wrong with you?” Billy asked.
“Nothing.” Gently, Cody lowered himself over Billy, marveling at the feel of Billy wrapping his legs around his hips and pulling him down. The mating scent was strong enough to make him blink rapidly. And then suddenly the fact that Billy had hair and was taller and bigger than Cody didn’t matter so much. It was what it was because that was the way it was. When Cody’s prick pressed against Billy’s hole, and he arched up, granting Cody entrance, he knew everything was right. Oh so slowly he started to slide into his mate.
With a cry, Billy pulled back, dislodging Cody’s cock.
Soothing him, Cody waited until Billy was ready to try again. Each time he pressed into him he managed to go just a little deeper before pain pushed him away. What maddened Cody was that what caused Billy pain gave Cody tremendous pleasure. That tight ring of heat that he gently breached offered up such sublime ecstasy Cody almost lost his mind. When he’d gotten inside by just a few inches, he felt another ring. Not as tight, not as resistant, but still the sensation shocked him. By the time he was fully inside, Cody was relieved that he would never hurt his mate like this again. Yes, the tightness felt good along his prick, but watching Billy wince and struggle to accept him had tempered his enjoyment.
Together, he and Billy uttered their mating cries. Cody’s growl of dominance was answered by a whimper of submission that at once made him hungry to move deeper, but that lust was moderated by a desire to ensure his mate felt only bliss. When Billy struggled below him, Cody worried he’d inadvertently hurt him, but he realized his mistake when Billy clutched Cody’s buttocks, yanked him deep, and climaxed between their bellies. Beyond pleased with himself, Cody lowered his mouth to Billy’s neck and proceeded to mark him. Once he’d darkened his skin, Cody rocked his body atop his mate and climaxed with an intensity that almost blinded him.
For a split second, he thought everything was wrong. This was not what should have happened. Something obscured their true path, but then he felt the base of his cock swell and harden, locking him into Billy. Sighing, Cody rolled, taking Billy with him so that now they were crushed together, side by side.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. I feel good.”
Cody kissed Billy everywhere he could reach, and Billy returned his kisses. Intermittent sleep was broken up by climaxes, kisses, and whispered promises. The mating scent didn’t abate until morning was just about to break over the butte. How strange that Cody didn’t have to see it to feel the sun coming just as he was able to feel the moon hiding away. The two massive bodies danced in tandem with the Earth, each knowing their part intimately, all of them so fragile in the vastness of the universe.
As the swellingof his prick abated, he slid from his mate. Billy’s soft moan of loss woke Cody out of the dreamlike state he’d been in. Warily, he lifted his head and blinked. Nothing looked right. Nothing was where it should be. He was not in his rightful place, and all was not right with the world. Beside him, Billy blinked, too, and the look that crossed his face was just as astonished as the one Cody imagined he was wearing.
“What happened?” Billy asked.
“We mated.”
Billy nodded. “You took me?”
“I did.” Cody almost apologized, but that would be silly. He’d only done what his instincts had pushed him to do. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m confused.”
“So am I.” Cody sat up, and so did Billy. Cody was relieved that Billy didn’t wince when he sat on his bottom. “Are you angry?”
“Confused, mostly.” Billy cupped Cody’s chin and turned his face so they were looking at one another. “You’re growing a beard.”
“Yours should have fallen away, but you didn’t shift.”
“No.”
They sat silently considering one another until a gentle tapping at the door turned their attention that direction.
“Hey, sorry for the early wake-up call, but I’ve got to get back into town.” Dillion didn’t open the door all the way, he just cracked it open enough so that he didn’t have to raise his voice and awaken the others on the same floor. “Can you be ready in a few, Billy?”
“Yeah. I’ll be right down.”
“Great. Cassidy made us breakfast to go.” Dillion closed the door.
“Cassidy is a man who’s always thinking of others,” Billy said.
Cody had wanted to make food for Billy the morning he’d awakened in his apartment because he saw his place as the beta in their mated pair. But now, he was confused about what was his part and what was Billy’s.
“I know this has to be the worst possible time for me to leave, but I have to go and turn myself in.” Billy rose but didn’t dress. He gathered up his clothing, using it to cover himself. “I’m going down to shower.”
“Right.” Cody didn’t know what to say. He felt confused and afraid but then felt that he should be telling Billy what to do. It was horrible. Where yesterday all the lines had seemed so clear cut, they were a terrible mess today. “We won’t go without you.”
“Go?” Billy slipped on his flip-flops.
“To the compound where I was held. Dooley wants to see if he can get his hands on what they did to me. He hopes to find something that might help him treat our kind. Doc felt the same way when Dooley called him.”
“And what about the tracking device?”
“Dooley wants to take X-rays to find out where it is, but I’m not so sure I want to be anywhere near equipment that reminds me of the compound.” Cody wanted to explore his body in detail to see if he could figure out where Owl and Weasel had inserted the tracking device, but Dooley said it was unlikely there would be a mark. “For now, our plan is to leave the tracking device—if it exists—right where it is.” Billy’s frown prompted Cody to add, “If anyone tried to come near me on the ranch, they would have to breach Marshal’s astonishing security. According to all the men at the table, it’s unlikely that anyone who isn’t a shifter could get onto the ranch undetected.”
Billy sighed and hung his head. “We were supposed to talk about that last night. I’m sorry. Everything…”
“I know. Besides, you’re pretty well caught up with what we discussed.” Cody rose and when he saw the direction of Billy’s gaze, he looked down. His body was lightly dusted with dark brown body hair.
“You’re taller.”
“I am?” Cody had nothing to relate his height to.
Billy nodded. “Cody, I—” Billy cut himself off with a sharp sigh. “We’ll figure this out. I know it’s all confused right now, but we’re just going to have to deal with it. I’ll be back to go with you and the others. I’ll call. Here.” From his pants, he removed his cell phone. “Keep this and I’ll call you when I can. Okay?”
Cody took the four steps needed to bring him near enough to take the phone. “Won’t you need this?”‘
“If they arrest me, the first thing they’ll do is take it away. I want you to have it so I can reach you.”
Cody took another step, and now he could smell the confused scents of his mate. Part beta, part alpha, but all of it didn’t matter because when Cody looked into Billy’s eyes, he saw a man who cared about him. That was all that really counted.
Billy took a half step, closing the distance between them. “I don’t care about who is what, okay? I want you, and you want me. That’s all that matters.”
Cody grinned. “I was thinking the same thing.”
They kissed and then parted. They hadn’t mated fully, not in coyote form, but their minds were now connected more strongly with their mental pictures than they had been last night. Whatever kind of mating they were doing was unique as far as Cody knew, but it seemed to be just as strong as any of the other men’s bonds.
Returning to the bed, Cody sat down, but didn’t crawl back under the covers. He didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to think. Everything he thought he knew was wrong. So what did that mean they would find when they returned to the holdings of Weasel and Owl?

Chapter 11

“Now, why don’t you tell me what this is for?”

Onto the table between them, Sheriff Judd Kingsley thunked a huge black dildo. The base of the obscenely large toy had a suction cup that gripped on the metal table. When Kingsley let go, the toy wavered back and forth like a twisted version of a bobblehead.

Billy knew the toy had not come from his apartment. This was just more harassment courtesy of his former boss. As much as Billy wanted to say something snarky, he knew that would just play right into Kingsley’s plan. The point was to rile Billy up and throw him off balance. What really interested Billy was where Kingsley had gotten the thing. As far as Billy knew, there weren’t any adult stores in Scorpion, so that meant Kingsley either had the thing on hand or knew someone who did. And then the answer came to Billy. Kingsley had confiscated it during the investigation into the BDSM club where the murder of Samuel Douglas had taken place. Taking it out of evidence to use it to torment a suspect was another code violation that would go into the massive pile that Kingsley had already accumulated.

“I have no idea.”

Kingsley blinked rapidly. “Yeah? Your porn stash says otherwise.” Onto the table Kingsley dropped several glossy magazines.

Billy didn’t even bother to look at them. Owning por n was not a crime, not yet, at any rate. He couldn’t buy it in or have it shipped to Utah, but he could buy it elsewhere and bring it home, which was what he’d done. Colorado had far more liberal laws.

“No answer for that, fag boy?”
“You didn’t ask me a question.” Billy tuned out a little when Kingsley went on another rant about him not being a good deputy. The fact of the matter was that Billy wasn’t a deputy any longer. He decided while he was sitting there that even if the investigation were to come back in his favor, which he doubted, he was going to take Marshal up on his offer to live out on the ranch. After Billy had showered and dressed, he’d gotten to talk to Marshal before Dillion drove him back into town. In clear terms, Marshal offered out his home as a place for Billy and Cody to stay. Once he got everything settled with the law, that is. Marshal would be happy to find him work on his cattle ranch, but he wanted everything on the up and up. Billy grinned. When he’d played as a kid, if he couldn’t be the cop, he’d always wanted to be the cowboy. And he was young enough that he could learn a new job.

“What the fuck are you grinning at, faggot?”

