STORY EXCERPT

Biting his lip to hold in his groan of pain, he crawled out of bed and wrapped one of the blankets around his shoulders. If he was to be the mate to the local badass, he might as well start acting the part. His knees wobbled, partly from exhaustion and partly in fear, but he straightened his spine and walked as steadily as possible out of the room.

He passed a few men in the living room, but they barely glanced at him. That was just fine by Daxton. He wasn’t looking for them anyway, and he wasn’t all that positive that he wanted to find the man he was looking for. God, he was so freaking confused.

“Daxton?” someone asked in a smooth, clear baritone.

Snapping his head around, Daxton knew his eyes were probably bugging out of his head as he gaped at the mountain of a man beside him. Though not as big as Lawton, the guy still had at least six inches and a good forty pounds on him. “Yes?” he croaked.

The werewolf smiled and held out a hand. “I’m Rogue Gilliam. Welcome to Camp Changeling.”

“You’re all Changelings?” Daxton unwound one hand from the blanket and held it out while using the other to clutch the fabric around him.

“Everyone but Lawton.” Rogue shook his hand briefly. “He changed all of us, and by accident I might add. The man kind of loses it when he’s fighting.”

Daxton pulled his hand back and used it to rub at the wound on his shoulder. Maybe Lawton hadn’t meant to bite him. “Why doesn’t he just kill them after he bites them?” So he wasn’t building an army—not purposely anyway.

“I think there has been enough death, don’t you?”

Daxton spun in the direction of the voice, got tangled in his blanket, and would have fallen smack on his face if Rogue hadn’t caught him. The vicious growl that followed his rescue scared the hell out of Daxton, but Rogue just rolled his eyes.

“Would you have rather me let him mess up this pretty face?” he asked Lawton, making sure Daxton was steady on his feet before releasing him.

His question was met by another growl, and Daxton was having serious doubts about the scene ending well for any of them, but especially him. “I–I,” he stammered.

Lawton rested his hands on his hips and dropped his chin to his chest. He appeared to be taking deep breaths, his shoulders rising and falling with each one. When he finally looked up, his facial features had softened, and his amber eyes had a look of contrition in them.

“I overreacted, and I apologize.” His gaze shifted to Rogue. “You need to step away.”

Rogue lifted his hands in surrender and took two steps back from Daxton. “Things are going to be interesting now that you’re here,” he mumbled.

“Come here,” Lawton said quietly, holding one arm open for Daxton.

Fear held him in place, though. Why the hell had he thought he could do this? Sure, it would keep him safe against The Regime, but it was just as likely that he’d end up puppy chow before the week was out. He had zero clue of how to be the mate of someone like Lawton. Hell, he didn’t know how to be a mate, period.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I just want you to come here. Please,” Lawton added after a brief pause.

Leaving the blanket on the floor where he’d dropped it, Daxton shuffled closer to the big werewolf. There was a chill in the air, and his exposed skin broke out in tiny bumps, reminding him just how little clothing he had on. Was everyone staring at him? It sure felt like it. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife as if the house itself was holding its breath in nervous anticipation of what would come in the next thirty seconds.

When he was within arm’s reach of Lawton, Daxton stopped and dropped his head submissively. As growly as the man was, that seemed like a good place to start. Besides, as the only born were, that made Lawton alpha of the pack, and the alpha deserved respect.

“Look at me, Daxton.”

Daxton lifted his head immediately. “Dax. Everyone calls me Dax.”

Lawton grinned at him. “Okay, Dax. Are you hungry?”

“Umm, yes?” Why the hell had he said it like a question? He was starving.

“Are you asking me?” Lawton chuckled, wrapped his warm fingers around the back of Daxton’s neck, and led him down the hallway toward the room he’d just come from. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and someone will bring you something to eat.”

“I can get it myself if you just show me where it is.”

“I have no doubt of your capabilities, but you’re tired and hurting. Just let me take care of you until you’re feeling better.”

Daxton stopped just inside the bedroom and tilted his head to the side. “You want to take care of me?” People had taken care of him in the past, but they always expected something in return, and they had definitely never wanted the job.

“I know you must think I’m a bastard, and I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories about what a heartless, cold-blooded monster I am.” Lawton stared into Daxton’s eyes intently as he sighed and shook his head. “I don’t claim to be a saint, Dax. I do my best, but sometimes people get hurt or die. I can’t look the other way anymore. As long as The Regime exists, no one is safe.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Then he switched hands, stroking his length to slick it, while his other slipped into the waistband of Daxton’s pants to fondle his swollen shaft. Daxton growled at his slow pace, though, and shoved away from the barn so that he could claw at the button on his jeans.

