STORY EXCERPT

"Alpha Redding and his contingent have arrived."

Alpha Grayson Cane looked up from the map he was going over to see his second-in-command, Taylor Cane, who was also his brother, standing off to one side of him.

"Very good," Grayson answered. "Please remind everyone that this is a peaceful gathering. I want no aggressive moves from anyone." Taylor nodded and started to turn away. "Taylor, has the mediator arrived yet?"

Taylor looked back, shaking his head. "No, alpha, there's been no word from his contingent yet."

"I want to be informed the moment he's spotted." Grayson curled his upper a lip, a small growl escaping before he could stop it. "I don't trust those bloodsuckers any farther than I can throw them."

Taylor nodded. "Understood."

Grayson shook his head. "I can't believe the council is sending in a vampire to mediate a peace agreement between werewolf clans. They must be out of their fucking minds."

"They are the council, alpha," Taylor said. "I imagine they can do just about anything they want."

"They're trying to make peace between the clans. Bringing in a vampire is more likely to start a war between us all." Grayson's lip curled again, this time in distaste. "I can't stand the little suckers. They'll stab you in the back while smiling at you. Sick little freaks."

Taylor chuckled slightly. "Better not let the peace mediator hear you say that."

Grayson rolled his eyes as he folded up the map he had been looking at. "I'd better go greet Alpha Redding before he throws a temper tantrum. No telling what he's likely to do if he isn't greeted properly."

"Grayson, you really need to keep your comments under control. You know as well as I do that Alpha Redding has excellent hearing."

Grayson chuckled. He knew that. He was counting on it. The quickest way to piss Alpha Caleb Redding off was to poke at his pride. It was also the quickest way to piss Grayson off, but he wasn't about to admit that.

Grayson and Caleb had been rivals for several years. Getting the two of them in one place without a fight was practically a miracle. Brokering peace between their two clans would be an act of God.

Once upon a time, Grayson and Caleb used to be friends, best friends. Hell, they were more than best friends. Grayson received his first kiss from Caleb, his first blow job. He had his first sexual experience with Caleb.

That all ended when their fathers both died in a challenge to the death, thrusting Grayson and Caleb into the mantle of leadership. Their clans had always had a tentative relationship anyway. The death of both alphas led to a long-standing feud that the Council of Elders was now trying to end.

Grayson waited until Taylor walked away before drawing in several deep, calming breaths. He had seen Caleb several times over the years but always from a safe distance. He was about to see the man close up for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Grayson knew he needed to calm down his racing heartbeat before Caleb heard it. Taylor wasn't lying. Caleb Redding had better hearing than anyone Grayson had ever met. He'd know immediately that Grayson was unsettled by this meeting.

Once Grayson felt he had himself under control, he started toward the middle of the small clearing they were meeting in. He could see a small group of people moving about just on the other side, out of the light cast from the small torches lit in the field.

The plan was for each clan to be on either side of the field and meet in a small circle of light in the middle, neutral ground. Only the two alphas and the mediator could enter the circle. All others had to stay outside the circle and on their own side. Any breach of this plan would be met by strong sanctions by the council.

Grayson could see a tall figure break away from the group across the field as he entered the circle. The closer the man walked, the more of his features were revealed until he stood in the light just inside of the circle.

"Hello, Grayson."

Grayson swallowed hard before answering. "Hello, Caleb."

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Caleb asked.

Caleb folded his hands behind his back and started slowly walking around the circle. Grayson caught just a hint of tension in the man's shoulders as he walked past a torch. He wondered if this meeting was as hard for Caleb as it was for him.

"A few years at least," Grayson replied, hoping that his voice didn't convey the trembling he could feel in his body. To be this close to Caleb and not be able to touch him, smell him. It was hell.

"I've seen you at the yearly Lyken Gatherings," Caleb continued. "You're looking good. Alpha life must be treating you right."

"It's okay."

"Just okay?" The slight lift of Caleb's eyebrow shot right to Grayson's cock. He remembered that mysterious way Caleb had of looking at him as if his answer was the most important thing in the world. It used to drive Grayson crazy.

"It is what it is." Grayson shrugged, trying not to let Caleb know how effected he was by the man's mere presence. They were on different sides of warring factions. They were enemies. What they had before they could never have again. It was too late for that. It had been too late the moment their fathers died in battle.

"Do you think this will work?" Caleb asked as he waved his hand around the circle.

"Do I want it to work? Yes," Grayson answered honestly. "Do I think peace is possible between our two clans? Truthfully, no I don't. There's too much history between our clans for them to settle this peacefully."

Under any normal circumstances, Grayson never would have been so honest with his thoughts, but this was Caleb. Grayson had to believe that some of the man he cared about all of those years ago was still inside of the hard man he saw standing before him.

Caleb clasped his hands behind his back again, nodding his head as he started walking. "I'm tired of fighting, Grayson. I'm tired of watching my clan die little by little over something none of us had anything to do with. The fight was between our fathers, not us."

Grayson's breath caught in his throat at the misery he saw in Caleb's green eyes when the man looked over at him. "We need to end this."

"How?" Grayson asked. "A mediator is not going to be able to end the animosity between our clans, no matter how fucking good he is supposed to be. There's been too much damage, Caleb."

"We need to make a mate covenant between our clans."