“The thought that someday you are going to get the comeuppance you so richly deserve.”
“Are you threatening me?” Kingsley molded his face into a mask of righteous indignation. It was fine when he belittled and threatened others, but he wouldn’t tolerate a hint of it from anyone. “Why don’t you look right in the camera there and repeat it.”
Billy looked directly into the camera that covered interview room two. “I said that I’m grinning at the thought of you getting the comeuppance you so richly deserve.” Billy then turned his head just enough so he could look in Kingsley’s eyes. “One of these days you are going to spout off your homophobic slurs in front of the wrong person. That person is going to hang you, figuratively, with your own hate.”
Kingsley grinned, exposing worndown, yellowing teeth. “Hasn’t happened yet, faggot.”
“That’s because the universe is saving up something special for you.” Billy grinned at the look of worry that darkened Kingsley’s face. “If you’re done, I’d like to go.”
“No, I’m not done. I want to know what you and your butt-stuffing lover were going to do with that big dog you had locked up in your bedroom.”
“I told you before and I’ll tell you again for the last time. I don’t know—”
“Who they were or what they were doing or even how the dog got into your apartment. Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time.”
“Then stop asking.”
“You aren’t going to get away with this.”
Rather than answer, Billy just looked at him. What the hell kept this man going? Why did he get out of bed each day when he obviously hated everyone around him and probably himself? “What the hell happened to you to make you sougly?”
For a moment, something like pain flared in Kingsley’s eyes, but his unrelenting hatred swallowed it down before it could ever fully rise. Like a leviathan from the deep, like a shark always swimming, Kingsley’s vile disgust never slept and it would never let any of his humanity surface for long.
“I might be ugly, but at least I’m not a fucking faggot.” Kingsley pushed his chair back. The metal legs grated against the floor. As soon as he stepped out the room, he almost walked into someone. Rather than apologize, Kingsley pointed back into where Billy was sitting. “Cut that shit packer loose.”
Billy watched as Terrance Gillett, former coworker and distant cousin to Kingsley, winced but covered his distaste quickly. Terrance made sure Kingsley had cleared the hallway then softly said, “You have no idea how much we miss you.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Billy had never been particularly close to any of his coworkers. They called him a stickler and joked about his refusal to bend the rules. If there was an easy way to do things, they were all over it, but Billy preferred to do things the right way. Expedience was a good thing at times, but not if cutting corners harmed someone’s civil liberties.
Terrance placed a folder of paperwork on the table then closed the door. “He’s worse now.”
As much as Billy wanted to believe there was something of kindness behind this display, he didn’t. “Those my walking papers?”
“What?” Terrance looked down at the folder. “Oh, no. You’re free to go. He only brought you in here to try to get a heads-up on the mystery man—men—from your apartment.”
“Right.” Billy stood and tucked his chair under the table, but he couldn’t help but eye the folder. “That say who they are?”
“The dead guy? Yeah. He’s in the system, but the other guy is a cipher. Big, fat zero. And he isn’t talking.” Terrance peered up at Billy with expressive blue eyes. “You really don’t know him?”
“What the fuck is this, Terrence? You doing the good cop off Kingsley’s bad cop routine?”
“No. Just. Shit. He wanted the case to try and prove the county is better than the city, but now that it’s a dead end, he’s dumping it off on me.”
Billy honestly didn’t care about the dead man at all, or Kingsley’s investigation, or even Terrance’s career, but Billy wanted to help his mate come to terms with all that had happened to him. The more he knew about the men, the more help he could be to Cody in the long run. Their complicated relationship was what had helped Billy to keep it together during his interview with Kingsley. Not understanding who was the alpha or what their next step in mating was had given Billy a mental bone to chew on while Kingsley was asking his rude, probing questions. Rather than flare to anger over his utter lack of discipline, Billy had taken it all in stride. Even having his secret porn collection pawed at and examined by his former coworkers didn’t really bother him. Billy realized there were a handful of people on the planet whose opinion of him mattered to him and the men and women of the Scorpion County Sheriff’s office simply weren’t in that elite group.
“I even looked through your stuff, but I didn’t see any connection to anyone up in Wyoming.”
“Wyoming?” Billy shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve even been there.” But now he knew where he and the rest of the men from the Triple R were going. A sudden pang made Billy fear they had gone without him, but then there was a soft-focus picture in his mental landscape of him and Cody wrapped together. Both of them were dressed, and they were snuggled together, holding hands, their heads leaning together. Billy knew the picture was from Cody. It was his way of saying he wasn’t going anywhere without Billy. In the same vein, Billy sent back his acknowledgement. It was an image of him and Cody riding together on horseback. As if he were in a room several doors down, Billy heard Cody laugh. Apparently, he was tickled by the fact that he and Billy were riding the horse naked.
“Can you look at something and maybe tell me if you’ve ever seen anything like it before?” Terrance kept his voice very low, and it was obvious to Billy he didn’t want anyone to know he was pumping him for information.
“Why me?”
“It’s a brand. A strange one. And when I first saw it I thought it was some kind of BDSM thing.” Terrance shook his head apologetically when Billy sighed hard. “I swear I’m not being an ass or trying to get in digs at you like Kingsley does. I’m asking you because I figured if it was something like that, you might know. Please. I’m really, really fucked here.”
“A brand on the dead guy or the live one?”
“The live one who isn’t talking.”
“Did the dead guy have one, too?”
Terrance didn’t answer.
“Look. If you want my help, you have to give me a little in exchange.”
Terrance frowned. “Are you investigating these guys? Is that why you won’t say who they are?”
“I’m not investigating them. I don’t know them, but I’d like to know what they were doing in my apartment.” Billy knew exactly why they were there, but even if he explained that to Terrance, he’d only make matters worse for him. So he didn’t. “I think they have some connection to the whole mess at the Basement.” That was totally untrue, but tossing more threads into the big ball of confusion would only put the sheriff’s department further from unraveling the truth.
“I’ve been looking at that angle, but it just seems to be a bigger mess, what with everyone using nicknames and—”
“Did the dead guy have a brand?”
“The coroner hasn’t finished her report, but from what she told me, the answer is no.”
Billy considered the manila folder. “Let me have that for ten minutes, and I’ll tell you everything I can.”
Terrance considered. “I can’t give this to you.”
“Then give me a picture of the brand.”
“I can’t.”
“Oh well. Good luck with the case. I honestly wish you well.” Billy had barely taken a step toward the door when Terrance rose, removed something from the folder, folded it up, and placed it in his hand. Rather than ask or make any comment, Billy slipped the folded paper inside his back pocket and walked out of the courthouse. His apartment was about fifteen blocks away, so he set off that direction. Not touching the paper was one of the most challenging things he’d ever done. He managed by focusing on the blistering heat of the day and the fact his feet were dry and itchy in the cheap flip-flops.
By the time he got home, he was practically salivating to open up the paper and find out what the brand looked like. Terrance couldn’t share the file, but maybe there was something about the brand that would give Billy all the information he needed.
What pulled Billy up short were the streamers of crime scene tape still draped around the stairway leading up to his apartment. Intellectually, he knew that the body was gone, but they hadn’t cleaned up beyond that. That was something the home owner had to do. Billy had seen some pretty horrific crime scenes in his time but never in his own living space. What got him up the stairs and into his apartment was nosey Mrs. Perkins. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the drape flutter on her living room window. He knew she would be on her walker and over to the door as fast as her arthritic legs could carry her. Billy made it upstairs and inside with the door closed long before she could get near enough to turn her doorknob.
He took a deep breath, expecting to smell air that was tinged with death, but it smelled pretty much like it had always smelled. If anything, the air was a little stale and way too hot since he hadn’t run the swamp cooler for over a day. Apparently, the dead guy hadn’t been around long enough to leave that signature stench of decay.
“Thank God for small favors.”
His gaze riveted to the carpet where he’d seen the man lying on his back with Cody the coyote on top of him. Oddly, the blood stain wasn’t that big. Not as big as he thought it would be since Cody had ripped out the man’s throat. In Billy’s mind, the scope of the crime made him imagine blood flung on the walls and crimson splatters everywhere. But there was only a small puddle about two foot by three and a small amount of spatter on the wall nearest to where the man went down. Billy remembered someone at work, maybe Terrance, saying that the average human body only held ten pints of blood. That was twenty cups and seemed so very small. Hell, the bowl he served popcorn in was bigger.
Mixed feelings swamped him. Sadness about the loss of a life was a holdover from his time as a deputy. Horrible madness and horrific accidents had killed so many. A lot of his work was about sorting out the details after someone was gone. Rarely was it a peaceful death at home. There were those calls, but those were mostly city calls. The county never got many calls like that.
Billy remembered the only call he’d ever responded to about what turned out to be a peaceful death. At first the accident had seemed so bizarre as to clearly be some kind of vicious plot. How often did a man end up drowning in his car in his own pond? But in the end it turned out that Klaus Van de Stadt had suffered a heart attack at the wheel while he was backing out of his drive.He’d died and then as his body slowly relaxed, his foot hit the gas, propelling him into the pond. The coroner had cleared things up when she said the man had no water in his lungs. He’d had the fatal heart attack and then backed into the pond. The irony was that Klaus, as a former seaman, wanted to be buried at sea. Billy didn’t know if that ever happened, but he’d gone into water shortly after he’d found his final rest. Maybe that was good enough.
“What the hell am I doing rehashing ancient history?” Billy shook off his reminiscence and pulled the paper out of his pocket. Would he find answers or only more questions? He unfolded it carefully. It was an extreme close-up of a curious brand. Billy turned it this way and that, but it meant nothing to him. Billy sighed. Terrance hadn’t even given him a pittance of information other than the slip about Wyoming.
Billy considered. Maybe that was all he really needed to know.

