Gerald's Lot Read online

  “Devon doesn’t like me anymore,” Gerald said. He shrugged, but didn’t take his eyes off the wolf in front of him. “Maybe he never did.”

  Eyes glinted and nostrils flared again.

  Gerald jiggled his wrists, still held tight in front of him by the chain and the wolf’s strong grip, gesturing at the wolf’s face. “That’s becoming a thing.”

  Another softly indrawn breath, an obvious sniff, and eyes that seemed intent on staring straight through Gerald and into his soul.

  “A thing,” the wolf said.

  “Those nostrils of yours could cut glass.”

  The wolf’s forehead furrowed and his gaze flickered to somewhere over Gerald’s shoulder, and that was the moment Gerald had been waiting for.

  Not to escape—he already knew he didn’t have a chance of that, not now—but to breathe. For the first time since the wolf’s eyes had locked on him, the vise around Gerald’s chest eased.

  He said over his shoulder, “Aren’t we supposed to be going somewhere? Get me the fuck out of here.”

  When Kem took hold of his arm, Gerald didn’t fight this time. But he did suck in his breath when the second wolf released the chain, only to take hold of Gerald’s other arm in a tight, firm grip.

  He had thought he’d be leaving the nerve-stealing wolf behind.

  “Whoa,” Gerald said. “Isn’t this dangerous? I don’t want to end up in the middle of a heat fight.”

  “No one will fight over you until it’s time,” Kem said.

  Gerald gritted his teeth against the unsettling awareness he had of the unnamed wolf’s hand on his arm. “How do you know?”

  “Heavy doses of the repression drugs,” Devon said from behind them. “Do you think I’d be here if it was going to be a problem?”

  Kem’s head turned toward Devon just as Gerald looked back at Devon over his shoulder.

  “Do not follow us,” Kem said.

  “Goddammit,” Devon said, “Why won’t you—”

  “The rules are for your own protection. Follow them.” The edge in Kem’s voice spoke of an argument already lost.

  Devon made a sound like a growl and slammed his hand against the side of the table, eyes hard and mouth pinched.

  Gerald couldn’t help himself. “Listen to your boss. He seems pretty good at keeping you out of trouble.”

  Devon scowled and thrust his hand up, his middle finger making it clear what he thought about Gerald’s comment.

  The grip on Gerald’s arm tightened and jerked him forward with very little care for the fact that Gerald wasn’t expecting the move. He stumbled, quickly returning his attention to the wolf at his side.

  “You taunt him. Why?”

  Gerald pressed his lips tightly together and turned his face forward. Not talking seemed like his best move given his current circumstances.

  “Ah,” the wolf said. “You’d rather pout than explain. So be it.”

  Gerald clenched his teeth and walked between Kem and the unknown wolf, back straight, legs stiff…

  Dread a hard, tight knot in his gut.

  Chapter 3

  Gerald wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but this sure wasn’t it. Forest and trees as far as the eye could see, and a hexagonal arrangement of fist-sized alien tech trapping him in a twenty-foot area of woods.

  “There’s an alarm,” Kem said. “If you step over the barrier, you’ll suffer a great deal of pain.”

  Gerald gave Kem a look of disbelief.

  Kem’s green eyes glinted in the bright daylight filtering through the sparse canopy of leaves overhead, but otherwise his expression didn’t change. “It’s not meant to harm you. It’s for your protection.”

  Gerald would liked to have disputed that just for the sake of argument, but the truth was, he believed Kem. He’d been gathering intelligence on the wolves’ inner workings and society for years, and he knew how cautious the wolves were around humans. Wolves had incredibly strong muscle and bone and a remarkable ability to heal even the most terrible of injuries; humans were without a doubt a weaker, less resilient species.

  Clouds scudded by overhead, dropping shadows across Kem’s face as he continued, “It will also stop anyone other than me from reaching you.”

  Gerald took a shallow breath, his chest tight. “You lied to Devon, didn’t you? The drugs won’t be enough.”

  “Devon would have worried about you.”

