Bear Mountain Bride: Shifter Romance by Sky Winters (33)

Chapter 12

Bronson prowled along the outskirts of the town. The scent of mountain lion shifters was strong here, much stronger than he was comfortable with. If they were planning on taking out the town while it was vulnerable, they would have to think again. He had stayed behind for a reason, and woken up early just to reinforce the boundaries of the territory so the mountain lion shifters would give it a few more days before they attacked. He wasn’t fully ready to handle them yet. He had a few things to take care of first.

He was really angry at himself for being so weak the night before. Not only had he sent his men off and allowed them to separate from each other when they were clearly stronger as a pack, but he had wasted precious time and betrayed his pack by copulating with a human. It was an unspoken truth that the desire to breed with a human was considered weakness in a shifter, especially an Alpha, but somehow he had been unable to help himself. Whether that was because he was hoping to get things out of his system in case the others actually did find an Omega female hybrid who would be willing to propagate with him or if it was simply his own desires becoming too strong and difficult to overcome, he still felt like he had made a mistake.

The elder tried to convince him that mistakes were a good thing in the long run, but this one felt like a black mark on his pride. He’d been weak and put himself first, ahead of his pack and even ahead of Hunter’s feelings. He had been bothered by something. Deeply. And instead of getting to the real heart of the matter, Bronson had taken advantage of the boy’s vulnerability and unleashed something deep and pent up inside of him that he hadn’t even known was there. A vague attraction to male shifters was one thing. An attraction to a male human so intense that he hadn’t been able to resist it? That was shameful.

A familiar sound that he couldn’t place made Bronson’s ears perk up. It took him a few seconds to figure out what he was hearing. Hunter’s car sped along the dirt road at full throttle, coming right toward him. That was the last thing that he wanted to deal with right now.

“Bronson!”

Hunter’s voice had taken on a powerful quality that surprised Bronson just as much as he was surprised that Hunter had been able to find him in this concealed place.

“What are you doing here?” Bronson barked, turning to face Hunter. His heart pounded painfully when he saw that the man was holding a gun out, pointed right at his chest. “Whoa, easy there. What’s going on?”

Hunter was hysterical, his hands shaking violently and tears springing at the corners of his eyes. But his voice was even, and he didn’t let the emotion into it.

“Animal attacks. Weird things happening to outsiders around here. What’s going on, Bronson? Did you guys do something to Tyler?”

“Tyler?”

Now Bronson was just confused. Who the hell was Tyler? He could tell it had something to do with the deep anguish that he’d sensed coming from Hunter the night before, but it was still hard to connect the dots.

“Yes, Tyler!” Hunter exclaimed, emotion seeping into his voice now. He marched forward purposefully, until the barrel of his gun was close to Bronson’s chest. “My… He died here. In the campground! He was everything to me!”

Hunter’s voice cracked as he was overcome with anguish. Bronson wanted to reach out to comfort him, but the gun was still pointed squarely at his heart. One false move, and one of them was going to get very hurt. And the unfortunate fact was that it probably wouldn’t be Bronson. Even if it came to blows, for some reason, he really didn’t want anything to happen to Hunter.

“He got attacked?” Bronson asked, trying to make sense of the situation as much as he could without encouraging Hunter to pull the trigger. Then he remembered something. “Is Tyler the man who died in the campground last year? It was in the newspaper.”

He kept his voice gentle and even, despite the cold fury that was filling his chest. The mountain lion shifters had probably killed him. Hunter and his boyfriend had drawn an unlucky lot. The mountain lion shifters liked to prowl the campground for easy targets, and it sounded as if Tyler had fit the bill. It was miraculous that Hunter had survived; they usually didn’t leave anybody alive.

“Yes. He was my world. Is my world. What happened with you, that’s nothing to me. Nothing could ever compare. I feel so dirty.”

Hunter began to cry in earnest now, his gun drooping a little bit as his shoulders quaked. Soon, Bronson would be able to reach over to him, take the gun from his hands. But not quite yet.

“I would never try to replace someone so meaningful to you,” Bronson said, sincerely hurt by the accusation. For some reason, it really stung that Hunter would consider him a mistake, even though Bronson had been thinking the same exact thing. It made him feel miserable to see the ease with which Hunter apparently brushed off of the passion they’d shared.

It wasn’t as if Bronson had wanted it to happen either. He had reasons to be angry and upset. But he wouldn’t take it out on Hunter. The situation felt unfair, and yet Hunter was grieving. He knew grieving people did some crazy things sometimes.

“My mother died in an animal attack,” Bronson said carefully. “I was about ten years old. There was this merciless gang of men who were out to hurt anybody weaker than themselves. The guys I was telling you about. The ones I call my rivals.”

Hunter was quiet, his eyes closed and head bowed down to his chest. But he was clearly listening, even though his gun was still pointed at Bronson.

“It felt like I’d lost a part of myself. Like I’d never be whole again. My father told me it was the gang that had done it, and all the adults were getting together, making plans to avenge the women who were being murdered in cold blood. My dad led an attack on them the next week. But he lost. He died too.”

Hunter lifted his chin, empathetically, and the barrel of the gun wavered until it pointed closer to the ground.

“Everything I’d ever loved was gone. Lost in the blink of an eye. All because those bloodthirsty assholes like to pick on people they look down on. Women. Effeminate men. Strangers who don’t know the area.” He left one word unspoken. Humans. “We formed a group of men who wanted to take care of the threat once and for all. These guys want to hurt people, and they constantly target them in this area, especially in this town, so we made a pact to protect them. It’s how we can avenge the people we lost and take matters into our own hands.”

“Why not just call the police?” Hunter whispered. “If you know who they are, then just arrest them to keep the bastards from hurting other people. You could have saved Tyler’s life if—”

“These men are stronger than any police force. There’s something about them that makes them very difficult to fight. They’re strong and have access to things beyond most people’s understanding. It’s a deep web, Hunter, and the best way to fight it is in person, without getting other innocent people involved who don’t understand the group so well.”

“Then let me fight! I need to do something…” Hunter took a deep breath. “I came here for a reason. I still don’t know exactly what that reason is. But I do know I need to do something to stop this. To avenge Tyler.”

“Guns aren’t going to do too much to hurt people like them,” Bronson said, plucking the gun gingerly from Hunter’s hand. “Or to me.”

“What? Why?”

But Bronson didn’t answer. Instead, he held his arms out and allowed himself to feel the heartbreak as he embraced Hunter, who finally let out the sobs he had been holding back. So the boy had lost the man he loved to the mountain lion shifters. All the more reason to put them in their place once and for all.

Chapter 13

Hunter walked back to his car numb and in a daze. He could feel Bronson’s dark eyes following him. He wanted nothing more than to return to the man, to be surrounded by the strength and warmth of his embrace. He felt completely safe with Bronson. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Not even with Tyler.

Hunter sighed heavily, putting the gun back in the glove compartment of his car. He furrowed his eyebrows, reluctant to leave Bronson alone in the woods. For some reason it didn’t seem safe, even though he seemed so strong and capable. But he couldn’t let himself succumb to the same powerful longing that had brought them together in the first place. Besides, he had a lot to think about. Especially if he was going to stay in this town.

He was surprised that he had been able to find Bronson so easily. He’d had no leads to go on. All he’d done was trust his instincts and he’d found Bronson’s trail and followed it. It had been almost like magic. There was no other way to describe it. When he had tried to explain bizarre things like this, tried to explain his intuition to Tyler, he would look at Hunter like he was crazy. He had a feeling Bronson would probably be more open and accepting of his strange talents though.

Why was he still thinking about Bronson as if he was some kind of potential mate or something? There was no way he would want to share anything with that man. Just because he had been sexually frustrated and they’d been together didn’t mean that they were going to date and have a happily ever after. His fiancé was dead. And Bronson probably knew more about it than he was letting on. In fact, if Bronson’s gang was responsible for it, why would he even tell him the truth about anything?

Bronson’s version of the truth sounded like a whole lot of bullshit to Hunter. If there was a group of men out there trying to fuck with outsiders and actually killing people for being different, why would it be a bad idea to get the police involved? Still, he wanted to believe Bronson. And if he was going to be honest with himself, deep down, he did. If only for the simple fact that he liked to trust his instincts and his instincts told him Bronson was trustworthy. But there was just far too much going on out here for him to feel comfortable with and—

“Shit!”

A huge animal jumped in front of his car. Hunter slammed on his brakes, terrified of injuring the animal and damaging his car. Fortunately, he was able to stop in time, but when he saw the creature’s face, he wished that he hadn’t been so quick to stop. It was huge, with wild eyes and a vicious smile. Even in his panic, he was able to identify it as a mountain lion. There was something familiar about its eyes, and they gave him goosebumps.

Almost immediately, he saw another mountain lion beside the driver’s seat door, and another on the passenger’s side. A fourth joined the mountain lion in front of him. He was slowly becoming surrounded by the vicious creatures, and they all seemed to have only one thing on their minds. Hunter could sense it, even though he couldn’t explain it. They wanted him.

An ear-splitting howl made all of the creatures jump to full attention, and they took their eerie yellow eyes off of Hunter to look for the source. Coming from the mountains, in the direction where Bronson had been, was a jet black wolf, bounding with full force toward the stalled vehicle. The mountain lions snarled, charging toward the wolf.

Hunter craned his neck to see what was happening. He didn’t want anything to happen to the wolf. With trembling hands, he removed the gun from his glove compartment and rolled his window down just enough that he was able to aim the barrel outside at the mountain lions. One of them yelped in pain when he shot it, and veered away from the black wolf. It headed into the forest and disappeared, leaving three other mountain lions behind to finish the job.

His hands were shaking terribly, but he cocked the gun and aimed again. Two of the mountain lions were jumping onto the wolf at once, and the third was ready to pounce. Hunter cursed. He couldn’t get a good aim on the third, but he knew if it attacked the wolf would probably be done for.

Against all logic, he stepped out of his car and took a shot at the third mountain lion. It howled in rage and turned to look at Hunter. He held his gun out confidently, despite the fear mounting in his chest. If the mountain lion charged at him, he would probably be a goner. But he couldn’t stand the thought of the wolf being killed. It seemed like it was trying to protect him, although that didn’t make any sense. And there was something about it that made him feel safe.

The mountain lion took a step towards him, growling, and he fired another shot at the beast’s face. It cried out in agony and followed its friend into the forest. Now all that was left were the two mountain lions fighting the wolf. Hunter’s hands were shaking too hard for him to trust his aim that well. He didn’t want to shoot the wolf on accident and make it harder for it to fight off the mountain lions.

Somehow, the wolf seemed to be getting the better of the creatures. He was twice as big as they were, which Hunter realized was way too big for a normal wolf. The wolf gripped one of them by the neck. He shook it violently before tossing it away, and then did the same to the second. It looked like the first mountain lion was close to death, but it still got up and ran toward Hunter.

Hunter ducked into his car just in time, slamming the door closed as the injured beast tried to paw its way inside. He shoved his gun through the slit in the window and fired.

It missed completely, but the sound was enough to startle the wounded creature and cause it to bound off, hot on the trail of the other injured mountain lions.

Now, all that was left was the wolf and the last mountain lion. They were fighting viciously, and Hunter gasped when the wolf yelped in pain as the beast latched down on his neck. The harder he tried to escape, the more pain the wolf seemed to feel.

Hunter was about to get back out of his car and try to rescue the wolf somehow, risking his own life, when another wolf—this one brown—appeared out of the bushes and grabbed the mountain lion by the scruff, pulling it off the black wolf and flinging it violently away. Hunter watched in shock as the second wolf took on the mountain lion with heightened energy, clearly protecting the black one from any further attacks. It was smaller than the huge black wolf, and soon found that it had met its match with the mountain lion.

Soon the new wolf found himself in the locked jaws of the mountain lion, but his rescue had given the black wolf all the time he needed to recover. Hunter watched with his jaw slackened as the indominable black wolf gripped the mountain lion’s throat and clamped down powerfully. A strangled yelp escaped the beast’s lips before it sunk limply to the ground.

The brown wolf stayed on the road panting for a moment as the majestic black wolf walked slowly to the driver’s side of Hunter’s car. His golden eyes locked on Hunter’s for a moment, as if checking to see if he was all right. There was something loving and kind in the wolf’s look, something that brought to mind the way Bronson’s strong arms felt when they were wrapped securely around Hunter’s body. He felt a warmth spread from his heart and outward, filling his body.

The wolf gave an odd, almost human nod, and turned away. He walked to his friend, who was struggling to his feet on the roadside. Together, they walked away from the scene, leaving the mountain lion’s corpse on the road behind them. For a minute, Hunter thought the mountain lion’s corpse looked like a naked human body. He blinked and drove off before he could give much thought to whether it was stress and fear or the sun playing tricks on his eyes.

Chapter 14

Bronson hissed in pain as the elder’s lackeys bathed his wounds in fresh water. The healers were all confined to the area with the elder, but fortunately for Bronson, one of the men who guarded him was out on patrol and had heard the commotion. He had saved Bronson’s life.

When his wounds were all dressed and treated with the special herbal remedies that Agun had shared with the pack from his deep, primordial knowledge of their ancient history, Bronson shifted back to his human form and walked slowly to Agun’s quarters.

“Well I asked you here for dinner,” the old man said. He seemed amused. “But I didn’t expect that you’d be quite so punctual.”

“You know me,” Bronson said, wincing with pain as he attempted to stretch out his shoulder. Fights with the mountain lion shifters always ended in bloodshed. They had honed their fighting skills over the years so that they had a slight advantage when facing a wolf shifter one on one. They had to be smart to outmaneuver the strong wolf shifters, who were usually bigger than they were by at least a size and a half. Bronson was lucky that he was an Alpha. If he only had an Omega’s strength, he would have been a goner. It was just lucky that he had gotten there in time to protect Hunter.

“Indeed. And I’ve known many others like you,” the elder said.

“Aw, don’t tell me that. I’d like to think I’m special.”

“Oh, yes,” Agun said, a wry smile playing across his thin, age-worn lips. “But history has a way of repeating itself.”

The elder’s words sent a chill down Bronson’s spine. Although he knew the past tended to catch up to people from time to time, hearing the words coming from a man who had lived through hell and come back again and again was something new entirely.

“At some point you will be willing to share with me what it is you are thinking and feeling, my child. You know I love you as much as anyone alive ever could. I won’t watch you walk on a wrongful path if there is anything that I can do to help you.”

“Yes, thank you, Agun. I don’t have anything to say about anything right now. I just wonder how I will find a mate. Time is running out and the mountain lion shifters are getting sneakier.” Not to mention he could only seem to think of Hunter… “If we don’t find a way to repopulate the pack, there’s a chance they’ll pick us off one by one until our kind are extinct. The men are losing the will to fight.”