Chapter 12

“We need to talk about last night.” Cody whispered this into

Billy’s ea r.
“I know, but not right now.” Billy shot his gaze forward, and Cody
looked toward the front of the van. There were eight men in the
vehicle. Doc was driving, and Paul rode shotgun. Then Dooley and
Tristan took up the first bench seat, Marshal and Elliot the next, with
Cody and Billy in the very back. It seemed to Cody that Marshal and
Elliot were asleep or fast on their way there. Either way, they certainly
weren’t listening to him and Billy.
“They can’t hear us,” Cody whispered.
“I know, but…”
Cody waited, hungry for what his mate would say. Billy had
shared the lone tidbit he’d gotten at the sheriff’s department, but Cody
already knew the compound was in Wyoming, so it hadn’t really
helped them at all. Still, Billy had been enthusiastic about doing a
road trip, but he’d been less than forthcoming about what he felt about
them as a couple. Right now, that mattered more to Cody than
figuring out exactly what Weasel and Owl had done to him. “Please. I feel like I hurt you last night.”
Billy turned his head toward Cody so fast it was practically a blur.
“You didn’t hurt me.” Billy grasped Cody’s hand. “You were so
gentle and sweet.”
“Then what did I do wrong?”
“Nothing.” Billy sighed, and then his gaze dropped from the
endless horizon to the floor of the van.“I liked what you did.” “Is that bad?”
“No.” Billy chuckled. “That’s good. But it’s also not the norm for
me.” Again his gaze wandered to the front as they talked low and
private at the very back of the van. “I liked what you did to me.” For a moment, Cody didn’t think he’d heard Billy correctly, but
then he knew he had by the look that crossed his mate’s face. For the
first time, Cody thought of Billy as more than his life partner because
of the urges they shared. He thought of Billy as his lover and his
friend.
“You were kind, just as I hope I was with you.” Billy paused and
assessed Cody’s face.
“You were. God, Billy, when you took me you were almost
impossibly gentle.”
“Good. That’s how you were with me. Last night was…different.”
Billy’s fingers toyed with Cody’s. “The way we switched from alpha
and top to beta and bottom. I know things aren’t always so cut and
dried in the real world, but I’ve never deviated from the role I cast
myself in. I’ve always, always been the man on top.”
There was a timeless moment of complete synchronicity, but Cody
lost that feeling because he wasn’t sure he had done the right thing. “I
won’t make you be that for me all the time. I don’t expect—” Billy swallowed down what Cody was going to say by kissing him
hard. “I know this makes everything complicated in a way, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t just move past it.”
“But I need to understand what happened.”
“I know. Me, too. It’s just that hashing everything out back here
isn’t going to get us anywhere. We need to know what they did to you,
why this is different for us than our brothers. So far, we’re unique in
how we mated.”
When Billy had returned to the ranch, they’d eaten while many of
their brothers joined them. All of the men had been very frank about
how they’d found their partners and how their mating had progressed.
Cody had alternately blushed, gotten aroused, and then demanded
more details. It seemed his mating hormones were in an ever-cycling stew. Just sitting next to Billy was causing him all kinds of difficulty. In turns, Cody wanted to whimper to call his alpha to him, yet he also wanted to growl low and harsh to bring out the beta in his mate. It was
confusing and made him miserable.
“We’ll work this out.” Billy captured Cody’s hand.
Something about their intertwined fingers made him smile and
feel reassured. Just as he’d pictured, they nestled together, holding
hands, heads tilted close. They only broke apart when they stopped for
dinner in Evanston, but as soon as they climbed back in the van, they
went right back to cuddling close. By the time they reached their
modest motel in Pinedale, Cody was ready for sleep. The group of
men parted ways as each couple went off to their own room, except
for Doc and Paul. Each of them went alone, and Cody wondered if
they were lonely.
“Doesn’t Doc or Paul have a mate?”
“I guess not.” Billy looked over at the two men. “Not yet at any
rate.” Billy lifted their duffel bag. Cody wanted to carry it, but Billy
bounced it a few times. “Don’t worry about it. This thing is really
light.”
Cody thought it was because he had nothing of his own. Marshal’s
mate, Elliot, had been very generous in sharing his clothing, but the
shirt and pants seemed too tight now. He hadn’t said anything because
he didn’t want to bother anyone, or worse, make Billy worry, so he’d
just dealt with being a little uncomfortable.
After Billy registered and paid for their room, Cody followed him
into number seven. It was clean, with one king-size bed.
“It’s not much, but I hope it’s okay.”
“It’s fine. Really.” Cody heard the undercurrent of what Billy
hadn’t said. Without a job, he was watching his money. Cody was
doing his best to be careful about what he asked for. He didn’t want
Billy to feel pressured to take care of him. “I appreciate everything
you’ve done for me.”
“You’re my mate.” Billy’s grin turned into a small frown as he
tilted his head to the side. “Cody? Stand up.”
Cody stood but slouched down.
“All the way up.” Billy assessed him. “You’ve grown. By several
inches.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Cody slouched down and turned away. “Hey, what’s wrong? It’s obvious you’ve grown. The shirt sleeves
are about ready to burst, and the hem won’t even fit down to the
waistband of your pants.” Billy stroked his hand over the top of
Cody’s trousers. “They’re digging into your hips.”
The changes in his body were so obvious that playing stupid was
only going to upset Billy more. “I know, and I’m so sorry. I don’t
know what’s happening to me.”
“Don’t be sorry about something you have no control over. Maybe
it’s because you’re away from those men now and you’re finally able
to reach your true size.”
“But I don’t want to be bigger.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want you to be the alpha.”
“Oh, Cody.” Billy pulled him close, wrapping his arms around
him. “That doesn’t matter to me. I want you to be healthy. And
happy.”
“I’m so hungry.”
“Why didn’t you say something at the restaurant?” When Cody
didn’t answer, Billy asked again.
“Because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Here.” Billy put the duffel on the bed and then pulled out a pair
of jeans and a shirt. “Put these on and we’ll walk over to that little
restaurant we saw. Although why you didn’t say anything at dinner is
beyond me.”
“I was worried about your money.” Cody eased his shirt off. “Hey.” Billy was next to him quickly, and then he tenderly cupped
his face. “Don’t you worry about my money, okay? I’ll take care of
things, and I can certainly afford to buy you adequate food.” “I’m sorry. I don’t know quite how to be.”
“How to be?”
“It’s like I want to take care of you, but I want you to take care of
me, but then I feel guilty if you do because I know you don’t have a
job.”
“Whoa. Slow down.” Billy helped Cody slide his pants off, but
before he pulled the other pair on, they sat down on the edge of the
bed. “Just be you. Tell me when you notice something. Don’t be
afraid to ask for more food, clothes—whatever you need. We’re in
this together, and that’s the only way we’re ever going to make this
work. Okay?”
Cody nodded, but he still didn’t feel quite right.
“Please talk to me.”
“I’m just so confused.” Cody leaned into Billy, loving the solid
strength of him.
“About what?” Up came Billy’s arm around Cody’s shoulders. “What if we’re both alphas?”
“What if?”
“Well, then we won’t ever be able to finish mating, and you’ll
never be able to shift.” This was what had been gnawing at Cody. He
was so afraid that Weasel and Owl had ruined Billy’s chances at
becoming what he was meant to be. By interfering in Cody’s life,
they’d caused him to inadvertently hurt Billy in turn. “For all we
know, you aren’t even my rightful mate.”
“I think you’re asking for trouble.” Billy smoothed his hand
against Cody’s back. “We don’t know what will happen in the next
hour let alone tomorrow. Life happens. All we can do is be ready for
what comes.”
“But what if…” Billy waited for Cody to finish, but Cody wasn’t
sure what he wanted to say.
“There are a lot of what-ifs in the world. Too many to be prepared
for every one of them. But what we can do is make a promise to work
through them together. Does that help?”
In a way it did, but in other ways it made Cody more confused. If
he was the alpha, he was supposed to decide what they would do and
where they would go. Billy was talking about having an equal
partnership, but it seemed that he clung to the idea that he would
always be the alpha. Cody wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he
did.
“Come on, let’s get you something else to eat.” Billy helped Cody
to dress, and then they headed over to the restaurant. It was quiet
inside. Only four patrons were in the place, all of them sitting at the
bar. Cody and Billy headed to a booth in the corner and settled in.
They placed their orders and then waited.
“I’m sorry—”
“Please stop saying that. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” “I just feel so strange.”
“Tell me exactly how you feel. Is it emotional, physical, or both?” “Both. I feel like I might have ruined your life.”
“No way.” Billy grinned. “I think you are, without a doubt, the
very best thing that has ever happened to me.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“But I ruined your chances to get your job back.”
“Eh.” Billy shrugged. “It was a job you helped me see that I didn’t
really want any more.”
“I thought you loved being a deputy?”
“At one time I did. I really believed in law and order and being
there to help out people in need. That part I still do like, but what
killed my enjoyment was the people I had to work with. Most of them
don’t feel about that kind of work like I do.”
“You mean that Kingsley guy.” Cody hadn’t heard one nice thing
about that man from anyone on the Triple R. They gave him plenty of
rude nicknames, and that told Cody all he really needed to know.
“He’s a bad man, isn’t he?”
“He’s a fucking asshole. I think he decides which way a case is
going to go and then he makes it go that way.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Cody didn’t know a lot about law
enforcement other than Weasel and Owl didn’t like cops. Given that
they grew and sold illegal drugs, that really wasn’t much wonder. “Just that he has an idea in his head and I think he manipulates
evidence to make things go his way. Like this whole thing with you
and the men at my apartment. Kingsley is convinced it’s all about
kinky sex so he only sees things that push the case that direction.”
Billy blew out a long sigh and then finger combed his hair off his
forehead. “In a way that’s good because him looking down that alley
and onlydown that alley means he’s never going to connect any dots.
Not like there’s any connection between me and those men.” “Then why are you upset?” Cody didn’t understand. If what this
Kingsley person was doing was good for them, then why was Billy so
obviously frustrated?
“Because it just bothers me that a man like that has power. I don’t
sleep well at night knowing there’s a man like that in charge. If he was
a good officer, he would follow where the evidence took him, not try
to make it follow his lead.” Billy shook his head. “I know right now
his attitude is serving me well, but I think of all the people he’s
railroaded, and I just get annoyed. A real person who believes in law
and order doesn’t behave the way he does.”
Cody silently absorbed this information as he ate his chicken-fried
steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. Every bite was more
delicious than the last, and rather than order dessert, he ordered
another dinner. He then cast guilty eyes up to Billy.
“You are going to eat until you’re full.” Billy sipped his coffee
and ordered a piece of pie. “I don’t care if that takes all night.” He
leaned closer even though Cody didn’t think anyone could hear him.
“You’ve got to need a mega dose of calories what with the height and
muscles you’ve put on in the last day.”
Cody breathed a sigh of relief that Billy wasn’t angry about his
crazy need for food. Someday he’d pay him back. When he found a way to earn money. If he kept growing for another few days, he would be big enough to do just about any kind of work. But then Cody wondered how Billy would feel if he ended up bigger than him. Given his easygoing attitude, he probably wouldn’t mind, but Cody had a feeling that would change if Cody was determined to take charge.