Grayson gapped, his mouth dropping open in shock. "You want us to marry members of our clans together to insure peace? Have you lost your mind since I last saw you?"

"Not at all," Caleb said. "I believe it is the perfect resolution to our problem. If we bring our clans together through a mate covenant, then we would essentially be one clan."

"One fighting clan," Grayson snapped. "And who do you think is stupid enough to go along with this plan of yours? What two idiots would even agree to it?"

The potent look Caleb gave Grayson made him start shaking his head before the man even spoke. It was his greatest wish and his biggest nightmare.

"Us."

ADULT EXCERPT

"Prove you can be submissive to me, Caleb," the man whispered hoarsely. "Suck my cock."

Caleb readily opened his mouth and allowed Grayson to push his hard length inside. He doubted Grayson knew how much Caleb really wanted this. It had nothing to do with being submissive. He craved the feeling of Grayson's cock in his mouth.

Caleb groaned as drops of pre-cum exploded across his tongue. The taste of the man hadn't changed in twenty years, that was for sure. Caleb remembered it like it was yesterday, sweet, tangy, and entirely too addictive.

Caleb closed his lips around Grayson's cock and sucked as much of the man's length into his mouth as he could. No matter how much he swallowed, Caleb was pretty sure a couple of inches remained.

He did his best to make up for that by pulling off the man and licking the sides. He even went as far as to bend down and suck Grayson's balls into his mouth before moving back to the tip of his cock again.

"Oh yeah, just like that." Grayson groaned. "Fuck, your mouth feels like heaven, Caleb."

Caleb grinned around the shaft in his mouth then went back to the job at hand. The small slit on the head of Grayson's cock intrigued Caleb, especially the small drops of pre-cum that seemed to be constantly leaking from there.

Caleb gripped the base of the hard organ and licked at the slit like an ice cream cone. He could feel Grayson's body shudder with each swipe of his tongue and hoped he was arousing Grayson as much as he was aroused.

"Enough!" Grayson suddenly growled as he pushed Caleb away.

Caleb sat back on his heels and looked up at Grayson as he licked his lips. He bemoaned the loss of the man's cock in his mouth, but he was pretty sure it was going to be somewhere else real soon if the pinched look on Grayson's face was anything to go by.

"Get rid of your clothes," Grayson ordered.

Caleb felt his legs shake as he stood up and moved over to his pile of clothes. He turned to face Grayson as he undid his jeans and pushed them down his legs. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Grayson's deep inhale as his naked body was revealed. Caleb hadn't bothered with underwear.

Still, Grayson's biggest surprise was yet to come. Caleb came to the peace meeting with a plan in mind. He knew if Grayson agreed to the mate covenant, he'd end up getting fucked at some point. He was prepared and then some.

Caleb cocked an eyebrow at Grayson. "Where would you like me, Alpha Cane?"

Grayson's upper lip curled as he growled, the sound rumbling through the quiet chamber. Caleb felt pretty sure that Grayson was nearing the end of his control. Part of him thrilled at the prospect, his skin tingling with anticipation.

Another part of Caleb had to be tamped down. The alpha wolf in Caleb demanded that he attack and make Grayson submit to him, that he should be the top wolf. It would be a battle of wills to see if Caleb could control that instinctual part of himself.

Grayson pointed to the bed of blankets he'd made. Caleb could feel Grayson's eyes follow him across the room almost like a caress along his naked skin. Caleb almost stumbled as he stepped onto the blankets and knelt down on his hands and knees, the desire to grab Grayson and wrestling him down to the bed almost more than he could take.

Caleb didn't remember this need to dominate Grayson when they were together all those years ago, but they weren't alphas then. That must be why the need was there now and not then. Caleb gritted his teeth as he lowered himself down onto the blankets. He needed to maintain control at least until Grayson claimed him. He could deal with the fallout after that, when he was alone.

"Fuck, I figured out your plan, Alpha Redding," Grayson said. "You're going to kill me and take over both clans."

Caleb wiggled his ass, knowing without a doubt that Grayson's eyes were on the black butt plug in his ass. "I wanted to make sure I was prepared to submit to you, Alpha Cane. I'm your second-in-command now, and I'm supposed to anticipate your needs before you have them."

Grayson's response was a cross between a chuckle and a snort. "I think you'll make a very able second-in-command."

Caleb yelped when Grayson's hand came down on his ass then quickly turned red with embarrassment. He couldn't ever remember anyone smacking his ass. He certainly never heard a yelp come out of his mouth before.

Grayson was going to think he'd turned into a weenie in the last twenty years. Caleb was sure of it. The trembling of his body didn't help any, but Caleb couldn't seem to stop. He almost slanted his ass up to receive another smack just so he could feel Grayson's hand on his body.

He got his wish when Grayson's hand stroked down the middle of his back to where the butt plug sat. Caleb's head reared back, and a strangled moan slipped past his gritted teeth when Grayson began fiddling with the plug, wiggling it.

"Grayson!"

"Do you like that, Caleb?" Grayson asked. Caleb was mollified by the fact that Grayson's voice didn't sound too steady. He didn't want to be the only one feeling out of control right now.

"Wish it was you," he said instead, because he did. As much as he needed to dominate Grayson, he also needed to feel the man's cock pound him into the blankets below. Caleb had been planning for years to be exactly where he was right now.

"It's the alpha's duty to see to the needs of his clan members."