“Yes, this is a problem,” Agun sighed. “There is very low morale. Most are convinced that the fight is already over. But you will show them otherwise. You have the power to bring the pack back from the dead. The Dire wolves will rise again.”

Bronson couldn’t help but smile at Agun. Even if it wasn’t true, it was always comforting to hear the endless optimism of the elder. He had seen many disasters in his time, but it was what the pack chose to do with the misfortune that counted. He couldn’t be taken off course. Not when it was so crucial that he be there for his pack and save his people from extinction.

Chapter 15

Hunter paced around in his motel room, glancing at his watch. He had two choices. He could either continue on his ill-fated job hunt, hoping to make himself a functional citizen of the town of Dire, or he could find Bronson and apologize for brandishing a gun in his face and almost killing him over his delirious drive to avenge Tyler.

Bronson had been on Hunter’s mind nonstop since the incident in the woods. He wanted to make sure that he was all right, that the mountain lions hadn’t hurt him. He had a feeling all was well, but he didn’t want to make assumptions. If there was anything he could do to make it up to Bronson, he would do it.

But he had an ulterior motive, too. Every night since the wolf fight, he’d woken up with a hard-on from hell. His dreams were consumed by memories and fantasies involving Bronson and his capable, gorgeous body. He hated himself for feeling any sexual feelings toward anybody but Tyler, but god help him, he couldn’t stop his dreams. They left him walking around all day in a daze, slipping into the bathroom to relieve himself when the desire became too much. He wanted to see Bronson again. He needed to see him again. To apologize. And, maybe, for a chance to feel something other than this grief, guilt, and anger.

Hunter picked up his car keys and twirled them around his finger. Apparently, he had made up his mind about what he was going to do.

On the way out of the motel, Ed stopped him.

“Girl dropped by here. A Bella Rose. Said you should give her a call about a job opportunity. Don’t know why she didn’t ring your room directly…”

Hunter paused, surprised.

“I didn’t actually give her my number. Or where I was staying, for that matter.”

“Must have been a lucky guess,” Ed said. “I don’t much like luck.”

Hunter smiled at Ed and shrugged. The man’s dark demeanor had become somewhat comical to Hunter. It was nice to know that compared to somebody else, he was actually optimistic.

“How many motels can there be around here, Ed? You’re the only one, right?”

Ed grunted, and Hunter turned to walk away.

“Don’t worry about it. People are probably talking about me. Strangers in small towns get small minds racing, don’t they?”

Ed chortled, a rare but pleasant sound. “Truth in those words, yeah,” he acknowledged. “Still, don’t make it a habit of having me take calls for you. I ain’t no secretary.”

“Sure, Ed,” Hunter said, grinning. Why was he in such a good mood? It had been a long time since he’d felt like this. Not since…

But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Hunter ducked into his car, his mind buzzing with possibilities. A new job. And a chance to see the person he’d been obsessing over for the past week. It just felt good that he was going to get in touch with Bronson and do the right thing. It was time for him to apologize.

Chapter 16

Bronson leaned his back against a tree trunk and wiped the sweat from his brow. He’d been patrolling the area day and night, and he was tired. He’d been taking his role as Alpha more seriously than he ever had before. Now that it was just him and the healers in town, it was more important than ever to continually reinforce the borders and make sure that the mountain lion shifters didn’t realize just how vulnerable the town’s population was. If they did, they might try to reclaim what they considered as their land.

He would have to stay diligent. But if he kept getting into fights like the one he’d had protecting Hunter, he wasn’t sure how long he was going to last on his own. He wished the others would come back soon, whether they brought the Omega female hybrid or not.

Bronson lifted his canteen to his lips and chugged the refreshing cool water, his dark eyes scanning the horizon. There hadn’t been any attacks in days, which meant there was bound to be something bad just around the corner. The mountain lion shifters were steady and methodical. They liked to take at least one casualty per month, and so far, everyone in the town had been safe. It was getting to be a little bit too calm for Bronson to feel comfortable with. But the double shifts were leaving him tired and off his game.

“Hey.”

Bronson whirled around with his fists clenched and struck at the air, narrowly missing Hunter’s face. The boy’s silver-blue eyes widened in surprise and he ducked away.

“I guess I deserved that after the last time we saw each other,” Hunter said, laughing sheepishly.

Bronson quickly pulled his clenched fists back and hid them behind his back. He felt ashamed that he was too jumpy—or too exhausted—to be able to smell Hunter before striking. The man’s scent had a way of making him feel hot and alive. He was the kind of man Bronson wanted to both protect and dominate. It was distracting.

“Nice evasion,” he said. For some reason, he was lost for words. He had no idea what to say to Hunter; who wouldn’t even know it had been Bronson who had saved him from the mountain lion attack. Besides that, he was tired and surly. All he wanted was to forget that the mountain lions existed at all.

“Um…so what have you been up to?”

Hunter was looking intently at Bronson, and he couldn’t help but feel an uncomfortable pressure to perform. People expected Alphas to act a certain way all the time. They weren’t allowed to have bad days where they just wanted to sleep in and be weak and lazy for once. But sleep was all that Bronson could think about right now.

“Nothing much,” Bronson mumbled. How was he supposed to explain what he was doing? That he was protecting everybody in the town and trying to keep his pack alive? There was no way in hell that Hunter would be able to understand that.

“Same here. Listen, I—”

“What are you doing here?” Bronson interrupted. He felt edgy and impatient. Having Hunter so near him was taking his attention away from the patrol. Whenever he was there, all of his Alpha logic went out the window as his body responded to the sensual thrill of being so close to Hunter. It was bad for him and bad for the pack. He wouldn’t give in; not this time.

“If you hadn’t interrupted me, you would have heard me say that I came here to apologize,” Hunter said, a little curtly.

Bronson raised his eyebrow. Hunter was kind of sexy when he was annoyed. He was probably irresistible when he was really angry. The thought made Bronson instantly hard, and he inhaled sharply to try to keep himself from falling into the trap of lusting after Hunter. It was hard though; he already had experience to draw from. And that experience had been incredible.

“Apologize for what?” Bronson asked, his voice strained. “You didn’t hurt me. You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

Hunter’s face was turning red and his eyebrows were knitting together. He was making him mad now. But how would he react?

“Just because I’m smaller than you doesn’t mean I’m harmless,” Hunter cautioned, his eyes cold as steel. “And it was wrong of me to pull a gun on you without understanding the whole situation first.”

Bronson gritted his teeth, his shaft slowly filling with blood from the rush of his excitement. That was what he wanted to hear. He liked to see the boy stand his ground.

“It wouldn’t have been wrong of you if you’d understood the situation correctly,” Bronson countered, trying to ignore the heavy drumming of his heart. His arousal was hard to ignore. Soon it would be obvious to Hunter how he was feeling just by looking at his jeans. “So I don’t see any reason to apologize.”

“Fine, then. I don’t know why I bothered to come out here. I guess I just wanted to thank you for—” Hunter cut himself off abruptly and it piqued Bronson’s curiosity.

“For what?”

Hunter shook his head. “Nothing… It wasn’t you. I just… Something happened the other day and I… never mind.”

Bronson’s dark eyes glittered and held Hunter in place before he had a chance to turn away.

“You’ve got nothing to thank me for, boy. I might not be personally responsible for the pain in your life, but you’re right. I’ve done nothing to stop it. And if you don’t get out of here now, I’m going to make it a whole lot worse.” His voice was thick with arousal, nearly a growl at this point.

Hunter’s chin lifted defiantly, and Bronson nearly groaned out loud as a surge of desire caused his cock to throb hard against his leg. The boy really knew what he was doing. He pushed all of Bronson’s buttons in all the right ways, and he was feeling far too tired to hold himself back, to resist the urge to dominate Hunter.

“You can’t mess with my life unless I give you the power to,” Hunter said, his eyes finally wandering to the obvious bulge of Bronson’s erection. He swallowed hard as his face flushed red and a smile curved his lips. “So, I guess I’m just going to have to invite you to do your worst.”

Chapter 17

Hunter’s breath caught in his throat when Bronson’s eyes flashed at him. So he hadn’t been imagining it before; the man’s eyes really did change color when he was aroused. Hunter felt like he should be afraid, but instead of feeling scared, it brought the blood rushing to his groin and he groaned when Bronson’s hands curled around his shoulders, just from that simple touch. He hadn’t realized just how strongly he’d been craving physical contact with this strong, virile man.

Bronson’s face hovered inches away from Hunter’s, and they stared each other down for a few hard thuds of Hunter’s heart. Finally, Bronson’s lips connected with Hunter’s, and they kissed roughly, passionately, Bronson’s stubble scraping roughly against the smooth skin of Hunter’s face. Hunter lost track of all his thoughts. Everything that usually held him back disappeared as he became consumed by the hot fire that was slowly making its way through his entire body.

He clawed at Bronson, peeling off his shirt to reveal his muscular torso. Hunter ran his hands along it, closing his eyes to savor every sensation of Bronson’s rippling muscles and the firm, rough thrusting of his hips against Hunter’s pelvis. He was surprised when his hands ran over the risen mounds on Bronson’s chest, and he opened his eyes. Bronson was injured; he had puncture marks in his neck and long, jagged cuts along his shoulders and down his chest. He looked like he’d been mauled by a wild animal.

Hunter’s mind flashed back to the black wolf, to the gratitude he’d wanted to bestow on Bronson for what the wolf had done, as if his mind sensed Bronson and the wolf were the same. Which was nonsense, of course.

Before he could say anything about it, Bronson’s mouth made its way to Hunter’s neck, where he growled as he clamped down. Any words Hunter was about to speak disappeared in a gasp of ecstasy as Bronson’s strong hands pushed the fabric of Hunter’s pants away, leaving his cock standing tall.

He expected Bronson to whip him around and take all of his sexual frustrations out right away, but Hunter was surprised when Bronson dropped to his knees and the head of his cock disappeared into the stubbled mouth. Bliss surged up his abdomen and Hunter doubled over, crying out softly as little by little, the rest of his engorged shaft disappeared into Bronson’s mouth.

The man was taking his time with him, the way Hunter imagined a heterosexual man might need to warm up a woman before going inside of her. But Hunter didn’t need that kind of foreplay. He was looking far more forward to the main event.

Still, Bronson’s hot tongue flickering along the sensitive head of his cock was almost too much to handle. He hadn’t had good head in a long time. Tyler was sloppy at it and preferred to get right down to business, so Hunter let himself enjoy it until he felt like he was about to cum.

That was the precise moment when Bronson decided to stop, and pulled the heat of his mouth away, leaving Hunter’s damp cock cold in the breeze beneath the trees. He was about to protest when he saw Bronson’s engorged member. He hadn’t even noticed Bronson strip himself, and the surprise sight was kind of a shock to his system. But he liked it, and moved swiftly toward Bronson.

Bronson’s sexy voice came out in a low groan when Hunter grabbed his cock and gave it a long, firm stroke. Hunter lowered himself slowly onto the ground, dropping on all fours and taking Bronson’s thick shaft between his lips. The man was huge, and Hunter relished in the taste of his cock, slowly sliding his lips up and down Bronson’s shaft and taking in the sensation of every vein.

Bronson shuddered and pushed Hunter away. At first, Hunter was irritated and offended by it, but when he looked up to protest, the look in Bronson’s eyes silenced him. The man was ready to go full force.

He stepped over Hunter, who was still on all fours on the ground, and positioned himself behind him. Hunter groaned when he felt Bronson’s hot, wet shaft against the crack of his ass, and they writhed together for a few moments before Bronson slowly began to push himself inside.

Feeling Bronson inside of him made Hunter’s cock harder than it had ever been before. When he glanced down at it, it was beet-red and dragging against the grass, every tiny touch an electrifying sensation that nearly made him scream with pleasure. But he was a modest man, and bit his lip, only grunting occasionally when he couldn’t contain the pleasure he felt.

When Bronson finally finished pushing the entire length of his shaft inside of Hunter, he spoke. Hunter could almost hear the cocky smile in his voice.

“You ready for me, boy?”

Chapter 18

Bronson’s body was electrified, and he could feel every little contraction of Hunter’s body as its hot folds enveloped every inch of his cock. He waited to hear some confirmation from Hunter, expecting it to be meek, but the man surprised him by craning his neck and raising his eyebrow. A silent way of saying, “What are you waiting for?”

It filled Bronson with a desperate longing for release, and he gripped Hunter’s waist firmly in his strong hands, steadying him and letting his longing reach fever-pitch. They were still for a moment, with Bronson’s cock nuzzled deeply inside of Hunter’s ass, every tiny movement from either one of them sending pleasure through Bronson.

Finally, Hunter’s body began to tremble, and Bronson took it as a sign that he was truly ready. All the blood in his body seemed to flow to his massive shaft, swelling it beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. Something about this man brought out the beast in him. He was channeling the wolf right now; he knew it from the way his body was tingling from the inside out. If Hunter could handle him at his strongest, he was a worthy mate.

The idea of filling this sweet, kind, gentle man with his seed filled Bronson with a deep, unquenchable desire. He inhaled slowly, surprised by his shuddering breath. He had never felt so close to losing all of his control before. Before he was able to stop himself, he thrust powerfully, with all of his might, sending a shockwave of pleasure up his own shaft. They both grunted in pleasure at the same time, and Hunter began to move his hips, begging for more.

Bronson’s cock nearly exploded inside of him, taking on a life of its own as it sought its pleasure within the safety of Hunter’s walls. It tingled with bliss as, again and again, Bronson thrust powerfully inside Hunter. Hunter clenched his hands in the grass, moaning, but Bronson could tell that he was still holding something back. He wanted to take Hunter to the edge of his bliss and back again. But he would have to be careful. If he was too loud, it would attract unwanted attention. He would have to save it for a better time and place.

He ran his hand down the smooth, lean muscles in Hunter’s back and gave in as much as he dared. Luckily he was still exhausted, and his performance wasn’t nearly as powerful as it could have been.

Still, Hunter was on the brink of climax, again and again. Bronson could tell from the way his cock was grinding against the grass and leaving wet strands of precum dangling from his cock. The sight was enough to send a rush of ecstasy through Bronson’s body, and he gripped Hunter’s swollen red shaft and began pumping it wildly with his fist as his orgasm began to bubble in his abdomen. He sank his teeth down again into Hunter’s neck, and the unexpectedly pleasurable sensation brought a cry of pleasure from Hunter’s lips. He felt Hunter’s cock tense up in his hand and allowed himself to unleash the powerful torrent of his own climax inside of him.

Hunter’s low groans of rapture enhanced the power of his orgasm, and stream after stream of cum filled Hunter deep inside as Bronson’s hand filled with his own hot, white substance.