Chapter 13

“Are you sure you’ve had enough?” Billy had just watched Cody wolf down four huge dinners, but he didn’t want him to feel that he couldn’t ask for more. As much as he appreciated Cody being concerned about his money, there really wasn’t any need to skimp on the basics. Food, clothing, shelter—those things Billy could and would take care of. If nothing else, he had credit cards that could float them for six months or more.

Rather than answer, Cody nodded, and Billy asked the waitress for the check. She didn’t even bat a lash at how much food Cody had put away in one sitting. Maybe she’d seen just about everything working in a place like this. Billy imagined they got a lot of travelers from all over the US of A along this road. Given the way she carried herself, Billy imagined she’d been a waitress for over thirty years. He left a good tip but not an overly generous one, given his need to conserve his money. Still, she’d been a good waitress, and he was glad that Cody was finally satisfied.

They walked back to their room in silence. Billy had contemplated pulling out the image of the brand and discussing it with Cody, but he chose not to. He wasn’t sure why. Just something nagged at him to hold that back. It was just as Terrance had said, a brand. Someone had burned a mark into the man’s skin. From the picture, Billy couldn’t tell where the mark was on Weasel’s body or which way it was oriented. He had absolutely no clue what it meant. He’d heard of Doms branding their subs, but that was extreme and pretty rare. Much more likely they would design a tattoo for their slave, and in most relationships, it would be mutually agreed upon before being inked into their flesh.

Billy had called a few people he knew and had researched what he could on the Internet, but he came up empty as far as BDSM went. There was some evidence of people being branded as part of a club, or fraternity, but generally brands were unwelcomed. From what he’d read, most people received them against their will. Not that if that were the case with Weasel he was going to have any sympathy toward the man. Abuse often begat abuse, but that didn’t justify it.

The brand looked like some kind of symbol, but it also looked like someone had tried to cut it out. For some insane reason, Billy had an image of Weasel sitting in his prison cell desperately trying to obscure the mark. When Billy had called Terrance to tell him he had no idea what the brand was or what it could mean, Terrance had refused to tell Billywhen the damage to the brand had occurred. Still, it didn’t take much for Billy to figure out the scabbed marks were recent and the whiter marks around the image were old. It appeared to Billy that someone had branded Weasel when he was young, and then someone, perhaps Weasel himself, had tried to cut the brand away but stopped. Possibly the blood flow had frightened him. But Weasel had decided to attempt to obscure the brand while he sat in his cell. With only his fingernails, he hadn’t been able to do much. But just the fact that Weasel had tried to obliterate his mark meant he’d done so out of shame. Or possibly he’d attempted to destroy it out of fear for whatever group it belonged to becoming identified. Billy just didn’t know enough yet to make a clearcall. He also didn’t believe the other man didn’t have a mark. Terrance may have held that back from Billy, so he wouldn’t believe anything unless he saw the coroner’s report with his own eyes.