  “Oh my God.” Gerald stopped there, because there was really nothing else to say.

  “You’re a desirable human. I’m not surprised more than one of us volunteered to take you as a mate.”

  Gerald clenched his fists and let out a shaky exhale. Human males had a scent the wolves found nearly irresistible during their once-every-three-Earth-years reproductive cycle. At nearly twenty-eight, Gerald was older by a few years than the men most at risk from the wolves, but not being “most at risk” didn’t mean he wasn’t in trouble if a bunch of wolves picked up his scent.

  Despite everything that the wolves had shared about themselves when they’d come to Earth, they hadn’t shared enough.

  No one had been ready for that first heat, when the wolves and humans alike had discovered the terrible truth of how the human scent triggered an uncontrollable lust during a time when the wolves’ mating instincts were already pushing them to the edge of their control.

  Wolves chose mates by scent and strength. Alphas fought for dominance; mates surrendered.

  Submission, they called it. Something that was such a deep and abiding part of their society that they refused to allow any humans who strayed into their territory any more choice than they allowed their own kind.

  Like most humans, Gerald wasn’t that interested in giving up his right to choose who he had sex with—or who he mated.

  Of course, like the wolves, he could choose to fight, but there was a reason the heat cycle survival training used phrases like “submit and live” and “fight and die” to remind humans of the dangers of getting caught in the wild during the wolves’ heat season. Gerald wouldn’t stand a chance against any of their wicked claws and sharp eyeteeth, and he certainly wouldn’t heal from the kinds of injuries he would end up with in a fight against even one wolf.

  Anyone with any sense who still made their home inside the American Protectorate moved to the county shelters the moment heat season got near and stayed there until it was over.

  Gerald had the sense, but his job had always been more important to him than his ass.

  He’d proven that three years ago during the last heat season, when he’d realized he might lose his one chance to make a connection to Brendan Greer and the renegades if he let Devon go off alone with a wolf. He’d hesitated only a moment before he’d put his ass on the line by agreeing to become a heat mate to one of the wolves.

  It had been the right decision; he’d ended up in a wolves’ den and he’d been able to confirm that the wolves had Greer. Gerald had been able to pass on a great deal of information because of that sacrifice.

  Which hadn’t turned out to be much of a sacrifice at all. The fucking had been intense, hard, and so hot he’d almost been disappointed when it ended.

  Almost.

  He’d been used pretty hard by the wolf he’d come to know as Cory. In the end, he’d been grateful to get out with his information and happy to have a few weeks to recuperate before James had found a way to use Gerald’s story about Lane as a way to reconnect Gerald with Devon Fletcher—and the wolves.

  Sweat started to accumulate under Gerald’s arms, cooled by the breeze scattering dead leaves across the forest floor.

  Kem’s nostrils flared just enough for Gerald to notice.

  Gerald stilled, his heart thundering in his ears. Kem and Devon were mates. But Devon wasn’t here and who knew if Kem had taken enough of the repression drugs to keep him from finding Gerald’s human male scent irresistible…

  The breeze picked up momentum, rattling the leaves that remained on the surrounding oak trees.
A lock of hair tickled Gerald’s forehead. He raised his hands to push it aside. The chain rattled, startling him, reminding him of just how taut his nerves had gotten in the wait for the others to arrive.

  Kem reached down and took hold of Gerald’s wrist. One quick motion through the air over the cuff, and a soft snick followed.

  Both cuffs broke open along invisible seams on each side of Gerald’s wrists. He jerked a little at the unexpected release as Kem allowed the cuffs and chain to fall to the ground at Gerald’s feet.

  Gerald side-eyed Kem with careful consideration. It wasn’t the first time Gerald had seen the wolves do something with their technology that didn’t seem to require any kind of physical interaction. He’d kept his suspicions about it to himself, to keep from bringing attention to the fact that the wolves had stopped concerning themselves so much with security around him.

  “Thanks,” he said, sounding gruff to his own ears.

