Angus wanted to cry out the word “no.” But he held back as he watched Cain nudge him over and then strip out of his clothes. And then the wolf handed Angus a key—the key—to the cuffs he proceeded to chain himself to.
He winced as the silver hit his skin and Angus did say, “No,” this time but Cain managed, “It’s fine.”
“Why?”
“Better this way,” Cain said simply. “You’re safe, Angus.”
“I always was with you, dammit.” He brought his mouth down on Cain’s, their tongues dueling, and soon Angus had crawled on top of him, bringing their naked bodies together. The fear was gone—and Angus didn’t think the chains had anything to do with it but he would be forever grateful to Cain for thinking of this.
He took Cain into his mouth and Cain bucked his hips up with an intensity that might’ve frightened Angus had he not looked into the wolf’s eyes. His cock tasted salty, sweet—Angus sucked, ran his tongue along the fat head as Cain howled his approval softly. Whimpered. His eyes had changed and he was doing that glowing thing again and Angus wanted to tell the wolf that he’d loved him probably since the first day he’d seen him.
But he held his tongue on the words, used it to drive Cain crazy, until he forced the orgasm from him.
It seemed to go on for hours. Angus watched in amazement as the thick ropes of come decorated Cain’s chest. He licked at it—it tasted like nothing he’d ever tasted before. Loved the way Cain groaned and growled and writhed. It made him feel strong.
Finally, he crawled next to Cain, whose eyes were closed but who definitely wasn’t sleeping.
“That was worth waiting for,” Cain told him, his voice husky and when he opened his eyes, they were back to normal. That helped Angus relax and he reached for the chains but Cain shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Okay.”
“You know what I’d do to you if I wasn’t chained?” Cain asked and Angus shook his head. “My fingers would be inside of you, opening you up, readying you for me,” the Were said, his voice a perfect melody of gruffness and growl. “You’d be moaning for me. Mouth hanging open. Taking everything I give you.”
“Yeah,” Angus agreed, closed his eyes and pictured it.
“It’s okay that you can’t let that happen, Angus.” Cain’s words were soft and when he opened his eyes, Angus saw the soft lighted glow around both of them.
“Next time, I want you to be able to hold me,” Angus said honestly and Cain flushed.
“Move closer.”
Angus did, lay on top of Cain, his ear to the wolf’s chest, listening to the fast heartbeat. He held the key in his palm, but he was glad Cain didn’t ask to be unchained because he didn’t want to let the wolf go. What would happen after this . . .
Cain could sense the human’s mind going a hundred miles an hour before Angus finally blurted out, “I’ll get the weretrappers off Gillian’s trail.”
“Angus, they’ll kill you. And you can’t go back to the hunters either. Not now anyway.”
“I can trust them.”
“You’ve known them less than a month.”
“Some of them I’ve known a lot longer.” There were many retired FBI and CIA agents who were hunters. Lots of former military guys too—all of them who’d had the supernatural curtain drawn back for them.
“Why were you really there that night?”
“Honestly? Because there were reports of monsters running through the woods.”
“And you and your band of merry men are going to fight them?”
“People are getting killed, Cain.”
“And you were almost one of them,” Cain shot back. Figured Angus only escaped because the hounds saw he’d pulled Gillian to safety. He’d come close enough to death to make Cain weak and he hated being weak.
“When I was with Shimmin, I heard about the hunters. Met with them in secret. Found my old FBI partner. I thought he was dead.” Angus closed his eyes, curled a fist on his chest. “He joined the hunters years ago and he told me there was a place for me in the group now that I knew things. He said I’d never be able to go back to my normal life again—I could try, but nothing would ever be the same. And when you locked me in here, I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That no matter what I did, you wouldn’t trust me. Wouldn’t accept me fully.”
Cain considered that for a moment. “But you think the Weres who are hunters do?”
“They’re in it for the common good, many on loan from their packs for just that purpose.”
That was true. “Packs make their own laws.”
“So do the trappers. How’s that working for you?”
“Why here, Angus? Why come back here?” Cain asked.
“This is where they assigned me.”
A lie, but Cain let it go. “Yeah, okay. Good thing you were here.”
Angus glared at him. “Actually, it is. But Gillian is in danger. Why are the Dires so hell-bent on protecting her?”
“They’re do-gooders too,” Cain offered. “You’re really staying with this group?”
“I see no reason not to. But I’d like us to work in conjunction with you.”
“I’ll be moving to Manhattan with Liam,” he said carefully and felt Angus’s body still.
“Is that what you want?” the man asked slowly.
“It’s an honor.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Cain didn’t want to consider why he couldn’t give a more definitive answer. As an omega, his guard would always need to be up. He could be easily used and also be a prime target for kidnappers. Liam told him he thought Cain’s omega status should remain hidden but it was only a matter of time before his healing power was discovered.
Plus, he had special mating specifications. According to werelore, an omega’s mate found him, and that mate was preordained. His mate would be the one to see him glow and Cain had no other omegas to ask because they were literally under lock and key.
He thought about the beatings he’d endured, the endless whippings where the skin had been flayed and it took weeks to heal, because he didn’t dare show what he was.
They thought he was moon-crazed. Had no idea what they’d let go. “You can undo the chains now.”
He sensed Angus’s disappointment but the man didn’t protest, just unlocked the heavy cuffs and Cain pushed them all to the ground.
“Who did this to you?” Angus asked as he traced the scars on Cain’s back. Cain let him do so for a few seconds before turning back to face him.
“My first pack, before they kicked me out. Jinx took me and Cyd in and got us through the worst part of the moon craze.”
“You were lucky.”
“Very. You’ve been lucky too. How many lives do you think you have?”
“TBD.”
“The Weres are going to smell me on you. A shower won’t help.”
“Don’t you have some super secret trick, like your glowing thing?”
Angus was joking but there was something Cain could do. Of course, it was only supposed to work on his ma—
“What the hell did you say about the glowing thing?” Cain demanded.
“When you healed me, you glowed.”
Cain forced himself to breathe as Angus added, “Shimmin said that meant I was your mate.”
“I told you that you shouldn’t get your information on the supernatural from trappers,” Cain managed to say, but he turned away to stare out the window, his heart racing.
He’d have to attempt to protect Angus and see if there was any truth to this. “There’s something I can try,