When they entered their room, Cody let out a long sigh as he eyed the bed.
“Sleepy?” Billy asked.
“Yeah. But I want a shower. I feel strange.”
“Nothing like a huge meal to do that to you.” Billy caressed Cody’s belly, but he was astonished that there was no bulge. Surely, that much food should have left him bloated,but he wasn’t. When Billy found himself looking up, he realized that Cody was now taller than him. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Panic infused Cody’s face, twisting the innocence away.
“You’ve grown over a foot taller.” It had to be a foot since Billy was six two and he now had to look up to meet Cody’s eyes.
Cody looked down at his body as if seeing it for the first time. In a kind of dazed wonder, he pulled off his shirt and then wandered into the bathroom to stare at himself in the mirror.
Billy joined him, marveling at the transformation that had happed quite literally before his eyes. “You’re taller, broader, and—”
Cody spun away from the mirror so fast he was a blur. Before Billy knew what was happening, Cody pressed him against the bathroom wall, kissing him
allowing Cody to pin him
fiercely. His strength was profound, to the wall almost effortlessly. But something in Billy rebelled. He pushed back, breaking them apart.
Panting heavily, Cody let him go, but from the hunger in his gaze, the reprieve would be brief. “I want you.” Cody punctuated his simple statement with a guttural growl.
“I want you, too.” Billy also growled.
Cody’s nostrils flared. “You see? This is what I was worried about. We can’t have two alphas in our mating pair.”
“Oh yes we can.” Billy stepped forward, plastering himself against Cody. He cupped his cock and rubbed him hard. When Cody snarled and did the same, Billy felt every nerve in his body fire with awareness. He’d always liked his sexual partners on the small side because it fed his lust to be fully dominant, but there was something even more compelling about taking on a man his own size. Not to brutalize. Billy had no interest in abusing his mate. What he wanted was exactly what he had. Cody now matched him. They were on much more equal footing, which put an entirely new spin on the sexual games they could play.
Rough touches felt surprisingly good against his body. While Cody yanked at his clothing, Billy did the same to Cody’s. Snarled gasps of pleasure filled the small bathroom. When they each had exposed the other, they struggled for control.
“I’m going to get you down and then fuck you.”
“No you’re not.” Billy had no intention of submitting to Cody.
“I’m not lying down for you.” Fire filled Cody’s eyes.
“Good.” Billy grasped Cody’s cock as he pressed close. “I don’t want you to.”
Cody frowned, clearly perplexed about what they could do when neither one of them was willing to submit to the other.
“Hold on to me like I’m holding on to you.” Billy had one hand on Cody’s cock, and the other cupped to his buttock. When Cody mimicked him, Billy started rocking his hips. It didn’t take long for them to be writhing against one another in aggressive heat.
“I’m going to make you come first.”
“Oh, yeah?” Billy chuckled and swiped his thumb over the tip of Cody’s cock. “You’re the one who’s already creaming.”
Cody snarled and rocked hard into Billy, almost knocking him off balance. By widening his stance, Billy was able to give back as good as he got. Never in his life had he ever had such violent sex. Each stroke they made against one another caused both of them to growl at the other. When Cody lowered his mouth to Billy’s neck and bit him, he screamed at how good it felt. Returning the favor caused Cody to snarl and tighten his grip against Billy’s buttock.
“Let go of my cock.” Billy was enjoying his rough touch, but he had another idea in mind.
“Let go of mine first.”
Chuckling, Billy did, and when Cody let go, Billy angled his body so that rather than each of them fisting the other’s prick, they were now pushing them together between their bellies.
Cody rammed his cock against Billy’s, and then grasped both of Billy’s buttocks. By grasping on to one another, they were able to slide their pricks between them, wallowing in their dirty friction.
Tighter they gripped one another and faster they rode until they were breathless. Sweat drenched their chests, allowing them even more slick heat to slide their cocks against. Groaning and bucking like two wild creatures, they fucked against one another until the pitch of their breathing changed. Billy knew his climax was imminent. He wanted to win out over Cody, but then he just didn’t care. He needed to come, and once he let go, Cody quickly followed.
Primal animal growls of satisfaction were muffled as each of them dropped their head onto the other’s shoulder. If they had thrown back their heads to lift their cries of bliss to the ceiling, someone in the motel would have heard and probably called the police.
Panting, exhausted, they clung together until the shakes passed. It was the roughest, hottest, most aggressive fuck Billy had ever had. And probably Cody, too, considering he was a virgin before he got to Billy.
Cody was the first to lift his head. When he did, Billy found himself looking up into eyes that were no longer dark brown but truly black. His face had lost that soft roundness and was now lean, hard, and almost brutal. Billy had never seen a man he was more attracted to. He had thought Cody was utterly perfect when he found him curled up in his bed with his delicate beta features, but this new Cody, this very alpha man, was a thousand times more intriguing.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Billy turned Cody’s face toward the mirror and met his gaze in the reflection.
Cody’s eyes went wide as he disengaged from Billy to assess himself. “I hardly recognize myself.” Turning this way and that, Cody looked at every part of himself he could see. He just shook his head and kept looking.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.”
“I am?” Cody stopped looking at himself and turned back to Billy. “But I thought you liked me all small and beta.”
“I did.” At Cody’s disappointed look, Billy stepped into him and cupped his softening prick gently into his hand. “And I like you all big and alpha, too.”
Cody closed his eyes as Billy eased his pants down and off.
“I think we’ve clearly shown that it simply doesn’t matter to either of us who’s in charge. We can both take charge. We can both surrender. And we can come together in all the wonderful ways that two men can.”
“How can we both be beta at the same time?” Cody waited for Billy to rise up then he removed Billy’s pants.
“We do exactly what we just did only lying side by side and much slower.”
Looking up at him, Cody grinned, and then he licked the tip of Billy’s cock, making him suck in a deep breath.
“Sensitive?”
“Extremely.”
“Me, too.”
“Shower?”
“Hell yes. I feel all kinds of sticky and dirty now.”
“But it’s a good kind of dirty?”
Cody fiddled with the water temperature as he looked over his shoulder at Billy. “It’s the best kind of dirty in the world.”
Billy matched his wicked grin. He had a feeling their night together just got a lot longer and a hell of a lot more interesting.
And then he saw the brand.
With Cody bent over and the bathroom lights blazing, Billy was able to see a faint mark on Cody’s right buttock but he was unable to make out any details. Billy reached out and stroked his fingers tenderly over the mark, causing Cody to stand up.
“Let’s shower first before round two, okay?”
Even his demeanor had changed. Gone was that shy, hungry-toplease look in Cody’s eyes. Now he was all powerful male and quick to claim what he wanted.
“Cody?”
“What?”
Billy almost asked him what the mark was and what it meant, but he didn’t, and again he wasn’t sure why. Something about the mark on Weasel and now finding one on Cody just set up a discord in Billy’s mind. They weren’t the same mark, not from his quick assessment, but then again, Weasel had attempted to obliterate his on more than one occasion. What the real symbol had been could be just about anything. At one time, it might have matched the mark on Cody.
As he stood there, thinking, anger flared. How dare anyone brand his mate? Billy fought to push the sudden, shocking emotional firestorm down, but he knew he was unsuccessful when Cody tilted his head and peered at him.
“What?” Cody cupped Billy’s cock again. “Can’t you wait until after we shower?”
Shaking off his terrible sense of fury and foreboding, Billy said, “I think I can. But I’m not promising anything.” As he stepped into the shower with his mate, Billy wondered just who this man was. He’d thought Cody was one thing, but then he’d literally transformed before his eyes. Now he had no idea who or even what Cody was. For all Billy knew, he could change again, or shift and disappear. The very thought made him panic. No matter what Cody was or became, Billy wanted to be with him. Because he was falling in love with him.
“What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think anything is wrong?” To give himself a moment to absorb the rather shocking realization that he was falling in love with his mate despite all the obstacles, Billy reached out of the shower enclosure and grabbed one of the little bars of soap. After wrenching off and tossing the wrapper on the floor, he got to work sliding the sliver of white soap over Cody’s amazing chest.
Cody stopped his hand midstroke. “I know something is wrong because I can smell it.”
“Must be this cheap soap.”
Cody’s hand tightened. “It’s not. Please tell me what’s wrong.” After Billy remained silent, Cody mumbled a swear. “It’s about dinner, isn’t it? I swear, I’ll pay you back.”
“It’s not about dinner.”
“What?”
“Just—everything.” Billy shook off Cody’s confining touch. “A lot has changed, and I’m just trying to keep my head above water is all.”
Nodding, Cody stepped near so they both were under the spray. For a low-budget motel, they had a surprisingly roomy shower with a rather tall showerhead. “Is it the changes in me? I’d stop them if I could.”
“It’s not you, it’s not—I think I’m falling in love with you.” Billy blurted it out like he was confessing to the worst crime in the universe. “Aw, hell. That could have been more romantic.”
Cody tossed the bar of soap aside, pulled Billy into his arms, and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Billy wrapped his arms around his mate and hung on, praying to all the gods in the world to let him have this one thing that now mattered to him more than all the other things combined. Billy had wanted to clear his name, regain his job, and track down the killer of an innocent man, but now he’d settle for just keeping Cody in his life.

Chapter 14

“It all seems so small.” Cody stood at the front porch of the house, peering in through the little window in the door. Everything inside was just as he recollected, only scaled down.