  One side of Kem’s upper lip pulled back, showing a glint of sharply pointed eyetooth. “You betrayed my mate’s friendship. I allowed him his small revenge despite knowing I’ll have to explain myself to First Alpha when he hears about it.”

  “Gets you in a lot of trouble, huh?” Gerald rubbed his wrists. The cuffs hadn’t been painful, but they had been a little too snug.

  “He’s worth any trouble he’ll ever cause me,” Kem said, then stepped back, putting several feet of distance between himself and Gerald.

  Gerald swallowed and looked away.

  He’d had to think hard about the consequences of what he was doing when he offered to help Cam Lujan. He’d suspected it would cost him his cover eventually—he’d hoped not, but he’d suspected, nonetheless. His activities couldn’t go unnoticed forever, and they hadn’t, not when he’d had to be so bold as to steal the data trapped inside Salvadore Jones, son of the infamous Dr. Nathan S. Jones, and send it right through the shields of the wolves’ carefully protected den.

  That theft had caused his current predicament.

  He’d broken the States’ treaty with the wolves and trespassed into the territory of the American Protectorate as a rogue agent of the U.S. government. He’d expected banishment from the wolves’ territory, and an end to the role he’d played for the last three years, possibly having to face criminal charges from his own government at a time when criminals were being treated particularly harshly because of the States’ lack of resources to keep the prisons safe.

  Instead, as Devon had been so blunt as to point out, Gerald was going to pay for his crimes with his ass.

  James and everyone else would expect—count on—Gerald to do whatever he had to do to keep the treaty with the wolves alive; it was that important to the stability of the U.S. government.

  He would have to submit to the First Alpha’s demand that he take a mate.

  Everything he’d done, he’d done for his family and his country, and Gerald couldn’t regret much of anything knowing that. He’d gotten what he wanted out of the partnership with Cam; he’d found Jones and Jones had given him Chen.

  Eli would know what to do with Chen, and Gerald would just have to bide his time. He wouldn’t give up. He’d find a way out of this mess that wouldn’t put the treaty at further risk. He’d get home, before it was too late.

  And when he made it back, James would do his best to protect Gerald from the worst of the fall out, if only because Gerald had given James six years of unwavering loyalty and three years of information about the wolves’ society that no one else had been able to give him.

  He was an asset, to James, to the wolves, to whoever ended up claiming him as a mate. He could work with that.

  “Who are these wolves that want to stake a claim on me? Anyone I know?”

  Kem didn’t answer. He raised his head, his attention caught by something over Gerald’s shoulder.

  Gerald followed Kem’s gaze, twisting, but even after a steady stare, he saw nothing. Then Gerald heard it, a rustle coming from deeper into the woods, the sound of more than one person walking through the dead and dying leaves that covered the ground.

  He tensed, one thought drowning out all others as he returned his attention to Kem. “I don’t want to be here.”

  Kem stepped back, crossing the invisible barrier.

  A nervy tingle washed over Gerald. The hair-raising sensation lasted only a second, but he had no doubt at that moment that some kind of alien technology had activated as Kem left the protected area.

  “First Alpha won’t choose between betas of equal rank. He has to allow them to fight since neither wishes to withdraw his request to mate you. Each is trying to prove his worth to you as a mate.”

  “I don’t want to be here,” Gerald repeated, his voice so tight it shook.

  Kem looked on without an ounce of sympathy. “The winner will want to claim what’s his as soon as he’s claimed victory, as is his right.”

  Gerald thought about Devon’s angry words and gritted his teeth. “I’m not a prize.”

  But Kem wasn’t looking at him any longer, he was looking over Gerald’s shoulder. Every muscle in Gerald’s body drew taut. A dark, unsettling voice came from behind him.

  “You are a prize. Everyone here sees it. Deny it if you want but it won’t change the truth.”

  It was impossible for Gerald not to recognize that voice. He turned his head and as soon as his eyes made contact the tension riding him coiled even tighter.

  The strange wolf was back, and he was still as scary as hell.