Bronson collapsed onto the ground panting, and by the time Hunter had turned around to face him, he was asleep.

Chapter 19

Hunter looked down at Bronson, whose muscular chest was rising and falling as he dozed peacefully on the ground. What kind of man could fall asleep like that so suddenly right in the middle of the forest floor? It made him smile in wonder at the big man he had come to look forward to seeing, even after everything that had happened with Tyler.

He would just have to accept that he was developing feelings for this surprisingly sweet man. A gentle giant, Hunter decided. He swept some of Bronson’s dark hair out of his face, and considered whether or not it would be all right for him to kiss his forehead, or if the man would wake up swinging. The thought nearly made him laugh.

“There he is,” a high-pitched, gravelly voice said suddenly. Hunter’s heart jumped to his throat and he scrambled to cover himself up.

“So he’s finally taken the mate,” another equally sinister voice whispered.

“Do you think they know?”

“What does it matter?” a third voice responded. “It’s happened, hasn’t it? We must take care of it.”

“We must,” the other two voices agreed.

Hunter gritted his teeth as he pulled his shorts on and shook Bronson’s shoulder frantically.

“Wake up,” he breathed. “I think we’re in trouble.”

“You take the Alpha. I’ll go after the other…”

“Yesss, get the other.”

“Fuck, Bronson. We need help. Wake up!”

Hunter shocked himself by punching Bronson in the wound on his chest. He yelped and stood up with his fists balled, ready to fight.

“Oh, shit!” he cried. He looked down at Hunter, who was huddled against the trunk of the tree behind him. “Whatever you do, don’t run. I’ll protect you.”

Hunter nodded dumbly, fear racing through his heart as one by one, three mountain lions leapt from the foliage and surrounded Bronson and Hunter. But how could he have heard mountain lions conspiring to kill them? Mountain lions didn’t talk. And what had happened that he should know about? That they needed to take care of?

Before he could answer those questions to himself, Hunter was horrified by the sight of Bronson’s body, morphing and contorting. He grew dense, more muscular, and black tufts of fur began to sprout all over his body. Soon, he was standing on all fours, and he unleashed a blood-curdling howl that made the mountain lions flinch in their tracks.

Before him, where Bronson had been, was the black wolf that had saved him from the mountain lions before. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, one of the mountain lions made a lunge for Hunter, and Bronson intercepted it, grabbing the mountain lion by the neck in his sharp fangs. A high-pitched yelp brought Hunter’s attention to the other mountain lions, who had pounced onto Bronson’s back. The wolf was clearly in pain, and Hunter looked around frantically for anything he could use to help Bronson. He slipped his hand into Bronson’s jean pockets and his hands wrapped around something cold and metallic.

Hunter pulled it out and examined it briefly. It was a knife made of silver. Without a second thought, he unleashed the blade and ran around Bronson, ignoring the danger he was in as he stabbed one of the mountain lions hard in the back. It growled and unleashed its grip on Bronson. It turned to face Hunter, fear and rage in its cold yellow eyes. It tried to lunge at him, but Hunter evaded and stabbed it again. It fell to the ground in a strange looking heap of morphing colors and swirls, until all that was laying on the ground was the body of a middle-aged man.

Hunter was too shocked to notice that Bronson had regained the upper hand in the fight, and was shaking one of the mountain lions vigorously as the other retreated back into the woods. It would be returning to its den alone this time. When Bronson dropped the mountain lion, it was already morphing into its human form; a dead middle-aged woman this time.

“Are you okay?” Bronson asked Hunter.

He nodded, shaken, and Bronson placed a strong hand on his shoulder. “All right then. Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter 20

Bronson and Hunter walked through the darkening forest until they came upon Bronson’s quarters. It was a house he had built himself in the middle of nowhere. He had built in a vaguely Japanese style, with huge walls that opened out into the forest and a roof that was barely a roof at all. In fact, only a few rooms were roofed, and Bronson led Hunter to one of them.

“Bronson?” Hunter said quietly. His face was pale and his hand gripped Bronson’s shoulder tightly. “I feel strange.”

“Lay down,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows. Had Hunter been hurt?

Hunter did as he was told. Bronson felt his forehead for a fever and quickly disappeared into the kitchen to make him something to drink. It was an herbal remedy that one of the healers had taught him, and he returned to the bedroom.

“Drink this.”

As Hunter downed the beverage, Bronson’s eyes wandered down his lean chest to his stomach. It looked swollen under his shirt, and Bronson felt a surge of fear. Something was definitely wrong.

“Close your eyes,” Bronson said gently. “Try to sleep. I’m going to get you comfortable.”

“Okay,” Hunter whispered, closing his eyes.

Bronson took the opportunity to lift Hunter’s shirt, terrified of what he might find beneath it. To his surprise, Hunter’s stomach was swollen and purple, a condition Bronson had seen before long ago.

Hunter was pregnant.

It took everything he had not to howl out loud in victory. Hunter had been through quite the ordeal, and waking him up would be cruel. But he couldn’t wait to tell everybody the news.

In the morning, Hunter walked groggily into the kitchen, where Bronson was sitting at the table. He had howled late the night before to summon Agun, and the elder was sitting by his side.

“I guess I have a lot of explaining to do,” Bronson said, offering Hunter a seat.

“Can I have something to eat?” Hunter asked, looking expectantly at Bronson. Agun laughed in delight.

“Expectant mothers,” he said, shaking his head. “Always the same.”

Hunter’s eyebrows drew in confusion, and Bronson encouraged him to sit down gently.

“Of course. Why don’t I do some talking while I cook?”

“Sure,” Hunter said, reaching down to stroke his stomach without even seeming to realize he was doing it.

“You saw the mountain lions…they attacked you. Twice now. And you saw me protect you. Twice now.”

“I saw you turn into a wolf,” Hunter said accusingly. “I’m not crazy.”

Agun chuckled again.

“No… I mean yes, you did. You’re not crazy. I just…well…you’ve probably heard the stories about wolf shifters living here, right?”

“Yeah, but everyone thinks that’s crazy.”

“It’s not. We’re here to protect the people of Dire from the mountain lion shifters, the group that tried to kill you. The group that killed Tyler. That killed my family, my friends, and all the women in my pack. They want Dire for themselves, and the only way to keep that from happening is if I mate with an Omega. Someone who can carry my child and resume the power of the wolf shifter pack. The others are out searching for her now, but with one howl I can summon them back. I will summon them tonight, and they will meet you.”

“Meet me? Why?”

“Everyone thought it would be a female hybrid… but we were wrong.”

Hunter shook his head. “Why would they want to meet me?”

“Because, Hunter…” Bronson smiled. “You’re carrying my child. You are our salvation.”

Chapter 21

As tempting as it was to refuse the truth, Hunter had to trust his instincts. He had always known there was something strange and mysterious about Bronson, and the town of Dire in general. And especially about the circumstances surrounding Tyler’s death.

It would be easy to walk away. To say he had bedded a crazy man with PTSD from an animal attack and let that be the end of it.

Only, that wouldn’t be fair to the child he was carrying, the being he was fated to give birth to. The heir or heiress of Bronson’s Alpha power. Bronson had been explaining everything to him for the past few days, and even though it was a lot to take in, Hunter was starting to understand.

He had known ever since the day he’d come to Dire that he was meant to do something. He didn’t know what it was, or how he would figure it out, but now that he had met Bronson, what seemed crazy to other people made perfect sense to Hunter. And the only thing that really made sense was that he was going to give birth to an amazing child.

“Come here, Hunter, let me introduce you to the pack,” Bronson said, leading Hunter to the group of men sitting around the campfire.

Hunter had met a lot of people since he’d become pregnant, as they’d returned gradually to Dire, and all of them had stared at him with shock and awe. They had been looking for the Omega themselves, in all the wrong places. And the Alpha had sorted the mess out himself. It truly was a miracle. Or so they’d been telling him.

That night, Bronson invited Hunter into his home for the second time.

“Let me take care of you,” he whispered, his masculine voice reverberating in Hunter’s ear. “At least until the baby’s born. You’ll be safe with me.”

“I know,” Hunter said, bringing Bronson’s hand to his swollen stomach. “We both will.”

Bound to His Bear

Chapter 1

“Lance, you’re going to be late for pictures! The drama department wants you in one last group photo with everyone in their graduation gowns!”

“Be right there,” Lance said, his deep blue eyes reluctantly flickering from his best friend Orion to Jenny, a friend he’d made in the Drama Club. She barely seemed to hear him as she rushed off to corral the rest of the members.

“Hard to believe it’s all over,” Orion said, as if reading Lance’s mind. But then, ever since they were kids, he’d always seemed to be able to do that.

Lance let out a sigh. “Yeah.”

“You should go get your picture taken,” Orion said, his caramel colored eyes shining as he nudged Lance. They were lounging in the grass together, watching all the commotion as their peers walked around, an equal mixture of giddy and dazed.

But Lance didn’t budge. If he left, Orion would be alone. He wasn’t the kind of guy to make a lot of friends and join in the group activities. Everybody was bustling around, happy as clams, talking to their peers, but the dark and mysterious Orion had nobody to talk to but Lance. And while he seemed to prefer it that way, Lance felt like it was wrong to just leave him alone on the lawn of their high school, probably abandoning him to fall victim to the many burdened love confessions of girls who’d been too shy until now to tell him how they felt knowing they would see him during class or be harshly judged by their peers for liking the “bad boy.”

“Come with me,” Lance said, pushing himself to his feet. He offered his hand down to Orion. He didn’t like the idea of girls throwing themselves at his friend while he was vulnerable.

Orion hesitated for a moment before taking it firmly, enveloping Lance’s hand in his strong palm. It was clear that Orion was made of good stock, or depending on who you talked to, bad stock. The kind of men who were fighters, sometimes killers. There were rumors all over school about the terrifying biker gang Orion’s father was a part of. Most people were afraid to get too close to him, but Lance had always shrugged off all the gossip.

“It won’t be that long until all this is over,” Lance promised. “Besides, I have to go to the Drama department anyway. I wanted to keep the prop you helped me make.”

Orion pursed his lips, seemingly embarrassed at the reminder that at one time, he had succumbed to helping out a dweeby club he had no interest in. But Lance knew that he had secretly relished being of use to the community of students who feared him.

“Finally!” Jenny exclaimed when they walked through the door. She grabbed Lance by the arm, pulling him toward the group, then caught sight of Orion behind him and balked.

She got over it quickly—by now probably used to the fact that Orion was often hanging out with Lance—and continued steering Lance toward the group. He glanced back at Orion, relieved to see that he had found his place among the shadows, leaning his back against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Instead of his face showing any sign of hurt feelings because of Jenny’s reaction, he was grinning, probably making fun of them all in his own quiet way for how seriously they were discussing what poses to assume for the picture.

“All right!” Jenny exclaimed once she was finally satisfied. “Let’s do this!”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anywhere to prop up her camera, which resulted in several more minutes of chatter.

“Jesus,” Orion finally said, his commanding voice cutting through the commotion without even being raised. He walked up to them. “I can take the picture.”

Lance couldn’t keep the grin off his face as Jenny’s cheeks turned bright red and she reluctantly handed her camera to Orion, as if she was unsure whether or not he might run off with it. But she obviously had too much tact to say so to his face, and returned to her position.

“Thanks,” she said curtly.

“Anything to get the hell out of here faster.” Orion lifted the camera to his eye. “Say cheese.”

After three quiet flashes and a significant decrease in excited, nervous energy, the pictures were taken and Jenny’s camera safely recovered.

The others gradually filed out of the room, anxious to visit other rooms in the school that were meaningful to them. Orion didn’t have anywhere else to go, and Lance lingered behind with him.

“Well that was interesting,” Orion said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Lance grinned warmly at him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Come on, I have to get the prop.”

The room was much quieter now, and both of them seemed more relaxed being alone together than in the middle of a group. It was comfortable, almost intimate, as they searched the boxes for the wooden bear cub that Orion had carved and painted for a play. It had taken Lance’s breath away when Orion presented him with it.

“I couldn’t let you use that stupid teddy bear they used last year,” he had said awkwardly. “It’s disrespectful to bears.”

In fact, bears were one of the most deeply revered animals in the town where they grew up. Many men and women had totems of bears out in their yards, and local lore often told of the men and women who grew up and transformed into bears, only to stand guard and protect the town from evil. Not that Lance had ever heard of a real person being a bear shifter.

“Am I going to see you again?” Orion asked suddenly, breaking into Lance’s reverie.

“Of course,” Lance said, hurt and surprised by the thought that graduation might actually be the end of their friendship. He moved closer to Orion and reached out to hold him by both shoulders. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Orion’s deep brown eyes searched Lance’s, and suddenly, their lips were gently brushing. Lance’s grip on Orion’s shoulders tightened as their mouths began to explore each other. Suddenly, it all made sense. Why Lance had such an incredible friendship with Orion despite everyone else giving him a wide berth. This. He’d been waiting for this.

Lance had never felt anything as good as Orion’s body against his, never felt anything as incredible as those soft, warm lips exploring his own. But as suddenly as it began, it ended, and Orion pulled away.

Lance felt his cheeks redden. Orion held his gaze for a moment, his face an unreadable mask, and then Orion went back to looking through one of the big boxes.

“Found it,” he said, pulling the wooden bear from inside. He handed it to Lance and walked away, without saying another word, leaving Lance alone to catch his breath and wonder what the hell had just happened.

Chapter 2

“Are you done packing?”

“Almost, Mom,” Lance called downstairs.

His heart panged painfully in his chest. He didn’t want to leave his mother yet. His father had died when Lance was young, leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. Without Lance, his mother would be completely alone. But she had worked so hard to send him to college, and beamed with pride every time they talked about it. Her son was going to go to the city and make a name for himself. And she was responsible for that.

Lance stared out the window of his bedroom. He could see across town, to the dark, derelict area where Orion and his brutish family lived. He’d been there a few times with Orion, although mostly they hung out elsewhere, but he was terrified to go there alone. Anybody who wasn’t invited was terrorized without mercy. But he hadn’t seen Orion since they’d kissed. He’d waited all summer long, sending texts and leaving a few voicemails that all went unanswered.

“Dinner’s ready when you are.”

Lance moved his duffel bag beside the door. It was stuffed full to the brim. He had always prided himself on being a minimalist, so it was surprising to discover how many things he couldn’t bear to part with when leaving on this new adventure.

“Coming.”

As he made his way to the table, Lance couldn’t help but wonder what Orion would be eating for dinner. He had made it a habit of coming over to Lance’s house for dinner at least once a week. Lance’s mom loved him, and he suspected that Orion was craving someone maternal in his life. The men he spent most of his time with were definitely not what anyone would call soft. In fact, they were a hyper-masculine gang of bikers led by Orion’s father.