“Remember that you’ve grown about a foot since you were last here.” Dooley was just a step behind Billy as they all gathered around the house where Cody had been kept for most if not all of his life. He’d tried again to remember a time before Weasel or Owl, but he simply couldn’t. They’d knocked, just to be sure, but it was clear from the long grass, piled-up newspapers, and a mailbox jammed with envelopes that no one had been here in a good long while.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Tristan considered the yard. “It seems to me no one has touched this place in ages.”
“This is it.” Cody would know he was in the right place even if he was blindfolded. The smell was what told him. There was a dustiness to the aroma that was unmistakable. He remembered when he’d gone into the red room and discovered it didn’t have that dry rot smell but a more musty earthiness. That was his first clue that the room was underground.
“Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t bring Jake with us.” Billy pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
“Why?” Cody asked. From where Cody was standing on the front porch, he couldn’t see the marijuana plants. Weasel and Owl were always very careful to intersperse the plants with normal crops to camouflage them from neighbors and police alike.
“Because I’m about to do something unbelievably illegal.” From inside his wallet, Billy extracted a series of slender metal wires with little hooks on the ends.
“What are those?”
“Lock-picking tools.” Billy grinned.
Cody grinned back. Last night had been an eye-opening experience with his mate. For the first and only time in his life, someone important to him had told that he loved him. Well, technically Billy said he was falling in love with him, but that was good enough for Cody. Everything was going to be okay. He’d showered with Billy, and then together they cuddled in the big bed, making a lazy kind of love like two betas despite the fact their alpha mating scents were still pumping out at maximum capacity. Impressed, amazed, and enchanted, Cody had simply tempered his instincts with the press of his newly found emotions. It had been more than Cody had ever hoped for himself. For the first time since all the changes started, he felt almost normal. He was an animal, or an animalshifter, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t human, too. Billy embraced all that Cody was. From primal to tender and all the points on the curve, his mate accepted him.
With a few flicks of his powerful wrist and the delicate motions of his fingertips, Billy unlocked the front door. He looked back over his shoulder, but massive trees shielded the house from the neighborhood. Not only did the thick foliage help to conceal their illicit activities, but the area around the house was rural. The nearest home was at least four city blocks away.
“Plenty of room for them to be able to muffle the screams.” Cody realized he’d spoken aloud when Billy turned.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Billy unceremoniously shoved his tools into his front pocket and then took Cody’s hand. “The others can go in and we—”
“I have to go in. I have to see. I want to confront what they did.” Cody didn’t miss how Billy shot a questioning glance to Doc. Nor did he miss how Doc offered up a quick shrug. He was a medical man, but out of all of them, Doc had the most formal training in mental health issues. Having no experience in this situation, none of them really knew what to expect. But Cody knew he had to see the house now when he was safe. “If I go in with all of you close, knowing I’m protected, it will help ease the nightmares.”
Billy’s hand tightened on his. “You didn’t say anything about—”
“I didn’t tell you about my bad dreams because you had enough to deal with.” Cody squeezed his hand back and lowered his voice. “Please let that go. We’re here. Let me move forward.” A look of fear mingled with frustration darkened Billy’s face, and Cody knew that he should have been entirely honest with him. “Everything happened so fast that I wasn’t sure what was real, what was instinct, what was instilled in me by these men. If I could go back and do things differently, maybe I would. But it’s done now.”
After a deep breath, Billy nodded, and then turned the knob on the door. “Do you want to go first?”
Cody considered for barely half a second before he stepped forward and pushed the door open. What shocked him first was how normal the house seemed. There was a living room that had a standard furniture layout with all the seats pointing toward the television. The only difference here was that the TV was from the seventies. Rabbitear antennae protruded off the top of the walnut cabinet and made Cody flinch away.
“What’s wrong?” Billy was right next to him and ever alert for any sign of distress.
“I don’t like things that might poke my eye.” Cody grasped the tips of the rabbit ears and squashed the telescoping antennae down. When he did, he had a flashback, complete with visual and physical sensations, of both Owl and Weasel plunging needles into his flesh. When he was bad, they would make him sit still for their work by threatening to put the needles in his eyes when he slept. Blindly, Cody reached out for Billy’s hand. As if drawn together by magical forces, they clasped perfectly. “They injected me.”
Billy’s hand tightened but only slightly. In his own subtle way, Billy was saying that he was here for Cody no matter what. All he had to do was say the word, and Billy would have him out of here in seconds. But Cody didn’t want to go. He wanted to know. Cody wanted to get down to the reason why. Why in the world had these two men invested so much time and effort into manipulating him?
“There has to be a reason for it. There just has to be a purpose. No one does something like this for fun. They wanted something from me. An answer, a solution, a—oh, God.” Cody almost dropped to his knees. “They wanted to be like me.”
“How did they want to be like you?” Billy’s voice was close, but in Cody’s near-hysterical state Billy sounded a million miles away.
“They were trying to figure out how to shift. How to make men shift to coyote without being a part of the brotherhood.”
“Brotherhood?”
“We’re a pack.” Cody tightened his grip on Billy’s hand. “You and I are a couple, a mated pair, but they were trying to figure out how to make a pack.” A shiver ran through Cody as the information exploded in his head. Some of it had been there before, but he had never connected all the dots like he was now. All the words spoken to him over a lifetime tumbled around in a meaningless swirl until he was suddenly able to sort them out.“They likened our kind to a beehive. They were looking for the cornerstone. The queen bee. They wanted to find the center to which all other couples would adhere.” Into Cody’s mind came the notion of how Owl and Weasel thought the whole thing worked. “They didn’t realize that the pack coalesced around an unmated male.”
Cody looked behind him, and there was Doc. “Spencer Hall.”
Doc glanced up, and his bespectacled eyes met Cody’s without malice, without avarice, without any of the seven deadly sins. Doc was the focal point of their pack. Again, the information seemed to have been in his head all along, almost like an instinctual knowing that he’d only now remembered. It was a primal thing. Just as he knew Billy was his mate, he knew Doc was the leader of their pack. “You are the center.”
“Me?” Doc offered up a self-deprecating laugh. “I think you’ve got the wrong idea. Look at Marshal, Dooley, or Cassidy. They are far more likely to—”
“No.” Cody let go of Billy’s hand and walked over to Doc. “You are the center. That’s what they could never get right. They wanted to put a mated pair in the middle, but an unmated man is there. You are there.” Lifting his hand, Cody placed his open palm over Doc’s heart. Below his fragile skin, below the tougher bone, was the pulsing heart of a man who would give his life for his pack.
“Hey, I’m not—”
“Doc? You better come out here.” Dooley called him toward the front door.
Cody realized that the rest of the men had spread out to examine the other buildings on the property.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Billy pulled Cody away from Doc so he could go to Dooley. “Do you want to see more?”
Reluctantly, Cody nodded. He took a step forward and something in his belly shifted. It roiled like he was going to throw up. “We have to get out.”
“What? I thought you said—”
“We have to get out now. He’s going to burn it up.”
Billy’s eyes went wide, and he grasped Cody’s hand. They had just come flying off the porch when there was a muffled bang. Cody looked back, expecting a huge fireball, but there was nothing.
“What makes you think—” Billy stopped himself in midsentence when the first tendrils of smoke slipped out the top of the still-opened front door. “Did they have it rigged?”
“I remembered once I was inside. I’m sorry. I should have recalled that they had it set up to burn if someone broke in.”
“To hide what they did to you?”
“No, to hide the stuff about the marijuana.” Cody explained that selling the drug was how they financed the work they had done on him.
“Great. Illegal drugs. These guys are real princes. And we’ve got to get the hell away from here before anyone shows up.” Billy took his hand and pulled him away. “Now we’ll never know what they did to you.”
Cody watched as the fire slowly grew. Maybe he was better off not knowing. Maybe if he just let it all go, he could move on. And the fire could be a blessing in disguise by ruining all their notes so no one could repeat their sick experiments.
“Let’s get the others and get out of here. We have to make an anonymous call to the fire department.”
“Let it burn.”
“Yeah, I’d be happy to do that if doing so didn’t put innocent people at risk.”
“Who?”
“Cody, this land is connected to the neighbor’s land, and it’s pretty dry out here.” Billy pointed down the road they’d driven up. “Remember that cute little house we passed with the kids playing in the yard? They didn’t do anything, did they?”
“Oh, God. No. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay. Let’s just get everyone and get out of…here.” Something had caused Billy to stumble over his words, and when Cody followed the direction of his gaze, he felt that roiling in his belly return.
A dirty man was being helped along the path that went from the house to the barn. Doc was on one side and Dooley was on the other. Tristan followed behind with Marshal, Elliot, and Paul. All of them were carrying boxes.
“Who is that?” Billy asked out the side of his mouth. It was clear he didn’t want to take his eyes off the man.
“I don’t know.” But something inside Cody recognized and responded to him. When the filthy man lifted his head, and his weary gaze connected with Cody’s, there was a flash of memory. “I was in the red room. They brought him in. He lay down next to me and then they…they…” Cody trailed off because he couldn’t remember what they’d done exactly. “They took something of his and gave it to me.”
“Did they make you mate with him?” Billy asked the question without anger or horror. He asked only to try to help Cody get to the bottom of his twisted memory.
“No. We couldn’t mate because we weren’t…right. Or something. I can’t remember.”
“Relax. It might come back to you, or it might not. Don’t worry about it.” Billy clasped Cody’s hand. When he did, the dirty man with the matted hair looked at their linked hands and burst into tears.
Sympathetic tearswelled up in Cody’s eyes. He knew this man but couldn’t remember how he knew him. The only thing Cody knew for certain was that they were brothers in pain. What Owl and Weasel had done to Cody was nothing compared to what they’d done to this man.
Marshal ran ahead and got the side panel of the van open. While the rest of the men put the boxes in the back, Doc and Dooley helped get the man situated on the middle bench.
“We don’t want anyone to see you. Okay?” Doc settled in next to him. The man said nothing and did nothing. He sat down in the seat and then curled up into a ball. “Can you hand me one of those blankets?”
Since they were prepared for any kind of weather, they had a stack of blankets in the back. Cody grabbed one, but rather than hand it to Doc, he got into the back seat and placed it over the man.
He looked up and yipped. Cody yipped back and then tucked the blanket around him. His eyes closed and he went to sleep.
“What was that?” Doc asked.
“I don’t know, exactly. It was purely instinct.” Cody stroked his hand over the man’s arm, hoping to convey his deepest care. “No one is going to hurt you again.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Marshal took the driver’s seat as Elliot took the passenger seat. Behind them sat Dooley, Tristan, and Paul. The next seat held Doc and the mystery man. Cody and Billy took the back seat. Once everyone was in, Doc closed the door as quietly as he could, and then they were off.
Three miles away they hit a wide spot in the road with a convenience store. From inside, Tristan placed a call to say he thought he saw smoke coming from a neighbor’s house. He hung up before they could ask him any questions, and then got back in the van, which Marshal had parked well out of sight. The last thing they needed was anyone remembering the van and tracing it back to them.
Through all of it, the filthy man didn’t stir. Cody found himself rising up to look over the seatback several times during the drive. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps he wanted to make sure the man was okay or just remind himself that he was there. Doc seemed unable to take his eyes off him, too.
“Will he be okay?” Cody asked Doc, keeping his voice down.
“I don’t know. I didn’t really get a good look at him, but he seems malnourished.” Doc looked up at Cody. “Do you have any idea who he is?”
“No. But I know he’s been through hell.”