There was a muffled thud, and Lawton couldn’t be sure, but he thought his mate might have popped the little metal button right off. Then all thoughts fled when Daxton shoved the denim down his legs and kicked his jeans to the side. His palms rested flat against the side of the barn, his ass stuck out invitingly once more, and soft mewling noises poured from his still-swollen lips.

“Please, please, please,” he chanted over and over, rocking back into Lawton’s groin so that his slippery cock slid up and down Daxton’s crease.

“You’re not ready.” No matter how much he wanted that tight heat encompassing his cock, it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying if Daxton didn’t enjoy it as well.

Searching the surrounding area for where he’d dropped the lube, Lawton found it at his feet, the cap open and the contents dribbling out onto the dirt. Crouching down, he snatched it up, coated his fingers, and dropped it once more. Cade said there was plenty, after all.

Grasping one muscled globe of his mate’s perfectly rounded ass, Lawton parted his cheeks, groaning when his pink pucker was revealed, quivering and begging for his touch. Circling the ring of muscles, he trailed kisses down Daxton’s spine until the man relaxed enough for him to push in one thick finger.

It was nothing like their last foray. Instead of loosening and accepting him, Daxton’s inner walls clamped down on his finger in a stranglehold. “Relax, baby.”

Daxton shook his head violently as his body began to tremble. “More. Please, just give me what I want.”

“I’ll give you anything, but I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I like the burn,” Daxton argued with a note of frustration in his tone. “God, please, Lawton, just fuck me!”

It was tempting, but Lawton just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Settling for the next best offer he could give, he removed his finger from Daxton’s hole and pushed back in with three. Obviously, his mate hadn’t been lying to him about liking the burn because he went wild, howling at the moon and thrusting back against Lawton’s hand.

“Yes! Please! Just fuck me now.”

The begging was more than Lawton’s self-control could stand up to, and he pumped his digits a few more times, twisting his wrist and stretching his lover as best he could. Pulling them free of their warm encasement, he lined up the head of his cock with Daxton’s slick hole, curled his arm around his partner’s waist, and slammed home in one mighty plunge.

Daxton screamed, his sinewy muscles tensed, and his inner muscles convulsed around Lawton’s cock. Afraid that he’d hurt his mate, Lawton started to ease out, shame filling him that he’d lost control in such a way. He didn’t make it far before Daxton’s arm shot out behind him, and his fingers dug into Lawton’s hip, holding him in place.

“Don’t you dare stop,” he warned, throwing his hips back and impaling himself on Lawton’s length.

“Then hold on tight.” Keeping a firm grip on Daxton’s waist with one arm, he looped the other around his lover’s chest, buried his face in the back of Daxton’s neck, and drove into him at a hard, demanding pace.

Daxton met each thrust, moving in tandem with him as the most delicious sounds spilled out of his mouth to float away on the night air. It was hard, rough, down, and dirty, but Lawton had never felt more connected with anyone in his life. It wasn’t simply the most amazing sex he’d ever had, but as though his very soul was melded with Daxton’s.

Lost in the feel of his lover’s body, the intoxicating scent of his mate, and the unfamiliar emotions coursing through him, he didn’t realize that his beast had taken over until he heard the tearing of his shirt as his much, much larger frame exploded through it.

His jeans were the next to go, and as he stood naked in the moonlight, soft fur sprouted over his chest, arms, and legs. The bones in his face shifted and realigned, and he knew from experience that he now resembled something between a man and a wolf.

The cock still buried in Daxton’s ass was very much human, however, and growing in proportion to his massive body. Panic settled over him, freezing him in place as he stared down at his mate’s naked back.

Daxton looked so much smaller compared to him now, and Lawton was more afraid than ever of causing the man pain. He also vaguely remembered that Daxton hadn’t agreed to this. In fact, Lawton was pretty sure that Daxton was against being claimed.

He didn’t know what to do. His wolf gnashed its teeth, demanding that they take and claim what belonged to them. The human part of him—much quieter, but still putting up a fuss—argued vehemently against taking Daxton’s choices from him.

There was also the matter of how Daxton would feel about seeing him in his half-and-half form. Would he be scared? Repulsed? Would he run screaming into the night and never return?

“Damn, you’re fucking huge,” Daxton said with a groan. “Are you planning to use that monster, or just sit there all night?”