Lance sat down glumly, realizing that it was probably because of his gruff biker father that Orion had cut ties with Lance. The last thing a man like that would want to hear was that his only son, his pride and joy, was a queer. No way that would fly.

What had he been thinking, kissing Orion like that? Just because it had seemed like a good idea in the moment didn’t mean it wouldn’t have lasting repercussions. And with someone like Orion, he was lucky he hadn’t gotten his ass kicked. The guy was gentle in his own private way, sure, but he could also be violent and unpredictable.

Maybe it was better that Lance hadn’t heard from him again. If he did, it might mean trouble.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Lance’s mom asked, setting a bowl of steaming soup down in front of him.

“Nothing, Ma,” he said, trying to muster up a smile.

He would just have to forget that he had ever had any feelings for Orion, of any type at all. He was leaving the state in the morning, and he wouldn’t be back for a long, long time. It’s not like he’d ever see Orion again anyway.

Chapter 3

Lance hung up the phone numbly. It had been ten years since he’d been back to his hometown in Washington. When he’d come out to his mother his second year in college, their relationship had been strained, and he’d been living in Portland, Oregon. But all that was about to change.

“Your mother is in the hospital,” the doctor had said on the phone. “She’s been getting over a virus and she needs someone to take care of her. She can’t afford a live-in caregiver like she needs.”

Apparently, as Lance had excelled through school and made his way to a top firm in Portland, his mother’s health had been declining, and she hadn’t told him. It made sense, since they rarely talked these days, but still it was a shock to find out that, seemingly so suddenly, she couldn’t live without him.

What kind of son was he? He packed up his car with the essentials quickly, as if getting home faster might ease his guilt. On the way out of the city he called his friend Curtis, asking him to find someone to lease out the apartment for him. He was his mother’s lifeline now. No matter how difficult things had been between them, he was going to take care of her now.

“You’re listening to 101.3, Oregon’s favorite radio station. Here’s ‘Goodbye Oregon.’”

A maudlin country tune that Lance had grown up listening to back in Washington with his mother began playing on the radio, and suddenly he found himself in tears. Not only was he leaving his life of independence behind, he was also going home to a woman who had very mixed feelings for her own son, all because of something as inconsequential as his sexual preference.

He wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his mother at this point. Not to mention he hadn’t been in touch with anyone from his hometown in years. Orion had been his only close friend and that had gone up as quick as a puff of smoke. Lance had changed a lot since he’d left and he wasn’t sure how the people of the town would react to the fact that he was gay. Surely there had been rumors, small towns were like that, but he hadn’t had to confront any of it. Now he was going to be stuck there.

And he had no idea what to expect.

Chapter 4

“Lance! It’s really you. You came to take me home! I’m so glad.” Lance’s mother clutched at his hands with fingers that were little more than bone, her blue eyes brimming with tears as she looked up at him from her seat in a wheelchair.

“Of course, Ma, I would never leave you alone in the hospital. What kind of person do you take me for?”

Lance forced himself to smile and to keep it light. He hadn’t been expecting to find his mother looking so frail, and it took everything he had to maintain his composure. Sure, he hadn’t made it home for Christmas last year, but how could she have wasted away like this since the last time they’d seen each other?

“Well you never know,” his mother said. “I’m just so glad to see you. It feels like it’s been far too long.”

“It really has,” Lance said, pursing his lips and swallowing the lump in his throat. “I’m sorry about that.”

“So this is the boy you’ve been telling us all so much about.” A pleasant, African-American man came up behind Lance’s mother and placed his large hand over her thin shoulder. They exchanged large smiles, and the man turned his gaze to Lance. He was shocked by how handsome the doctor was and couldn’t help but wonder just how much his mother had told the man.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the doctor said, reaching his hand out and taking Lance’s for a firm pump. “My name is Daniel. I’m really glad to see that Mrs. Foster is going to be looked after.”

“Oh yes,” Lance’s mother said. “He’ll taking care of me from here. Don’t worry.”

Daniel’s eyes lingered briefly on Lance for a moment before he smiled genially. “Well good. You both take care now.”

Lance wheeled his mother outside, where his car was waiting.

“What do you think?” his mother asked, her eyes shining. “Isn’t Dr. Daniel handsome?”

Lance laughed out loud, completely taken aback by his mother’s conspiratorial tone. How long had she been wanting to check guys out with him? He’d thought she was completely against him being gay. Had her illness changed her that much?

“He certainly is attractive,” Lance said, starting to drive out of the parking lot. “But I’m sure that he’s already taken.”

Chapter 5

Lance brought his mother inside and had to swallow an audible gasp for fear of insulting his mother. The house was much farther gone than he remembered. It was dusty and dark, a contrast to how bright and clean it had been during his childhood. The floor was dirty and the wallpaper was beginning to fade, even tearing in some places. Lance tried to switch a light on, but nothing happened.

“Don’t you have electricity, Ma?” Lance asked, carefully guiding her to the armchair that he had bought her as a gift a few Christmases ago. He sat her down gingerly and looked around warily, as if he might see something terrible.

“Of course,” his mother replied. “It’s just that the light bulb burnt out and I haven’t gotten around to changing it yet.”

Of course she hadn’t. In her condition, she probably wasn’t able to change any of the light bulbs. Most of the house was dark, but she didn’t have anybody that she could ask for help. His mother had always been a proud and independent woman, so it wasn’t likely that she would have asked for help anyway, or even accepted help if it was offered by the people of her church. She would rather live in darkness.

“Well, it looks like I’m going to have to get some materials and fix this place up a bit. It looks like there are a few repairs I could be doing.”

His mother shook her head gently, resting it against the back of the chair. “Oh, that’s not necessary. It’s not as though you would get anything from it. I couldn’t ask you to go out of your way. You’re already here to take care of me. That’s more than enough.”

“I really don’t mind Ma,” Lance said, smiling gently at her. “This is my home too. I should have come home more often to help you take care of the place. I’m sorry I was so selfish.”

“You aren’t selfish honey,” his mother said. She swallowed hard before she continued. “I was selfish. I let my own judgments drive a wedge between us. I should never have done that. Maybe if I would’ve made it more welcoming here, you would have felt like it was still your home and you would’ve come back more often. That was my mistake.” She patted his hand. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

Lance gritted his teeth as tears sprang to his eyes. He had never expected his mother to apologize. It was very bizarre and overwhelming, but it was certainly welcome.

“I love you,” he said, smiling at her as calmly as he could.

“I love you too,” she said. The look on her face was peaceful, and it was the first time since Lance had been home that she looked like herself again.

All right…” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to go to town and grab some lightbulbs and something for dinner. How does pizza sound tonight? I know we’re going to have to get into the habit of eating healthy, just to make sure that everything stays how it should for you, but maybe for one last hurrah we could have some Julian’s? For old times’ sake.”

A huge smile spread across his mother’s face. “I’d love that.”

“You be all right here alone for an hour or two?” Lance asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone.

“I’ll be more all right here than I would be in the car with you,” she replied. “Don’t worry honey, this is my home. And they gave me one of those bracelets where all I have to do is press a button and the paramedics will come and help me. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Lance smiled one last time at her before heading out the door and letting it close softly behind him.

Chapter 5

Driving through his own hometown was very surreal. He had never expected to come back for anything more than a holiday visit, especially under these circumstances, and he found everything looked just a bit different now that he knew he’d be around for a while. Not that those differences prevented him from knowing his way around. He could still find his way around the place with his eyes closed if he had to, but that made for bad driving.

He turned into the parking lot for the hardware store and locked his car instinctively, and then laughed. There was a pretty low chance that anybody would be around to break into his car in this town. It was nothing like living in Portland. Still, he left it locked just for good measure. You could never be too safe.

“Lance!” a familiar voice exclaimed as soon as he walked into the store.

“Tony?” Lance said hesitantly before turning around.

Sure enough, Tony Smith was standing behind him, managing the counter of the hardware store. He was balding a little bit, but otherwise he looked exactly the same as he used to. He came out from behind the counter and walked over to Lance. “Hey man, I haven’t seen you in ages. Are you in town a while?”

“Yeah it’s been a really long time,” Lance agreed. “Yeah I’m going to be here for a while now. My mom needs some help around the house. I’m here to get some light bulbs and, I was wondering, do you have anything I can use to take off some old wallpaper? I need to replace it.”

“Sure, no problem. But you’re also going to want some wallpaper to replace it with, right? You can’t just paint over that stuff, it gets really gross.”

“You’re right, maybe you could bring me a book of samples and my mom and I can pick it out together?”

“That sounds great,” Tony said. “It’s no problem, man. Everything you need for that is in this aisle over here.” He walked Lance over to an aisle on the far left. “And if you need any help, just let me know. It’s a pretty self-explanatory process. You could probably just look up a video about it on the Internet or something.”

“Great, thank you.”

“No problem, man. Stay in touch all right? I’m sure Jenny would be really excited to see you.” Tony winked. “You know she always had a crush on your right? She hasn’t settled down with anybody else since you left. You might want to follow up on that. She’s Winston’s most eligible bachelorette.”

Tony turned away, grinning, but Lance cringed. Apparently the rumors hadn’t spread as much as he’d thought. He had forgotten how strange it could be to find himself interacting with somebody whose world was so black and white. People always just assumed that handsome men and beautiful women were supposed to end up together. But that wasn’t always the way that it ended up. In fact, Lance probably would be more interested in dating Dr. Daniel than he would be in dating Jenny. But if he ever dared to tell Tony that, it would probably be just one more acquaintance that he would lose to homophobia.

He shopped for the rest of his equipment quietly and said goodbye to Tony, his friendliness still straightforward but now tinged with discomfort after Tony’s comments about Jenny. Still, he was oblivious to how Lance was feeling, so he didn’t make any waves about it.

When he got out to his car, he was surprised to find it surrounded by a circle of motorcycles. Sitting on the hood of his car was a mean-looking biker, glaring at the door. When he caught Lance’s eye, he sneered.

“Welcome to Winston,” the man said. His voice was grating and it sounded as if all he ever did in his spare time was drink alcohol and smoke.

“Actually, I used to live here.”

“We don’t take too kindly to deserters,” one of the men on a motorcycle said gruffly.

“We won’t take too kindly to newcomers either. Let alone a newcomer deserter,” the man on the bike across from him said.

“Looks to me like you’re kind of both,” the man who was sitting on the head of his car said. Lance cringed. He wanted to tell him to get the hell off, he was denting the hood, but he knew that there was no point in picking a fight with so many men. Especially the dangerous biker gang that had always been discussed in whispers when he’d been a kid.

The first man who’d spoken nodded. “Yeah, he is. I guess that means we don’t like him much.”

“Look, I’m not here to cause any problems. It’s just that my mother is sick, and I’m here to take care of her. If you don’t mind, I need to get home and make sure that she’s okay. You don’t want to be the reason that something happens to her.”

The man on the hood of his car gave him a twisted grin. “Oh we don’t do we?”

All the men started to laugh, and Lance furrowed his eyebrows, gripping his shopping bag tightly. What was he supposed to do now? Get Tony?

“No,” a sudden deep voice said from behind Lance. “You don’t.” All of the bikers’ mouths clamped shut and their eyes widened.

Lance turned around slowly and his mouth fell open. Standing behind him, arms crossed over his chest, was Orion. His face was unmistakable. His eyes were still dark and brooding, although his body had gotten much larger and broader. Still, nobody else Lance had ever met could look so gorgeous scowling. He had let his hair grow longer, so that the thick black strands brushed against his shoulders, and he was wearing a black cut off vest and white tank top that showcased his muscular arms.

“Now apologized to the man and get the hell off of his car.”

“Shit,” the man said, sliding off of the hood of Lance’s car. “Sorry man. I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, sorry,” the rest of the men chorused, looking like scolded schoolchildren.

“Get the hell out of here you morons,” Orion barked. Everybody flinched, including Lance, and then they all rushed to obey, driving away and leaving Lance and Orion alone in the parking lot.

Chapter 6

“I can’t believe you’re back,” Orion said, his dark eyes roaming Lance up and down. “I didn’t think you would ever show your face back here.”

Lance’s heart constricted. At first he had been relieved to see Orion, but now he wasn’t so sure. Was Orion holding a grudge about what had happened between them on graduation day? He sure seemed to be implying that Lance had something to be ashamed of.

“My mother is sick,” Lance stammered, holding his shopping bag stupidly up toward Orion. “I’m here to help her. She needs to have the house fixed up a bit. And I was thinking about having some things installed in the bathroom to make it easier for her to be independent. Handrails and things like that.” He closed his mouth, realizing he was rambling, and offered Orion a shrug. “She got so old without me realizing it.”

“It happens pretty fast,” Orion said quietly. “I lost my dad a few years back. It wasn’t old age so much as foolhardiness, but time is still the same. It’s always over too fast.”

They stood in silence for a moment, the tension between them crackling. It had been so many years, but still what had happened seemed to rise up as a large elephant between them.

“Do you know what you’re doing with that stuff?” Orion asked, peering into the bag that Lance was still holding protectively out in front of himself.

“Not really. Tony said that it was easy enough though, I just have to try and find some kind of instructional video or something. But I’ve never been much of a handyman. You know me.”

It slipped out so naturally. Yes, Orion had known Lance, known him better than anyone. But that had been years ago. Still, some things never changed. Some people would always be good with their hands, like Orion, while others were more suited toward intellectual pursuits like Lance.

“That’s exactly why I asked you if you knew what you were doing. How about I help you out? It’d be good to see your mom again. She always seemed to feel sorry for me. She wasn’t like other people’s moms, who were terrified that I would corrupt their children.”

Lance nodded, eagerly accepting the olive branch. “Yeah, I bet she would really like to see you. She told me that she doesn’t get much company anymore.”

“Great, well, I’m free tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound to you?”

“It sounds great. It’ll give me some time to research the things I need to buy to make the house a little better for my mom to use. I think there’s a lot that we’re going to have to change. But don’t feel any pressure to stick out the whole project. It’s going to take a while.”

“Are you kidding? You think I would leave you alone in the house with power tools?” Orion said, with a sharp laugh. “Don’t count on it. Somebody’s got to be there to protect your mother.”

Lance laughed despite himself, and for a moment it felt as if things had never changed between them. But when he looked back at Orion, the smile faded from his lips. Time was always a factor, and it had changed this boy immensely, changed him into a man. Just because they were going to be fixing up his mom’s house together didn’t mean that they were automatically best friends again.

Orion had up and disappeared on him after all. He felt like he should be angry, bursting with questions, but surprisingly enough he was just happy to see Orion again.

“All right, tomorrow at noon, sharp, got it?” Orion said, glancing down at his watch.

“Got it,” Lance said.