Chapter 15

Billy couldn’t remember a longer drive in his life. Watching Cody obsess over the man they had found made Billy realize just how much he was in love with his mate. The thought that the two of them, Cody and the man, might be fated for each other about drove Billy out of his mind. To watch Cody walk into another man’s arms made Billy alternately angry and sad. He’d told Cody he was falling in love with him, but now Billy knew he’d plunged headfirst into love.

When they got back to the ranch, Billy watched as Cody helped Doc carry the man over to the makeshift clinic in the barn. It was set up for animals, but right now it was the best place for Doc to get a handle on the man’s condition. When Cody refused to leave, Billy’s heart sank a little lower. Was he watching Cody fall for his rightful mate? The man was about the same size Cody had been when he’d come to Billy. One quick look at all the couples told Billy that a large alpha always claimed a smaller beta. Perhaps what Cody said had been prophetic. There really couldn’t be two alphas in a pairing.

But then a miracle.
Doc was going to leave and get supplies from his house when the man let out a keening wail of misery. He leapt up and plastered himself against Doc’s legs, almost like a terrified child.
“He feels safe with you.” Cody then offered to go and get whatever Doc needed. He grabbed a box then turned to Billy. “Will you help me?”
Billy nodded, and they used his car to drive over to Doc’s little house. Since Marshal owned the entire valley, Doc left the door unlocked at all times. They let themselves in. Billy’s first impression was the house was beautifully put together. Everything matched because all the furnishings were crafted from the colors of the southwest. Sage-green, salmon, azure-blue, and the rich tones of pine dominated the open and airy space.
“He said we’d find everything in the closet by the bathroom.”
They went down a short hallway, opened up the closet, and then loaded up the box.
“Do you want him?” Billy shook his head at how he’d just blurted out his question without giving it any frame of reference.
“You mean the man with Doc?”
“Yeah.” Billy kept his attention on the box of medical supplies because he was too afraid to see what might be lurking in Cody’s eyes.
“I want you.”
Billy looked up, and their gazes collided.
“I want to help him, but you’re the only man that I want to be with.”
Relief made Billy sigh.
“Did you really think I would—what? Leave you?”
“I just—you kept looking at him, and he’s small like a true beta.”
“Didn’t we work it out last night that it doesn’t matter? Alpha, beta, or hot and horny human, you and I seem to get along just fine.”
Billy chuckled at the way Cody summed things up.
Cody closed the door. “Let’s get this stuff over to Doc so we can go somewhere and try more sexual variations.”
“Don’t you want to know what’s in those boxes that we brought back?” Billy asked as he carried the medical supplies out to the car.
Cody opened the trunk. “Well, of course I do, but Dooley said they’re all in some kind of code. I think Dooley is the one who can probably make the most sense of them. I want to know, but me pestering the man isn’t going to get the answers any sooner.”
“Good point.”
“I’m learning.”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you.” Billy waited until Cody was in the passenger seat and buckled up before he drove back toward the main house. He reached into his back pocket and removed the piece of paper. “Terrance, from the Scorpion County Sheriff’s office, gave me this.”
Cody unfolded it and turned it this way and that. “What is it?”
“It’s a brand. It’s on the guy you call Weasel.”
“Which way does it go?”
“I don’t know because I’m not certain of the orientation.”
“Terrance didn’t tell you?”
“Not when I couldn’t tell him anything about it.”
“Why would he ask you about a brand?”
“Ah, well.” Billy really didn’t want to get into this, but if they were going to build a life together, he had to be honest. “Remember how we talked about role-playing when we were talking about all the things we could do together?”
“Yeah.”
“I am—was—into BDSM. Bondage, discipline, sadomasochism. I was more into the B and D end of things.”
“Is that why you enjoy standing up while I suck your dick?” Cody spoke as casually as if he were talking about the weather. Frankly, Billy found it a welcomed change. Being able to discuss sexual matters with a partner in bold terms was surprisingly empowering. At the club, the exchanges he’d had with his subs were almost businesslike. He and his partners had their sexual needs met, but there was no emotion involved. This was entirely new territory for Billy, but he found he liked it much better.
“Yeah. But then you’re not all beta like that, and I find I like that, too.”
Cody grinned. “I like being able to do a lot of different things. And trust me, there’ll be times where I want to get down on my knees and worshipfully suck your cock.”
“Good. Because that’s a mutual deal.” Billy got hard just thinking about the two of them switching off on that, but then his arousal faded when he returned to the matter of the brands. “Anyway, that’s why Terrance asked me because sometimes in BDSM people get brands and he thought I might recognize it.”
“Oh.” Cody didn’t sound even remotely interested. If anything, he sounded confused.
“There’s another reason I’m showing you that picture.”
“Oh?” Cody continued to turn the paper around, clearly trying to get it to make sense.
“You have a brand, too.”
Slowly, Cody lowered the paper to his lap. He didn’t look up. “I do?”
“On your right buttock.”
Cody’s head came up, but rather than look at Billy, he looked out the windshield. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t really get a close look at it.”
Cody was silent the rest of the way. When Billy stopped the car, he tried to get out without taking off his seat belt. Startled, he looked down and wrenched the straps off. He climbed out while Billy released the trunk latch.
“Are you okay?”
Cody shook his head back and forth.
“Talk to me.”
His head came up, and hewinced. “It wasn’t bad enough for them to abuse me physically, emotionally, inject me and restrain me and terrify me. No, they had to go one step further and brand me like a fucking cow!”
“I’m so sorry.” Billy regretted telling him.
“I just need to get my head around this.”
“What you said, back at the house, about them trying to create their own group of shifters, could the brand be a way to mark you for that?”
Rather than answer, Cody lifted the box into his arms and walked quickly from the car to the barn. He settled the box on the table near to where Doc was sitting with the mystery man’s head in his lap.
Doc looked up and whispered, “Thanks. Can you get me that blanket over there?”
Billy grabbed it and watched as Doc settled the cover over himself and the man.
“He’s so tired, but he won’t sleep in a bed.” Doc’s hand gently stroked along the man’s head and neck. “If I try to get up to go, he panics, so I’m going to stay here. Can you let Marshal and Dooley know?”
“Yeah.” Billy noticed there was a pile of blankets and some pillows, so he brought those over. He also put the box of supplies within reach. “Do you want us to bring some food or water?”
“Elliot’s doing that, but thank you for the offer.” Doc looked up at Cody, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the man since they came inside. “Are you okay?”
“Does he have a brand?”
“A what?”
Billy briefly explained about the photo and the mark he’d found on Cody.
“I didn’t see one, but I wasn’t looking. There’s so much grime on him I probably couldn’t see it even if there was.” Doc sighed but never stopped his loving strokes. “He was afraid of the washing area, so for tonight I’m just going to let him be. He needs rest more than a scrubbing. In the morning, I’ll try the tub in the main house. If I see a mark, I’ll let you know.”
“Can’t we just—” Cody cut himself off. “Never mind. He needs sleep a hell of a lot more than he needs me or anyone poking at him.”
When Elliot came in with food and drink, Billy and Cody left. They walked over to the farmhouse in silence. Once inside, the smell of food from the kitchen called to them. Together they entered and found Cassidy and Storm serving up plates to several men at the table. Among them were Marshal and Dooley.
Billy gave them the heads-up on Doc and then settled in. As soon astheir plates landed in front of them, everyone’s mouths were too full to talk. Billy watched Cody out the corner of his eye. He didn’t like the way he was slumped down protectively, almost like he was anticipating blows. Intellectually, Cody knew he was safe here, but emotionally he might just be overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
When they finished, they rose, and Dooley called them into the office at the back of the farmhouse. A part of Billy didn’t want to go because he feared what Dooley would say about what he’d discovered in the boxes, but he had to be strong for Cody.
Once inside the room, Dooley settled on the floor in the center of the boxes. Cody dropped down and sat cross-legged just like Dooley. Reluctantly, Billy joined them.
“There isn’t any way to do this gently, so I’m just going to jump right in.” Dooley sighed and picked up a leather-bound binder that looked like it had been through a war zone. The cover was dotted with fingerprints, dubious stains, and smears that looked suspiciously like blood.
Billy looked over and found Cody’s eyes were enormous.
“That’s what they wrote things in.”
“Yeah. There’s all kinds of information in here, but I don’t quite understand the symbols. It seems each subject that—what did you call those men?”
“Owl and Weasel.”
“Weasel’s the one who’s still alive in the county lockup,” Billy supplied.
“The one with this brand.” From his back pocket, Cody extracted the paper and handed it over to Dooley.
Frowning, Dooley unfolded the paper and turned it a few times before settling on an orientation. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Dooley opened the binder and started flipping through the pages that were covered with small, spidery script. “That’s this.” Dooley turned the book toward Cody and Billy and tapped at the top corner of the page. “Apparently, each of these pages relates to someone identified by a brand.”