  Hell was pretty damn scary to a boy who’d grown up listening to his grandmother’s revisionist bible stories. Scaring the shit out of him and his brothers had been one of Nana’s favorite pastimes, along with taking potshots at them all in the name of teaching them to use their reflexes.

  The wolf had abandoned Gerald and Kem not that long after the three of them had set off into the woods. That moment had been a sweet rush of relief to Gerald’s every tense muscle.

  Now that relief was gone, making it hard for Gerald to even swallow.

  Those fiery eyes glimmered in a ray of sunlight that streaked across his lean face. “You’re a gift from First Alpha Traesikeille. Whoever takes on the responsibility for your care gains status in the eyes of his pack mates. But don’t mistake First Alpha’s offer of forgiveness for something it isn’t. He wants you within his control but out of the vicinity of Wentarki’s hotheaded mate. My pack can offer both.”

  Gerald tried to maintain a stoic expression. He wasn’t sure he succeeded. His blood rushed in his ears and that cold, hard knot of dread was back.

  The wolf continued, eyes scalding Gerald. “You’ll have a mate when this is done. And if you do not submit…”

  “Yeah?”

  “I won’t state the obvious. The heat is no time to try anyone’s patience.”

  Chapter 4

  What a prick. Gerald took a shallow breath to try to calm his racing heart. He was unbelievably grateful for the alien tech that stood between him and that wolf.

  Kem lowered his head in a sign of submission toward the wolf, a careful nod that lasted just long enough for Gerald to recognize it for what it was. Kem was the next in line to become First Alpha—Devon never let anybody forget that—and a while back Kem had even gained the status of alpha of his own pack.

  So why was he deferring to this wolf?

  When Kem raised his head, he said, “This is Alpha Paetaniskeille on ve Taliskaeiriat.”

  “Sure,” Gerald said, meaning you really think I’m going to remember that?

  The wolves’ language was complex, nuanced, and the wolves’ vocal range too great and their hearing too sharp for most humans to ever master it. Some humans could mimic the sounds better than others and even managed to speak some of the basic language, but not even the use of the wolves’ advanced learning technology helped everybody.

  It hadn’t done much for Gerald, that was for sure.

  But Gerald was probably worse off than most, because he had what Nana had alway
s called a tin ear. He understood enough about the wolves’ language to know it contained a lot of words that had different meanings based solely on the pitch in which the wolves spoke them.

  Gerald was shit out of luck on that score. Still, James hadn’t even thought of trying to replace him with someone with an aptitude for the wolves’ language, because no one else had the connections.

  “The humans here call me Tanis,” the wolf said.

  An uncommon name for an uncommon wolf.

  Gerald turned away from the alpha, even though doing it made his spine tingle at the phantom feel of claws digging into his spine. Something about Tanis set off every alarm for self-preservation Gerald had.

  “Why is he here?” Gerald asked Kem.

  Kem didn’t answer, only nodded in Tanis’s direction.

  More deference. Tanis had to be a powerful alpha. Nothing else made sense.

  “One of my betas is fighting for the right to claim you,” Tanis said. “I’m here to witness him mate you once he defeats his rival.”

  Ah shit.

  Gerald exhaled a shaky breath. What Tanis was really saying was that he was going to watch his beta and Gerald fuck. Doggy style, as Devon had so bluntly put it once, when he’d been warning Gerald what to watch out for if he didn’t want to end up mated without realizing exactly what was happening.

  “God, I really don’t want to be here.” He turned pleading eyes to Kem. “You sure you don’t want to send me back to my people?”

  The lines of Kem’s face didn’t soften.

  “Submit to your fate,” Tanis said in a voice as hard as iron.

  Gerald didn’t take his eyes off Kem. “I don’t belong here. I won’t make any of you a good mate.”

  Cold green eyes stared back at him. “You made your choice to involve yourself in our affairs three years ago. We accepted you, and you gained our trust. Then you chose to betray that trust. Now you face the consequences of those choices. Don’t shame yourself and your alpha—or your people—by trying to run from them.”