“Great. Well my gang is waiting for me. We had some stuff to do tonight. If you’re going to get those lightbulbs in before dark, you might want to head back now.” Easily, with the muscular grace of an animal, Orion climbed back onto his motorcycle. And with a rev of his engine, he disappeared.

Chapter 7

That night, Lance finished washing up his mother’s dirty dishes after he changed all the lights in the house. His heart broke to discover that she had only two working lightbulbs, and neither of them were in very convenient places. She kept the closet light on during the night, but otherwise she basically lived in darkness. There was a lamp or two that she had bought, but since she had been so sick it was still difficult for her to maintain them.

Once his mother was in bed, Lance went up to his old bedroom and found that it was just about the same as he had left it. He found himself wandering over to the window and gazing outside, wondering what Orion was up to. It seemed strange that he was the leader of the biker gang now, despite Orion being the logical replacement for his dad. He’d always imagined better things for Orion. Maybe his own woodworking studio, since he’d been so good at that.

He almost picked up the rotary phone beside his bed to dial Orion’s number. It seemed so natural for him to fall back into old habits again. This was his hometown, and everything was so familiar. But it wasn’t who he was anymore. He was a proud and out gay man who lived in Portland, a big detail he’d left out of his conversation with Orion. Sure, Orion probably had his suspicions, but a conversation about it in the parking lot was probably the last thing that he wanted.

Lance sighed heavily, before deciding that he would shower before he slept. As the water ran down his body, he couldn’t help but keep Orion close to his thoughts. There had been a time in his life where Orion was on his mind constantly, and it was completely natural. It wasn’t as if they were dating, but they had shared so much of their lives with one another. Now that he was back in his hometown, it seemed as if it was natural for him to rewind the time as if nothing had changed. But everything had changed.

Lance finally laid down in his old bed, plagued by thoughts of Orion and the awkward first kiss they had shared in the drama club room. Did it really count as a first kiss when it was the only kiss? He gritted his teeth, his face flushing a furious red, and then closed his eyes. He wouldn’t allow himself to think about it anymore. Orion would be at his house in the morning. He was the leader of a biker gang for crying out loud. He might even beat Lance up for mentioning what happened. Lance would just have to try and forget, and leave the rest to fate.

Chapter 8

“Orion!”

Lance sat up in bed with his heart pounding at the sound of his mother greeting Orion. He had overslept, by a long shot, but it was too late to do anything about that now. He could already hear Orion’s heavy footfalls on the stairs coming toward his bedroom.

“Rise and shine,” Orion said, poking his head into Lance’s room. It was as if he already knew that he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. It probably wasn’t so unbelievable. They had known each other better than they knew anybody else, and if there was one thing that was hard to change, it was the fact that Lance was not much of a morning person. Orion had picked up the habit of calling him every morning before school just to make sure that he was awake enough to walk with him once Orion arrived at his door. If it weren’t for him, Lance probably would have ended up suspended for all of his tardiness.

“Hey,” Lance said, sitting up. A little flush began to color his cheeks. It was strange to wake up and immediately confront the man who had kept him up all night, especially when said man had no idea about it.

“I see some things never change,” Orion said, a sexy grin creasing his face.

“Sorry, I guess I forgot to set the alarm,” Lance mumbled, embarrassed by the way Orion’s dark eyes roamed shamelessly over his body. He had fallen asleep in just his boxers, and now it seemed as if Orion was teasing him somehow.

“Sure,” Orion said, not bothering to turn around as Lance shyly got out of bed, thanking every deity he’d ever heard of for the fact that he hadn’t woken up with a morning erection.

Lance crossed the room to his suitcase, rummaging through it for something to wear.

“Don’t bother dressing up real nice,” Orion said. “We’re going to get dirty today.”

Lance glanced up at him, searching for a snarky reply, but simply nodded instead.

He pulled an old pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt from the suitcase and threw them on quickly, still embarrassed by Orion’s presence. But he was there, stubborn and unmoving, waiting for Lance to get a move on.

“I’m just gonna go brush my teeth,” Lance said, keeping his eyes on the ground as he pushed past Orion, walking the few feet down the hallway to the bathroom. He could feel Orion’s dark, steady gaze on his back until the door closed behind him, and he couldn’t help but let out a huge breath of relief.

What had happened to make things so strange between them? Sure, it was as if no time had passed since high school, but now there was something even stranger there. An electricity that Lance wasn’t sure he liked, as if it was a looming threat over his head. Was he waiting for the axe to fall?

He tried to push his thoughts away as he finished readying himself for the day ahead. He finally felt ready to face Orion again, after combing his hair and giving himself an encouraging smile in the mirror. He had nothing to be ashamed of, after all. Even if they had shared a strange moment in the past, he wasn’t going to let it scare him. He was a grown man now, and if Orion wanted to be judgmental or homophobic toward him, then so be it. But if not, and his old friend was just here to help him fix up his mother’s house, then maybe it would even be fun. There was only one way to find out.

Chapter 9

When Lance emerged from the bathroom, he couldn’t find Orion anywhere. He eventually wandered downstairs and discovered him chatting animatedly with his mother. She was offering to make them some breakfast, trying to push herself up out of the big armchair she was sitting in, but Orion gently put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

“I already ate,” he said. “Thank you.”

Lance was embarrassed by the way the touching scene made his heart thud harder in his chest. He didn’t want to interrupt it, but he felt like a stalker standing in the shadows and lurking there without saying anything.

“Where do you think we should get started?” Lance said, bringing Orion’s dark and pensive eyes back to him.

“Anywhere is fine,” Orion said. “But we should probably prioritize. Do whatever is most important first.”

Orion walked past Lance, giving the house a look over. He had forgotten just how practical Orion could be. Once he had a goal, he stuck to it until he reached the end successfully. He had never seen so much determination in one person until he had become friends with Orion. It was part of why he was so sure that Orion would end up somewhere better than a biker in his dad’s gang.

“Why don’t we start with some laundry?” Orion said, his voice low so that Lance his mother couldn’t hear them. “It would take a load off of your mother’s mind. She isn’t well, and right now she deserves to be taken care of properly. You start that and I’m going to go look around the house and see what needs to be done.”

Orion took off up the stairs, leaving Lance in the foyer, feeling as if he was some kind of housewife while Orion went off and did the manly things. But Orion was right; it was probably good to get some laundry going. So, although it was embarrassing, he went into his mother’s bedroom and stripped the sheets and blankets, and took her clothes to the washer and dryer. He was just closing the door of the machine to begin the first large load when Orion returned.

“There are some serious problems in the bathroom,” Orion said. “Not only is the place definitely not accessible to an older lady, but the tiles need to be grouted and some of them are breaking. If she steps on one of those jagged pieces that are falling off from the wall it could be a problem.”

“Oh, do we need to go get some grout then?” Lance asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I brought along my toolbox. I figured there was a lot of stuff that needed to be done around here. Can never be too safe.”

“Right, thanks,” Lance said.

Orion moved past him and back into the foyer, where he started digging through the large toolbox he had left on the floor there. He came back with a few tools and a medium-sized bucket of grout.

“Let’s go,” he said, leading the way upstairs to the bathroom. “How is it that your mom gets upstairs anyway? It seems like it would be really hard for her.”

“Yeah, actually she stays downstairs now. She’s been sleeping in the guest bedroom. I was thinking about taking all of her things down there for her. It would make it easier for her to do everything she needs to.”

“That’s a good idea for now,” Orion said thoughtfully. “But I think that there’s something better that we could do. At least for the long term. It’s a little bit expensive, but I could help you guys foot the bill. I know someone who could get us a discount.”

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked, bewildered. They were in the bathroom now, and Orion crouched on the floor, mixing the grout.

“We could get a machine that connects to the staircase. All she would have to do is sit in it and it would take her upstairs and downstairs.”

Lance’s eyes opened wider. “Wow, that sounds really amazing. But like you said, very expensive. Is there a way that we could do something like that, without having to pay so much?”

“No, like I said, I would be able to get you guys a discount. Don’t even worry about it.” Orion paused briefly before adding, “I like your mom.”

Orion had liked his mom for a very long time, and it touched Lance deeply to see just how far he was willing to go for her. And in a way, he couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with Lance as well. Was Orion feeling sorry about disappearing on him like that? Maybe he just wanted to apologize in his own small way, without actually having to bring up the painful issue of the past again.

The two men got to work, with Lance heading downstairs to the basement to dig up the spare tiles that had been leftover when his mother had redone the bathroom decades before. They were still nice tiles, she had good taste for timeless styles.

When Lance returned to the bathroom, he stopped in the doorway, taken aback by how gorgeous Orion looked. Orion had rolled up his shirtsleeves to his shoulders and his dark eyes were focused on the task at hand. His large muscles were bulging with the effort of prying up the broken tiles and disposing of them in a trash bag that was open beside him. He seemed oblivious to Lance, gawking in the doorway. It was funny how time could change so many things, and yet do nothing to change the way he was fascinated with Orion.

“Well don’t just stand there,” Orion said finally, without looking up from what he was doing. “Let’s get to work.”

Chapter 10

Lance and Orion worked well into the night together, only stopping for water breaks and to make sure that his mother was fed and comfortable. At about nine o’clock, Lance’s stomach gurgled loudly and Orion laughed.

“Probably about time for dinner break. You think your mom could make it on her own for an hour?”

“Sure,” Lance said. “We should let her know we’re going though.”

“Well no shit,” Orion said, but he was smiling good-naturedly.

It had been strange working with Orion that day. They didn’t speak very much, and there was a lot of tension between them. Lance wasn’t quite sure what the cause of it was, but he did know that every time he looked at Orion, it filled him with a painful nostalgia that made him wish he had never tried to kiss him. Maybe things between them would’ve been different. It would’ve been nice to have a friend over all those years.

“Orion and I are going to go have some dinner,” Lance said to his mother, kissing her on the forehead.

“Oh good, I’ve been worried about you boys. It’s unhealthy for you to be working so hard without anything in your stomachs.”

“Don’t worry, we’re doing all right. And you won’t even recognize the bathroom.”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get up those stairs anytime soon,” his mother said with a wistful smile. “But I’m sure you did a wonderful job.”

“Thanks Ma,” Lance said, his heart constricting painfully.

It was still strange to see his mother so frail. The doctor said she should start feeling better as she got over her illness and started to put on weight again, and it would be nice to see her going back to normal again. But it was possible that this was the new normal and he was just going to have to get used to it. The older people got, the more vulnerable they became. That was just a fact of life.

“Come on Lance, I’m starving,” Orion called from the foyer. “Good night Mrs. Foster. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Lance was surprised by how forwardly Orion invited himself back. He had been wondering how to broach the subject of continuing with the home improvement projects. He didn’t want to assume that Orion was going to keep helping him out, but at the same time, it was going to be difficult to finish a lot of the projects without him. It was a relief to know that he was already planning on coming back. Although another day of that much tension was probably going to kill him.

“Coming,” Lance said, smiling at his mother before he disappeared out the door.

“Do you mind driving?” Orion asked. “I didn’t bring my bike today. I just walked. I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention to your mom’s house. Sometimes the people around here can be a little strange about whoever is affiliated with the gang.”

“Thanks for thinking about that for her,” Lance said, “but I don’t think either one of us mind being affiliated with you.”

He regretted it as soon as he said it, because it made him sound vulnerable or weak, or maybe like he was still interested in Orion. He didn’t want Orion to feel uncomfortable around him. Before he had a chance to read Orion’s expression, the man had already turned away.

“My car’s in the garage,” Lance said, quickly trying to draw attention away from what he’d said and move back to the original question. “Do you mind waiting here while I pull it out?”

Orion raised an eyebrow at Lance as if he was stupid. “Nope.”

“Cool,” Lance said, his face burning furiously as he jogged to the garage.

Things with Orion were always complicated. It would be better if he didn’t keep putting his foot in his mouth. But depending on what they were going to do for dinner, he was going to have ample opportunity. Lance sighed. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter 11

Lance and Orion drove in silence until Orion signaled for Lance to stop. He pulled into the parking lot of an old Steiner he had assumed would have gone out of business by the time he came back to Winston. But lo and behold, there it was, looking no different than it had the entire time Lance was growing up. It seemed it was one of the fixtures of this town and it wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Remember how we used to come here after school on Fridays?” Orion said with a quiet laugh. He was gazing out the window of Lance’s car, wistfully thinking about the past. It had been a long time, but the moments that they shared at the diner had been the single greatest thing about high school.

“Yeah, and Big Dave would always bring us an extra order of fries for free. I guess he appreciated our business.”

Orion snorted. “Yeah, that and he was terrified of my father. I always wondered if he was just sucking up.”

This surprised Lance. He had known that Orion’s father had held sway over the town, but he hadn’t often considered what it might be like for some of the local entrepreneurs with such a powerful biker gang in town. Had Dave actually been scared of Orion and the gang?

“Or maybe he just really liked us kids,” Lance said, though now he wasn’t so sure.

“Sure. The only reason I wonder is because he sometimes showed an interest in the gang, but he never really had the guts to commit. My father always turned him down for one reason or another anyway. There’s a special quality that we look for in our men.”

“What kind of quality?”

Orion turned to look at him, and for a moment Lance could have sworn that he was more animal than human. It was eerie, but intriguing. He almost looked like the carving of a bear cub that he had done for Lance and the drama club.

“There’s a certain kind of adaptability that our gang looks for in a person. That’s all. I like Dave, he has good intentions. I still wouldn’t let him in the gang though. It doesn’t seem right. I don’t think that he would be a match for some of the kinds of people we deal with.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Orion opened the car door and stepped out. Lance followed suit, again, instinctively locking the door behind him. Now he had more of a reason to, after nearly being attacked by the gang that Orion was just talking about. He wasn’t sure he liked them, but the way that Orion spoke about them was full of pride. It made it hard not to feel some sense of respect towards them.

“I didn’t know that you wanted to be part of the gang,” Lance said before they went inside.

Orion cast a sidelong look at him, his dark, brooding eyes flashing with an emotion Lance knew all too well. Pain.

“It’s not really something you want or don’t want. It’s something you’re born into.”

He seemed eager to drop the subject, so Lance didn’t say anything else as they stepped through the door.

“Well I’ll be!” Big Dave exclaimed, lifting his glasses off his nose to squint over at Orion and Lance. “Lance Foster came back to ol’ Winston after all!”

Lance couldn’t help but smile as the round little man came forward and wrapped him in a big bear hug.

“And Orion! Welcome, welcome. To both of you.”

Big Dave’s genial, bright red face seemed to shine with pure joy as he hustled the men to the corner booth, where they had enjoyed some of their most meaningful discussions as young men. It wasn’t until he sat down on the red leather seat, with Orion grinning across from him, that Lance realized suddenly, and without a doubt, that he was home.