Chapter 16

Cody reached out but pulled his hand back before he actually made contact with the book.
“Do you remember being branded?” Dooley asked. “Sorry, I’m assuming you are.”
“I am, but I don’t recall when it happened.” Cody reached toward his fanny but stopped. “I remember that they would always flip to a certain section to make their notes. I didn’t know how the system worked because I wasn’t allowed to see the pages. I just saw them writing in there.”
“Do you want to see your page?” Billy asked. “And remember that you don’t have to do this tonight. We have time, Cody. We can take our time and make sure you’re ready for this.”
“I want to know.”
“Okay. We need to see your brand.”
Cody stood up and then unfastened his pants, but it was Billy who slid them down until the brand was exposed.
“Can I take a picture of it so you don’t have to stand here with your britches down?” Dooley pulled his cell phone out of his pants, but he didn’t do anything until Cody gave him the go-ahead. Mainly he said yes because he wanted to see what it was. It took Dooley three tries to get a decent picture. “Here.”
After Cody did up his pants, Dooley handed him the phone. When he saw the photo, he realized why he’d never noticed it before and why it had taken Dooley several shots to get it right. The mark was extremely pale.
Billy leaned into him and studied the brand. “It kind of looks like a capital E bleeding into a circle.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” Dooley was back on the floor and flipping through the book. “There’s several similar marks, but they aren’t exactly the same, so I don’t think they all relate to Cody.” He hummed lightly to himself as he flipped through the pages.
“Go more toward the back.” From the dusty cobwebs of his memory, Cody thought they had always flipped back there before they wrote anything down.
“That would be the more recent entries, so, yeah. That makes sense.” When Dooley found the mark on the corner of a page, he turned the book toward Cody and Billy, who settled back on the floor. “Does any of it mean anything to you?”
Cody scanned the page, but he couldn’t make sense out of any of it. The letters were part of the alphabet, but they were all scrambled up.
“God, forgive me for asking so bluntly, but what kinds of things would they do to you that they would then note down? As much as I hate to ask, that might be the only way to decipher the code.”
A shiver washed over Cody as the memories hit against his mind like snowballs against a window. “Injections. Making me sniff things. They would take my blood. They would note my temperature, my heart rate, things like that.”
Dooley looked over the page and frowned. “I’m sorry, I can’t understand what the hell they were trying to do.” Dooley looked up. “Do you have any idea?”
“At the house, in the living room, I had this flash of insight that told me they wanted to figure out how to make a pack of their own. They wanted to be able to control who came into the group. When their efforts to build a pack failed, they wanted to be able to shift without being part of a pack like what’s here on the ranch.”
Dooley absorbed this information and then slowly turned the pages in the books.
“What’s in the other boxes?” Billy asked.
“To my untrained eye, it seems like invoices and random paperwork. I was going to ask Vance to have a look at it.”
“Vance?”
“He’s the accountant. This is pretty much his office.”
Cody looked around at the room. A big desk dominated the space and floor-to-ceiling bookcases lined one of the walls. There was a door that led to the outside, one that went to the hallway, and another that went into a bathroom.
Dooley looked over the book a little longer, but he was unable to decipher the code. “I’m sorry, Cody. I was hoping we could figure out the code together.”
“Code. That was part of what Owl would say. Something about me.”
“It’s almost your name.”
“I know, but it was also some kind of joke because he would say it slowly and Weasel would laugh.Code E. Like that.”
“Code E?” Dooley pulled out his phone and looked at the brand again. “In a way that fits the brand since it’s just like Billy said. A capital E and a circle cutting into the horizontal lines of the E.”
“Code E meaning what?”
“Beef is stamped.” Dooley looked up. “That’s not to say you’re like a piece of meat.”
“Not to you, but to them…” Cody’s mind wandered back to those terrifying days and nights. So much of it was lost to him because he’d blocked it out, but he remembered their jokes about codes. “There was code E, P, M, and W. Those are the ones I remember most. There may have been others.”
“Hey, wait.” Billy pulled up the photo of Weasel’s tattoo. “Got a pencil?”
Dooley rose, found one on the desk, and handed it to Billy.
“If you clear away the scratches and the scars…you get what looks like a W inside a circle.” Billy looked up to Dooley. “Is there a section in there with this mark in the corner of the page?”
Dooley again flipped through the book. At the very end he found a page with the mark, but it wasn’t littered with information like the other pages were. “It has what looks like coded names and places, I think.”
“What makes you think that?” To Cody’s eye, it still looked like more strings of gibberish.
Dooley looked up and flashed a grin. “As I boy, I often designed codes for my clubs. The trick is the key. If you know the key, you’ve got the code. But sometimes you can decipher the key by looking at the structure.” He tapped the book. “These look like names because notice how it’s a clump of letters, a space, a clump of letters?”
Cody nodded.
“It’s like first name, last name, and some have what looks like a middle name.”
“Yeah, and this here could be city and state.” Billy pointed to the next two columns of letters.
“These numbers here could be height, weight, stuff like that.”
“But what does the W stand for?” Dooley glanced at Cody. “Why did you call him Weasel?”
“His face looked kind of like a weasel and he acted like one, too. But that’s what Owl called him.”
Dooley flipped through the book. “Damn. I was hoping there was an O code in there, but I don’t see one.”
“Well, all the codes are in or near a circle.”
“Yeah, but that’s not an O. It would be more of an ellipse, not a circle.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be more help.” Cody was hoping everything would be revealed, but it seemed that Owl and Weasel had simply found another way to thwart him.
“Don’t sweat it. You’ve put me on the right trail to breaking this code.” Dooley rose and cracked his back. “I’m going to go say good night to my mate, and then I’m going to get working on this.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No. Get some sleep.”
Cody and Billy brushed their teeth in the downstairs bathroom then went up to their bedroom on the first floor. They undressed, climbed into bed, and then Billy turned toward him. In the dark, the sections of his face not covered by his beard and mustache glowed softly. “Don’t lose hope. I’m sure Dooley can crack that code. He uses one to obscure the data he saves, so it’s like he says—he just has to find the key. Once he does, we’ll have information coming out of our ears.”
“But what if it doesn’t do us any good?”
“What do you mean?” Billy reached under the blanket and took Cody’s hand in his. “Just what were you hoping to get out of this?”
“I wanted to fix myself so you could shift!”
“Oh, God, Cody. I don’t care about that.”
“How can you not?” Cody rolled over so that he was facing Billy. “Owl and Weasel devoted a lifetime to trying to figure the secret out. And you want me to think that you aren’t interested?”
“I’m interested, of course I am, but it’s not the end-all or be-all to me. Yeah, I think it would be cool as hell to shift and explore this ranch as a coyote, but if it never happens, that’s okay.” Billy slid closer. “Because I have you and that’s better than any magical transformation could ever be.”
It was at that precise moment that Cody fell in love with Billy. Not because of the way he looked, or the mind-blowing sex they shared, or the fact that Billy accepted all the crazy quirks in their relationship. All those things were wonderful, but he loved him because Billy was honestly grateful to just simply be with him. “I love you.”
Billy’s smile was so wide it literally glowed in the dark. “I love you, too.”
They moved toward each other and met in the middle with a kiss.
“What about the tracking device on me?”
“If there is one, we’ll find it. And then we can use it to lure them here or remove it and destroy it. All of that will be up to you. But I wonder that we have to worry about others coming after you. From what we saw in that house, only two guys lived there and one of them is now dead. Weasel isn’t going to get out of county lockup anytime soon. Even if he does, they’ll undoubtedly trace him back to his pot farm. That ought to keep him locked up for a good long time.”
“But what about others? They said there were people like them everywhere.” The thought alone made Cody nauseous.
“Once we have the key, we might find the answer in that book. If we do, we’ll go and make sure that others of our kind aren’t being hurt.”
Cody smiled gently.
“What?”
“You’re still a man of law and order. You’ve just become an officer to oversee our kind.”
Billy matched his smile with one of his own. “Maybe that’s what fate had in mind for me all along.”
“Maybe.”
“So, now, about this sex we’re going to have.” Billy let go of Cody’s hand and then cupped Cody’s hip.
“Who said anything about sex?” Cody slid his hand down Billy’s chest.
“We could roll over and go to sleep if you want.”
“Naw. Let’s see what we can do tonight.”
“Something different, you mean?”
“Something sweet and soft.”
“Aw. You want to make love?”
“Yeah.” Cody chuckled. “Let’s do it beta style.”
For the first time, Cody let go of all his worries. If they found the solution in the paperwork that would be great, but he knew that wasn’t going to define his relationship with Billy. He and Billy would be happy together no matter what the future brought. And maybe, if he just learned to let things be, he and Billy would eventually finish mating so Billy would beable to shift. But as Billy said, it wasn’t the end-all, beall. If Billy wasn’t worried about it, then Cody wouldn’t be, either. If they trusted themselves and were open to fate, they would eventually have what was best for them.

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reading, writing, and white-water rafting are the three things Anitra Lynn McLeod enjoys the most. You can visit her at www.AnitraMcLeod.com.

For all titles by Anitra Lynn McLeod, please visit www.bookstrand.com/anitra-lynn-mcleod

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