Chapter 12

The table was covered with food; Big Dave was feeling festive and had brought out one of everything on the menu. Lance and Orion were gorging themselves, sharing everything they had just like they had always done, silverware clattering as they ate.

In between bites, conversation began to arise, and Lance soon learned that he had underestimated his childhood friend.

“Do you remember the summer after graduation?” Orion asked, his pensive eyes steady on Lance.

“Of course,” Lance said. He thought of it often, the painful memory of being abandoned by his best and closest friend. He had been haunted every day by the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life, and he still wasn’t sure there was anything that could be done to fix it.

“Well… I got a letter. Saying I was accepted into a school in Seattle.”

“What? Really?” Lance lowered his fork to his plate, gaping in awe at Orion. Of course he had made it into a good school. But he had always wondered what had become of his friend.

“It was a trade school. For people who are good with their hands and math and things like that.”

Orion was a genius with numbers and dimensions as far as Lance was concerned, but he never seemed too eager to flaunt it to anybody else. And forget about homework. The fact that he’d made it into a school at all was exciting.

“That’s great,” Lance said, trying to organize all of the different thoughts that were bombarding him. “Congratulations!”

“Sure, that would have been nice to hear if I had been allowed to go,” Orion said, smiling bitterly down at his plate.

“What do you mean?” Lance asked. Surely Orion’s father was an ass, but to prevent his own child from making something better of himself? That seemed terrible to the point of fictional.

“He had other plans for me,” Orion said, glancing up at Big Dave as if to gauge whether or not he was listening. “He made me… leave.”

Lance’s heart thudded hard in his chest. Orion’s dad had made him leave. It was hard to process, but it sounded a lot like Orion was telling him that he hadn’t been abandoned—at least not by choice. And not because of anything to do with the kiss they had shared on the day of their high school graduation.

“Where did you go?” Lance asked, his voice wavering.

Just then, Big Dave interrupted them by setting down two huge glasses, full to the brim with milkshake.

“This might just be the best day of my life,” Lance said, laughing. He wasn’t sure he could handle the truth of what Orion was telling him yet. To think that he had spent ten years of his life agonizing over what might have ultimately turned out to be a silly misunderstanding seemed too much to hope for.

“Good! Welcome home, Lance. Don’t be a stranger.”

Just like everybody else, Big Dave had aged and changed. He was plumper now, and his once abundant hair was thinning and grey. But he still carried with him a youthful spark that made it a pleasure to be around. For the millionth time, Lance felt ashamed of himself for being away from home for so long. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed it until he was back.

“I won’t,” Lance promised. And he meant it. He wouldn’t go another ten years about seeing the people who had meant so much to him as he grew up and became the person that he was. Although the homophobia and closemindedness could be suffocating, that didn’t mean that he had to abandon everybody who was meaningful to him the way that he had. It had been a self-preservation tactic that he had used to maintain his independence and defend his identity. But that didn’t mean that it was okay to turn his back on the people who loved him.

“I want to show you something,” Orion said once they left the diner.

Lance was already close to tears. He wasn’t sure that he could handle any more emotional surprises. But it seemed impossible to turn Orion down. Especially after so long. When he had so many questions.

“Okay,” Lance said nervously. He wanted to get home, and use his mother as an excuse to run away from Orion the way he’d thought that Orion had run away from him. He needed time to process what Orion had told him.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” Orion said. There it was again. His uncanny ability to sense exactly what Lance was feeling. He had a feeling that if they were actually lovers it would either be incredible or it would drive him crazy.

“Okay, are we driving north or south?” Lance asked, unlocking his car.

“We’re not driving anywhere. We’re going to walk there.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. What was going on? They were already close to the outskirts of town as it was. Nothing else was out there except a lot of forest land. If Orion was leading Lance into the wilderness alone, it could be a set up. His gang of bikers could be there waiting to pounce when he was the most vulnerable. And then his mother would really be in trouble. Nobody else would be able to take care of her.

But why was he doubting Orion after all this time? They had spent the entire day together fixing the house up. Why would Orion do anything to hurt him now, when he could have done it a lot sooner and without helping him make his mother’s life easier? He seemed to genuinely care for her.

Despite his reservations, Lance hurried to catch up to Orion, who had already started walking. He was a tall, graceful man, who took long strides as he moved. There was something so raw about him. Almost primal. It gave Lance shivers to see him moving through the darkness as silver moonlight passed over through the shadows of the trees. He wished that he could be more like Orion. More rugged and manly. But he was the kind of guy who liked to wear sweaters and do crossword puzzles. He was definitely no match for Orion and his hands-on approach to the world.

After what seemed like an eternity of marching through the darkness, with a deep feeling of foreboding building in Lance’s chest, Orion finally stopped.

“This is it.”

Lance looked around. He didn’t see anything different about where they were now compared to the forest they’d walked through. “What is it?”

“On the night of our graduation. This is where he left me.”

Chapter 13

Lance was too shocked to move as a torrent of words began to pour from Orion’s mouth. It was as if a dam had been broken, and ten years’ worth of words came out.

“My family has a secret, a secret that we share with the rest of the gang. We’re bikers because we’re the only ones who would protect each other. We are the only ones who can help ourselves. I don’t expect you to understand, but my father, despite being a cruel man, only wanted what was best for me. He wanted me to be the best version of myself that I could be, and after I was finally finished with school, he couldn’t wait another second.”

Orion turned his back on Lance for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing.

“I don’t want you to think it was about you. I went home the night after graduation, and I wanted to call you right away, but before I had the chance, my father summoned me. And when my father summons you, you go. Without hesitation. He had a way of knowing whether or not he was being obeyed, and he was very good at enforcing his discipline upon us all.”

“What did he do to you?” Lance whispered. The thought of young Orion being so browbeaten by his father was horrifying. He had always suspected, but hearing the words was a new experience entirely.

“He told me that it was time for me to be a man. That I had a birthright I had to claim. And it was now or never. There was no time for any more school. The rest of my life was predetermined for me. And I had to accept it.”

“That’s bullshit!” Lance exclaimed. “Nothing about the world is predetermined. We make our own way in this world. Your father was just abusive.”

Orion smirked. “I won’t argue with you about that, but he was right about one thing. There is something about me that is different. And I had to figure it out for myself out here, alone. For the entire summer. And then throughout the winter. And during several more summers and winters. By the time I came back, my father was old and dying, and I was stronger than I had ever been in my life.”

Lance opened and closed his mouth, but he wasn’t sure what to say.

“The point of this is, this is where I was forced to be, instead of being with you, where I wanted to be. Instead of telling you…”

Orion cut himself off, and cast his dark eyes to the ground. Lance noticed him make a tight fist, before finally looking up into Lance’s eyes again.

“I didn’t hate… what happened. I didn’t hate it.”

Lance blinked and then burst out laughing. He didn’t hate it? He didn’t hate the kiss. He wasn’t angry about it. Lance being forward wasn’t what ruined their friendship. It was Orion’s father.

“You didn’t hate it?” Lance repeated, unable to stifle his laughter.

Orion grinned and shook his head, his long dark hair brushing his shoulders.

“I didn’t hate it. In fact,” Orion said, taking a cautious step toward Lance, “you were my world back then. You were the only thing that really made sense.”

Lance gasped as Orion pulled him roughly forward and wrapped his arms strongly around Lance’s body. They kissed passionately, every inch of Lance’s body electrified by Orion’s touch. He had been waiting so long to resolve these feelings, to understand what had happened between them the summer that Orion had left him. And now here it all was, right out in front of him, too good to be true.

He couldn’t resist the powerful thrall that Orion had over him. It just felt too good to be in his arms after so long. To feel the scrape of his stubble on his cheek and the soft, angelic lips that brought shivers up and down Lance’s spine. There was undeniable chemistry between them, there always had been, and he was going to drown himself in it for every possible second, no matter what the cost. They had already waited far too long.

“I’ve wanted to see you for so long,” Orion whispered into Lance’s ear, nipping at his earlobe. “But the time was just never right. There was always something going on; something getting in the way. But now you’re here. And I’m not going to lose you again.”

Lance dared to let himself believe it as Orion’s hot mouth began to consume his neck. He’d been with men before, but never had he experienced anything quite so sensual. Every touch made him tingle, and his cock was hard enough to burst. He would never have guessed that this could happen. And even if it was just a dream and he was destined to wake up, it was the greatest moment of his life.

Orion growled, forcefully gripping Lance by the waist and pulling him hard against his muscular body as he burrowed his head in the nape of Lance’s neck. The friction of their groins grinding against each other through their jeans nearly made Lance cry with need.

It wasn’t enough for Orion, who quickly began to wrestle with the buttons on Lance’s jeans. Lance shivered when the night air blew over his exposed shaft, and then groaned with pleasure when Orion began to gently stroke it. It had been so long since he’d been with anybody that Lance nearly came immediately, but fortunately Orion pulled away to lift Lance’s shirt over his head.

Lance followed suit, stripping Orion and pausing to gawk at the other man’s buffet of abs. He was surprisingly hairy and virile, and Lance liked it. Everybody he had been with before suddenly looked like they had barely escaped puberty compared to this man, who was the very definition of ruggedness.

Without thinking twice, Lance plunged his hand into the warmth of Orion’s pants and ran his fingers greedily along the swollen shaft inside. His own cock was throbbing so hard it almost hurt, but he gritted his teeth patiently as he held Orion in his hands. This was the moment he had been waiting for ever since he’d started to understand his feelings towards other men, ever since he’d understood what he’d felt for Orion all those years. And god, it felt good.

Lance dropped to his knees, eliciting a hiss of pleasure from Orion as he wrapped his lips around Orion’s cock and curled his tongue around its head. He allowed his hands to roam up and down Orion’s muscular legs and thighs, moaning appreciatively every time Orion thrusted a little in his mouth. Soon, Orion was fucking his mouth in earnest, and it took everything Lance had not to come all over himself. Fortunately, he had mastered the art of self-control, and focused all of his energy on pleasing Orion, whose sexy dark eyes had turned down to him.

Lance felt a chill when suddenly those gorgeous eyes flashed a reflective green. But instead of being afraid, for some reason it made Lance want him more than he ever had before.

He stood up and faced Orion, who seemed to know instinctively what to do. He whipped Lance around, and had him prop himself up against a tree. Orion shoved Lance’s pants down to his ankles and suddenly he could feel the heat of Orion’s shaft pressed up against him. Lance’s cock shuddered and was soon engulfed by the warmth of Orion’s hands, slowly rubbing him up and down, and circling his thumb around the engorged head of Lance’s penis.

Lance grunted in surprise when Orion began pressing against him—into him—softly at first, and then more firmly and urgently as the heat of Lance’s insides began to envelope him. They both groaned out loud in pleasure as Orion entered him from behind, their cocks both red and swollen as he started to thrust. He seemed to know exactly how to pleasure Lance, taking his time to warm up Lance’s body before using his full power.

They were both pleasantly surprised by just how much of Orion’s power Lance could take, and soon, Lance’s heels were digging deep into the soft earth as Orion plunged into him again and again, each thrust better feeling than the last. Lance wasn’t sure he would be able to hold back his climax any longer, but Orion was a step ahead of him. He was quickening the speed with which he rubbed Lance’s cock, and bracing Lance by gripping him firmly by the waist with his free hand.

Before he could register what was happening, Orion unleashed a victorious roar that shook the trees around them. A sudden, powerful explosion erupted inside Lance, and he lost himself as his body tingled with the heat of an orgasm unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It almost seemed like nothing in comparison to the wave of hot cum that was rolling into him as Orion thrusted into him until every last ounce was spent inside of Lance.

They were both out of breath by the time they were done, and it seemed like they didn’t need words for how they felt about what had happened. It had been a long time coming, and although Orion hadn’t come out and said what his family’s secret was, Lance was starting to suspect it. Orion was one of the ancient bear shifters he had heard so much about as a child; the tribe of powerful men whose only safe place was with each other. He didn’t have to say it. Some part of him had known all along.

“Let’s get you back home,” Orion said, stretching lazily before reaching for his clothes.

Chapter 14

That night, Orion left Lance on the porch of his mother’s house. The gang was going to be wondering where he had been for so long. And although he was their leader and he didn’t owe anybody an explanation, it still felt kind of wrong to desert them. He was anxious to get back, although spending some time alone seemed really nice. Especially after what he experienced with Lance.

“Orion, so what’s the deal with that little prick anyway?” Lars asked as soon as Orion stepped into the bar where the biker gang met up.

“That little prick happens to be one of my best friends from high school, so you guys are just going to have to deal with that.”

“Is that a fact?” Paul asked, circling around Orion and sniffing. “Because it seems to me like you and that little prick are more than just best friends.”

This brought everybody’s attention immediately onto Orion. He cursed quietly at himself. He should have showered. Now, he might have put Lance’s life in danger.

“It doesn’t matter what any of you guys think. Lance is just a friend. Nothing more. And if you lay a hand on him, I will personally see to it that you never touch anything again. You know. Because you’ll be dead.”

Nobody else dared to say anything more, but Orion didn’t like the way that the rest of the men were looking at him. He should have washed the scent of Lance away. It would have been better and far less dangerous for them both. But as of yet, nobody could prove anything. Lance was safe for now. That was all that mattered.

“We still have a little matter to attend to,” Orion said, hoping to take everybody’s mind off of his ambiguous relationship with Lance and move them on to more important things. “Besides Lance, there is another person who is new to town, and this time, I know for sure that it isn’t just an old friend from high school. Whoever it was came to Winston looking for a fight.”

As expected, the news got everybody’s attention. Soon they had all forgotten about Lance and had turned their eyes onto Orion, waiting for more information, and possibly more answers.

“It’s another bear shifter, from another town, and he’s not particularly well known for his good attitude. In fact, he’s from an area that is particularly rough-and-tumble, and he told me that he has a score to settle with somebody in our gang, somebody who went down there and bought some drugs on good credit. On my name. And never returned with what he was owed. Whoever you are, I expect you to make good with him. If you don’t, I’m just going to let him have his way with you. And nobody else is going to interfere or they are going to have to deal with me too.”

All eyes turned downcast onto the floor, and Orion grinned inwardly. That was always a good way to put them in their places. He knew that the men in his gang often carried out terrible deeds that he disapproved of and they used his name to try and get away with it. Everybody knew who his father was. He was a diabolical man, but he was fair in business. He was well respected by everybody he met, and it was a point of pride to Orion, although it was a secret type of pride, that his father was so successful. He hoped to be like that to some degree, but in order for that to be true, the men in his gang had to respect his authority and stop bringing drugs to Winston.

“That being said, there isn’t much else to report about. I checked in on everything and so far that’s the only threat I see to our gang. If this isn’t resolved by three o’clock tomorrow, then whoever is responsible for this is going to have to pay the piper. Along with anybody who tries to defend him. And don’t think that I’m joking.”

With that, Orion walked out of the bar, sighing silently with relief. It was kind of a handful to be in charge of so many grown men. Especially men who wanted so badly to exert their control. He knew that they didn’t respect him very much, but because of how much they respected his father, they were all willing to at least pretend to let him be in charge. The only way that would change was if he took a mate as an alpha from the group.

Many of the men had been trying unsuccessfully for years to become his alpha, because that meant that he would be able to have control and influence over the biker gang and still respect the wishes of their former leader, whom most of them were still loyal to. He had warded off all of their advances, knowing exactly what they were up to. What would threaten them the most however, was knowing that somebody like Lance existed. A man who had his heart, and even had his body.

He had never been able to tell anybody about how he felt about Lance; he had barely been able to tell Lance what he told him earlier that day. He shook his head, defeated by the prospect of his men turning against him. Or worse, doing something to hurt a hair on Lance’s head. He had worked so hard to come to terms with the feelings that he had for Lance, and if anything ever happened to him, he would be back at square one with nothing to show for all of his years of agony.

He wondered if it was too soon to call. He had never felt so lonely before. And it seemed silly, because he had just spent all day with other people. It was probably because he had just experienced something so intimate, only to come back home to an empty house once more. Whatever Lance was doing, Orion hoped that he was feeling less lonely.

Chapter 15

Orion was back at Lance’s house bright and early the next day. They were both excited about finishing all of the projects, but Lance was fairly certain as soon as he saw the wide smile spread across Orion’s face, that they were also just as excited to see each other.

“Good morning,” Lance said, opening the door and letting Orion inside.

“This is a change,” Orion teased. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fully awake when I get to your doorstep. Are you planning on making this a habit?”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” Lance said, laughing. “People like me need their beauty sleep.”

“Ah, so that’s what does it,” Orion said, winking subtly at Lance as he walked deeper into the house.

“I figured we should probably get started with the wallpaper today. Since you guys spend so much time in the living room, it would be nice if you were able to have something that looks nice.”

“Sounds good,” Lance said, smiling at Orion. “I think that we can get a lot done today. My mom is doing physical therapy, and then she has a lunch date with her doctor. He’s actually pretty good looking for an older man.”

Orion crossed his arms over his head. “A good looking older man? Is there something that I should be worried about?”

“What?” Lance asked, his face reddening. “Nothing whatever compared to how I feel about you. Especially not Dr. Daniel. My mom can have him.”

Orion burst into laughter and shook his head. “No wonder you’re up early. You really can’t miss those doctor’s appointments.”

“No, my mother can’t afford to. I think once she has gone through some of the physical therapy, she’ll be back on her feet again, but she’ll be moving more slowly. It’s kind of sad, but I am really hopeful that she will be happier with the way things are moving along.”

“Your mom is a strong woman. She can take a lot of hits from life and get back up smiling. It takes a lot for people to be able to learn from everything that they’ve experienced and still come back for more, instead of shutting themselves off from new experiences altogether. I really admire that. I would like to be more like her.”

Lance raised his eyebrow. “You don’t seem like the type of guy who doesn’t face up to their experiences.”

“Honestly, I’m terrified of feelings,” Orion said, laughing. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed that by now. Although my spiky exterior is a way to help me ward off all the stuff on the inside. Now where were we?” He turned back to the wall, hands on his hips. “Help me to start peeling off this old wallpaper. It’s a perfect project to do while your mom isn’t here. We really wouldn’t want her breathing in any of this stuff. We could probably get it done and have the house airing out by the time she gets home. Maybe you guys can go to the park. At least until it’s finished drying.”

“Right,” Lance agreed.

They moved all the furniture away from the walls and the living room and slowly began tearing the wallpaper off. Lance and his mother had picked out a wallpaper that they both liked earlier that morning in the waiting room for the physical therapy appointment. Dr. Daniel had offered to drive his mother home, so it was all taken care of until probably about four o’clock that evening. Lance had already stopped by the hardware store to pick up the wallpaper that his mother had picked out. It was a gentle blue color that made Lance think of his childhood.

They started working in silence, and every once in a while Lance could feel Orion’s dark and penetrating eyes on him. Every time, it made his heart palpitate, and he would remember all of the ways that Orion had touched him the day before. It sent a deep thrill throughout his entire body, and every once in a while he would have to close his eyes so that he wasn’t overwhelmed by the feeling entirely. They wouldn’t get any work done if he allowed himself to become so wrapped up in his own fantasies. Even if they were rooted in truth.

“You missed a spot,” Orion’s deep voice suddenly said in his ear. It sent a tingle down his spine, and Lance closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He wasn’t going to be able to control himself much longer, especially if Orion continued standing so close to him. He could feel the warmth of Orion’s body behind him, and it made him want nothing more than to repeat the experiences of the night before.

It almost seemed like a dream, especially when he had been agonizing over Orion for so long. But now, it seemed as if this flirtatious nest between them was the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them were ashamed of it, and even if Orion was setting him up for a giant joke, or some kind of horrible experience with the gang that he was in charge of, it didn’t matter. All he wanted was to make the moments between them last forever.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Orion said, making Lance’s heart pound hard. Orion put his hands over Lance’s chest, as if in an effort to calm him down, and nuzzled his neck. A torrent of bliss surged through Lance, and his first thought was to push away from it. Something that felt so good couldn’t be healthy. There was no way he would be allowed to enjoy himself this much.

“But what does it mean?” Lance asked, pulling away from Orion’s touch. He looked him square in the eye, and although it felt like torture to stop him—after all, it was what he had wanted for so long—he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it fully. Not without having a talk first about what the hell they were doing. He still didn’t even know if Orion was gay or not!

“What do you mean, ‘what does it mean?’” Orion asked, his face darkening. “Man, this was always so annoying about you. You always overthink everything and never trust yourself. Maybe you and I are too different for this.”

He started to turn away from Lance, heading out of the living room, but Lance gripped his arm firmly.

“That may be, but it’s hard not to overthink things when I have no idea what’s going on in the head of another person. At least I only get myself worked up about the things that actually matter to me.”

“Sure… Like getting the lead in a meaningless school play. And questioning my feelings for you when, for the first time in ten years, I’ve had the chance to be honest with you.”

Lance’s stomach knotted. “If you really felt that way for so long, why didn’t you even try to find me?”

“I did! It’s just that I had a lot of things going on. Not only was my dad insistent on me taking his place, but this town needed protection. There are things that happen here that you have no idea about. Things that have haunted me ever since I was a small child. And I had nowhere to turn. Not even to you. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anybody. And now that I’m an adult, I don’t need you to shame me for the things that you don’t understand. If you can’t take me at my word, then you don’t need me at all.”

Lance was chilled by the anger that he saw on Orion’s face. He almost let it put him off enough to let him leave. But something in him was determined not to let this man go again. They had to fight through their differences instead of letting them divide them forever. It just wasn’t worth it to fight. Not when they finally had each other again.

Lance took a deep breath. “I’m just saying, couldn’t you have tried a little harder for me? Do you know how hard it was to try and imagine what you were going through because of what I did? Even after all these years, my biggest regret was kissing you. And if that wasn’t a problem for you, do you know how much anguish I could’ve avoided if I had known that? Even if it meant that we couldn’t be together right away, at least I would know that I hadn’t lost my best friend because of something rash and impulsive that I did.” Lance’s voice broke. “I haven’t been able to forgive myself for that. All I ever wanted was to have my friend back.”

“Well I guess that’s just too bad, because after that kiss things could never have gone back to the way they were,” Orion growled, though his face was softening. Lance was used to his temper, but he hadn’t been around it for a long time. It was still startling. But if he was still the same as he used to be, the anger would come in a short burst, followed by serious reflection.

“It wouldn’t have to be the same. If you didn’t like me anymore, I just thought maybe you would have ended our friendship and been honest with me. But I thought maybe your dad had something to do with it. I’ve always heard that really tough guys are homophobic…”

“My dad wouldn’t care who I mated with. The real issue was always whether or not I would be able to take care of the others.”

“What others?” Lance asked, suddenly confused.

Orion sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. He looked up at Lance with his dark eyes clear and brooding.

“I guess it’s time I told you a story,” Orion said. “But I don’t think that you’re going to love it.”

Chapter 16

“When I was a little boy,” Orion began, “my father was my idol. I looked up to him more than I looked up to anybody. He represented everything I wanted to be when I grew up. And that was just the way it was meant to be.”

His entire demeanor changed as he told his story, he seemed to fold in on himself, and Lance couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. It wasn’t that he had been angry at Orion after all this time. He had just been so angry at himself. He thought that being too forward had cost him his most precious friendship. And now, hearing the truth after all this time was harder than he’d thought it would be.

“My dad had a secret that he had to keep from most of the people in this town, and it cost him many friendships. Eventually, it also caused him great bitterness and he turned hard and angry toward everybody, even me.”

Lance frowned. He hadn’t considered Orion’s father as a normal person before, especially not someone who wanted to have any kind of relationships with people in the town of Winston. It must have been hard for Orion to see his father turned from someone warm and loving to somebody so bitter.

“Did you understand what was going on with him?” Lance asked.

“I heard how angry he was. How bitter he could be when people misunderstood his intentions. He was a fierce-looking man, with a fierce secret, and that can cause a lot of problems. He really wanted to find a mother for me, but there was nobody willing to mate with him. The women in this town avoided him like the plague and he turned out to be very lonely despite having the gang. They weren’t enough for him. He wasn’t emotionally fulfilled after my mother died.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lance said. “It must have been hard for you as a child that young.”

“It was different,” Orion said with a grim smile. “I didn’t want a different mother. I sort of remember the one I had, and she was perfect enough for me. Every once in a while my father would bring home a woman and it would just turn out to be so strange and awkward. She was never really with him because she liked him. She was just so curious about what his life was like and drawn to whatever kind of darkness she saw in him. One woman we even overheard talking on the phone to a friend about how it was rumored that my father had killed my mother. That was the last time my father ever tried to date.”

“God, that’s messed up.”

“It was hard for him. Nobody could understand him, or his secret. He never felt comfortable telling anybody about it. None of the women he met would have understood the way my mother died.”

Orion still hadn’t come right out and said it yet, so Lance waited patiently for the truth. It had to come from Orion himself, and telling Lance something so incredible and personal would be hard for him. And so Lance remained quiet, silently encouraging Orion to continue the story.

“You probably won’t believe me when I tell you this the first time, maybe not even after I tell you a second. But when I was a kid, I saw some horrifying things. Things that only sound like stories to most of the people who live here.”

“Like what?” Lance dared to ask.

“It started out with a lot of death. People that I knew were always seeming to die. I probably went to twenty funerals before I was five years old. They were always beat up almost beyond recognition. It was disturbing to see it. My father told me that one day I would understand. But I didn’t until his best friend, a man I called my uncle, was killed.”

Orion paused for a moment, his dark eyes filled with pain. Lance put his hand on Orion’s shoulder and he seemed to soften under Lance’s touch. Finally, he began speaking again.

“The night my uncle died, my father was so angry that he woke me up out of bed and told me that I would have to keep a secret, and I was going to have to help him to get revenge. He was going to leave me alone for three weeks, and I would have to act as if he was at home and everything was well. Teachers and friends would have to believe that my father was at home and nothing was strange. But in reality, he was out there, he was going to be fighting.”

“How old were you?” Lance asked.

“It was the week of my sixth birthday; he left before it. He gave me a few one-liners to say to make it sound as if he was still at home so that teachers wouldn’t get suspicious. There was nobody to babysit me either, so he told me I was going to have to take a bath by myself every day and showed me how to prepare some meals so that I wouldn’t go hungry. He promised that he would be home soon, but I didn’t know if that was true. I had seen so many people die that I was terrified. I asked him why he had to do it and finally he showed me.”

The tension between them was so high that they could’ve heard a pin drop. Lance wanted desperately to ask Orion what his father had shown him. But Orion seemed lost in his own world, and Lance worried that if he interrupted his thoughts, the story might end for good. If that happened, he would never know.

“The night he woke me up, he took me outside into the woods. It was the same spot I showed you. The same spot that he abandoned me for my rite of passage ceremony, when I was initiated into the life of a bear shifter. In a way, I already knew what was going to happen. Sometimes when I looked at him, I was able to see the truth. The bear seemed to be within him, even when he wasn’t shifting into it.”

Lance’s heart began to pound rapidly in his chest. He knew exactly what Orion meant. In fact, he had seen the bear within Orion several times before. Not only when he was losing his temper, but also when he had been with Lance in the woods.

“That night, my father shape shifted in front of me and let out the most bloodcurdling roar that I had ever heard. I haven’t heard anything that haunting since then.”

Orion grew quiet and Lance instinctively knew that that was the end of the story. If he hadn’t already suspected it, he might not have believed Orion. He might have though Orion was lying just to score points with him and make it easier to make up for all the time they had lost together.

“Whether you think I’m crazy or not, it doesn’t matter. Because you mean enough to me that I can prove to you that I’m telling the truth. Do you want to see?”

Orion was looking hard at Lance now, and Lance knew that it was his time to prove himself to Orion.

“I do believe you,” Lance said softly. “I’ve always kind of suspected that about you. But if you still want to show me, I would like to see. Not because I don’t believe you, but because I want to know everything I can about you.”

Orion smiled, sincerely and fully, for the first time since they had seen each other. It was a mesmerizing sight, and Lance never wanted it to end.

“Well alright. Follow me,” Orion said, and headed out the door.

Chapter 17

Lance was surprised to see Orion’s motorcycle parked outside the house. Orion walked toward it nonchalantly, obviously expecting Lance to follow. He did, with a nervous flutter in his chest, pausing beside the motorcycle. He had never been on one before, and it made him a little bit uncomfortable just to invite himself onto Orion’s bike.

“Just get on,” Orion said, mounting the bike and rummaging in the trunk area of the motorcycle. He produced a helmet and tossed it toward Lance. “We don’t have much time.”

Lance swallowed hard, and put the helmet on his head. He tentatively climbed on top of the motorcycle and settled down behind Orion, surprised by how intimate it felt to have his body pressed so close into the back of Orion’s. The feeling of Orion’s firm ass vibrating against him when the motor was running instantly sent waves of heat through Lance’s loins, and he had to close his eyes and try to think of the least sexual things possible to try and avoid getting hard. Unfortunately, he failed.

“Hold on,” Orion called behind his shoulder, and soon they were speeding off through the rural roads of Winston. Lance was scared at first, but soon began to really enjoy the feeling of the air flowing over his body. There was nothing between him and the earth around him, and he wondered how it was that he had ever been able to settle for life cooped up inside a car. Orion really knew how to live.

They sped down country roads, and Lance was able to catch Orion’s eye in the side-view mirror of the motorcycle. Orion winked, a sexy smile curling his lips, and Lance found himself overwhelmed by the man’s incredible energy. He wondered if Orion could feel how hard he was sitting behind him on the motorcycle, and surprised himself by reaching around Orion’s waist to check if the feeling was mutual.

Apparently, the move surprised Orion as well, because the motorcycle swerved briefly as Lance clasped his hand around Orion’s groin. Lance felt another surge of arousal as he felt how hard Orion was. Lance began to gently rub Orion’s shaft through the thin fabric of his pants, and he snuck a glance at Orion in the side-view mirror. Orion had his jaw set firmly, and was focusing intently on the road in front of them. He was going to continue driving until they got where they were going safely. But there was no reason why he wouldn’t also be able to enjoy the feeling of Lance’s warm hands against his cock.

A sharp longing overwhelmed Lance, and he couldn’t help but take it a step further. He had wanted Orion for so long, and the more he thought about the time they shared in the woods together, the more aroused he became. He wished they could pull over and replicate the experience, but more than anything, he just wanted to touch Orion and give him a taste of the pleasure that he had shared with Lance.

He could feel Orion tense up when his hand suddenly snuck inside the confines of Orion’s jeans through the zipper opening. Orion was massive, and Lance almost couldn’t fit his whole hand around his shaft. Feeling Orion’s skin, silky and hot in his palm, was almost enough to make Lance cum, but he was able to restrain himself. Instead, he focused all of his energy on pleasing Orion, who was still focused on the road ahead of them. But his cock seemed to have other ideas.

Lance groaned out loud when he felt Orion swell in his hand. The man’s body was so virile and sexy. It was hard for him to restrain himself. If he took Orion’s cock out of the jeans, it would be far too obvious to anybody who might pass by them. He couldn’t risk Orion’s reputation like that, so he had to be slow and steady. But that was almost more fun anyway.

He caught another glance at Orion through the mirror. This time, Orion looked back, his dark eyes flashing with longing. Lance wondered just how long the man would be able to continue multitasking, and made it his own personal mission to find out. If he could make Orion pull over and indulge himself, it would be a huge victory.

Lance stuffed his hand further inside Orion’s pants, gripping the hard head of his cock and giving it a gentle squeeze. A small spurt of hot liquid wetted his hands, and Lance pressed his groin hard against Orion’s back, dragging it sensually toward his firm ass. It sent a wave of heat between them that nearly made Lance lose it, but Orion was gritting his teeth, determined to continue driving. Still Lance could feel Orion’s cock bursting at the seams, every vein pumping with blood and trembling with every movement of Lance’s fingers. If he wasn’t going to give in yet, he would soon.

Lance closed his eyes and rested his head against Orion’s broad back, focusing fully on every curve and texture of Orion’s cock as he slowly stroked it. He couldn’t believe just how much this man’s body could get to him. He’d woken up with the most massive hard-on of his life that morning, just from half-dreaming, half-remembering their encounter in the woods. And now they were heading back, and Lance couldn’t hold himself back. He wanted Orion, and he was determined to get what he wanted.

Suddenly, a deep growl seemed to reverberate from deep within Orion, and the motorcycle swerved off the road and headed down a dirt path through the forest. They rode through the trees for about ten minutes, heading deep into the woods before Orion finally turned the bike off and hopped off, dragging Lance off the bike by his shirt collar.

At first, Lance was scared by the aggression, but when Orion planted his lips firmly on his, Lance moaned in pleasure. Orion worked hurriedly to strip him, roaming his rough hands up and down Lance’s soft, firm torso. He wasted no time in shoving his pants off, leaving his swollen cock erect in the air. He grabbed it and then shoved Lance forward, until he was bent over on all fours on the ground, his knees digging into the dirt of the forest floor.

Then, Orion was inside of him. It was a little bit painful, but the pleasure overrode it, and Lance gasped as desire overwhelmed him. They grunted as Orion unleashed his full power on Lance, plunging inside of him again and again as Lance’s tight body gripped his cock and begged it to stay inside. Every movement Orion made brought Lance closer to the brink of ecstasy.

The power of Orion’s body seemed to be limitless, and both of them were able to fully indulge their longing. Lance stayed bowed down, enjoying the feeling of Orion using his body as a way to pleasure himself. He seemed to know instinctively just how to pleasure Lance, and his cock would sometimes slow down and remain still inside of him, pulsing as Lance became overwhelmed by ecstasy.

Orion’s hand gripped Lance’s cock tightly, and he somehow managed to continue to pleasure Lance as he pleasured himself, keeping a firm but gentle pressure on him and sending electric thrills up through Lance’s shaft and into his abdomen, where a powerful orgasm was brewing. He wouldn’t let himself give in though, not until Orion had taken his fill.

It seemed like Orion had the stamina to go on forever, keeping them both suspended in an unbelievable state of rapture as again and again, his powerful body thrust into Lance, sending waves of bliss through them. It was the single most intense sexual experience Lance had ever had in his life, and Orion didn’t even seem close to finishing.

Lance gritted his teeth as he did his best to keep from giving in to the mounting ecstasy, but Orion leaned down and whispered into his ear.

“Cum.”

Lance cried out as his body finally gave in. It wasn’t until he filled Orion’s hand with the milky pleasure of his climax that Orion finally unleashed his own explosive orgasm. Lance’s body was suddenly filled with a torrent of hot, liquid pleasure, and they came simultaneously. There was something different about this, something that made him feel utterly complete and at peace.

Orion continued to thrust using his powerful abdominal muscles until he had emptied every last drop of his climax into Lance, and then he carefully pulled away and gripped Lance by the hand, pulling him up onto his feet.

“Come,” he said, tugging Lance by the hand and pulling him a little further into the woods. It was a beautiful day, and the sky was a crisp blue, not a cloud in sight. Lance grinned and followed, leaving all of their clothes behind as Orion pulled him deeper into the forest.

Chapter 18

Lance paused when Orion stopped suddenly, turning toward him with an intense look in his dark eyes.

“I came out here to show you something, something that I have never shown anybody else before except for the people in my clan. I hope that you are able to accept me fully, because I want to keep you in my life. I don’t want to be like my father, who gave up on people entirely and became a bitter recluse. I’m not going to spawn a child that I can’t take care of because I forgot how to love. So please, for better or for worse, accept me as I am.”

Before Lance had a chance to answer, Orion unleashed an earth shattering roar and, as he held Lance’s gaze, he began to change.

Lance’s mouth fell open as Orion began to grow. His body, already humongous and powerful, began to sprout dark tufts of black, course hair, and his handsome face began to grow broad, and then more narrow toward the snout, until he resembled a gigantic black bear. He stood proudly in front of Lance, his dark eyes glimmering and full of emotion that was difficult for either of them to express, an emotion a lot like love. Suddenly, Orion started, and moved toward Lance. It took a lot of willpower for Lance not to flinch away. He had never been so close to such a large animal before. But he managed to stay calm, and allow Orion to investigate.

He sniffed Lance, and then moved his cool wet muzzle down to Lance’s abdomen. An unmistakable look of surprise crossed the bear’s face, and his dark eyes widened when he looked back into Lance’s eyes. Lance looked down at his abdomen, wondering what in the world the bear might be thinking, and was shocked to realize that his stomach was swollen and purple. Instead of being afraid however, Lance looked into Orion’s eyes and they shared a moment of quiet understanding. Lance was Orion’s mate now. And for better or for worse, mating with the leader of a bear clan meant that there would be children involved. Lance was going to be a parent.

“What have we here?” An unpleasant and familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind Lance. Orion gritted his teeth and started to growl, squinting his eyes. At the approaching figure. Lance turned around, suddenly realizing that he was still naked, and sighed in frustration when the man who had been taunting him from the hood of his car approached.

“I’m not sure I like the look of this, do you boys?”

A chorus of negative responses came as a group of about five other bear shifters appeared out of nowhere. “Nope.” “Not at all.” “Not one bit.”

“In fact, this looks like something really terrible. What would your father say? Mating with someone who isn’t even within the clan?”

Suddenly, the men started shifting into bears until Lance was completely surrounded by vicious-looking animals. One of them lunged at Lance, ready to tear him apart with his sharp teeth, but Orion jumped in front of him protectively. He let out a warning growl, obviously daring anybody to come toward Lance again.

Most of the smaller bears backed off, but the biggest bear, the one that Lance had begun hating the most, refused to submit. He walked toward Orion, his teeth bared, and struck at him violently. Lance scrambled away to safety behind a nearby tree. He wished that he had brought some kind of a weapon, but he had nothing. There was no way that he would be able to help Orion fight off these angry bears. He couldn’t even figure out why they were acting so abysmally toward their leader. All he could figure was that they didn’t like him hanging around with someone like Lance. But it seemed to go beyond homophobia. There was something else on their minds.

The fight had already gotten bloody, and part of Orion’s beautiful mane was matted down and shining with the dark liquid. Lance was looking around the ground for a stick to smack the other bear with, when suddenly Orion gained the upper hand. He growled mightily and slammed the man to the ground with a powerful blow. He stood over him, growling viciously, his teeth just centimeters away from the other man’s neck. If he’d wanted to kill him then, he obviously could, but instead Orion appeared to be waiting for him to submit so that it wouldn’t have to come to that.

It seemed as if he was going to refuse, but just in the nick of time, he shifted from his bear form and back into his human form, looking at Orion with irritation and defeat.

“Have it your way,” he growled, scrambling away from the huge black bear and standing with the rest of the men he had brought.

They all walked away, leaving Orion standing in his bear form, heaving in irritation as the adrenaline coursed through him. Lance had never seen Orion fight so viciously before. He knew that he was capable of it, and he had seen a few fistfights, but never anything like this. He’d forgotten how impressive it could be to be near someone so powerful.

Orion finally began to shrink, the fur disappearing from his skin until he was in his human form again. Lance ran toward him as he fell to his knees, gripping a gaping wound on his shoulder.

“Are you all right?” Lance asked, his eyes wide.

“Of course,” Orion said, grinning up at him. “But I think what we need to worry most about right now is getting you inside somewhere.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because you’re pregnant.”

Chapter 19

The motorcycle ride back to his mother’s house was quiet. Both of them were exhausted from the fight with the other gang members, and Lance was deep in thought. He had always suspected that the myths about the bear shifters were true, and if they were true, it meant that the mate of the leader was meant to have the children that carried on the next generation of bear shifters. He had never imagined that he would be able to have children of his own, especially not a child growing right inside his body. He couldn’t help but wonder how his mother would feel about it. Did she know that the bear shifters were more than just a myth? Or that men could get pregnant?

When they arrived back at the house, he was relieved to find that his mother wasn’t home yet. Apparently things were going pretty well with Dr. Daniel. It gave him enough time to head up to the bathroom that he and Orion had just fixed up so that he could tend to Orion’s wounds.

“That’s not necessary,” Orion said, gritting his teeth as Lance began to clean the wound.

“Too bad,” Lance replied, digging through the drawer for medical gauze and wrapping up Orion’s shoulder.

When he was finished, Orion stood from the rim of the bathtub and led Lance to his bedroom. “You need to sit down, you’re with child now.”

Lance pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to hearing Orion say things like that.

“Take off your shirt, we should check the baby and make sure that everything is going alright. It’s not really good for the mothers to endure such stressful situations, especially right after conception.”

Lance obeyed, and was surprised to find that his abdomen had grown even since the encounter in the woods. The discoloration on his belly was growing darker, and Orion studied it seriously.

“You’re going to have to lie low for a while,” Orion said finally. “It looks like the baby is going to be fine, but if you end up having to deal with those guys again there could be problems.”

“What’s the deal anyway?” Lance asked. “I didn’t do anything to them. They’ve been after me from day one. Why?”

Orion sighed, running a hand over his face, and sat down on the bed next to Lance. “Well at first they were just doing their duty to protect the town. It’s hard to tell who’s a friend and who’s a foe here. There are a lot of rival gangs, and some of this territory used to belong to different groups. Unfortunately, the area of Winston was still unsettled by the time the humans began to start building. There have been debates between the bear shifter groups for centuries about who owns this land, and right now, it’s us.

“My gang is here to protect the humans that live here so that none of the other rival bear shifter gangs will hurt them. My father took it really seriously, because his mother was a human. My mother was a human too. But when a bear shifter mates, you become part of the pack. You might not necessarily be able to shift, but certain changes might occur. That’s especially true once you are with child.”

Lance nodded slowly, trying to process it all. “Okay, that makes sense. But I still don’t understand why they would mess with me after seeing me with you today. What’s going on with that?”

“They must have sensed me in the area, and seen me with you. They were always jealous of each other, thinking that whoever I chose was going to become the alpha of the pack. They wanted to be the alphas. So they served me loyally. But they must have been able to sense it when you became pregnant. That means that none of them have a chance anymore, so now you’re in danger, because a lot of them are ruthless and they would do whatever it took to get the power that I have given you.”

Lance was surprised. All he had wanted to do was to love Orion. He had no idea what that fully meant though. What with all this being pregnant and in danger from a bunch of bikers who could turn into bears. But did he regret it? Would he have still done what he did if he had known that he would be in so much danger? All he’d really wanted to do was to take care of his mother. Raising a family had been the bottom of his list. But now it looked as if that was his destiny. He wasn’t sure if he was okay with that.

“I know that you’re probably going to have a hard time with this,” Orion said, putting a hand on his arm. “And if you need help to tell your mother about what’s going on, I’ll be here for you. But I really think that it’s best for you to stay out of sight. I’ll protect the house, but if you leave, you’re going to find yourself in danger.” He squeezed Lance’s arm, hard. “Never leave this house without me. Not until the baby is born. Only then will you be safe. That is when it will be official, that you are my alpha. None of them would dare to mess with you after that. But until then, it’s all fair game. They will do whatever they feel like they have to do in order to get the power of the alpha.”

Lance’s stomach dropped. He had never been in danger like this before. How was he supposed to take care of his mother if he couldn’t even leave the house?

“Try not to worry, okay? I’m going to take care of it.”

Orion’s words were soothing. They were exactly what he needed to hear.

Suddenly, Lance heard a car pull into the driveway and Dr. Daniel’s deep, jovial voice speaking kindly to his mother as he dropped her off.

“Well,” Lance said, “I guess we’re going to have to come clean.”

Orion grinned, and offered his hand to help Lance off the bed. Even though there was danger, they would deal with it together.

Chapter 20

“You mean I’m going to be a grandmother?!”

Lance was taken aback by his mother’s excited response. It was the last thing he had expected to hear from her. When he had told her that he was gay, she hadn’t responded particularly well. But this time, she couldn’t be more excited.

“Orion, I’ve heard things about your family for quite some time, and I just want you to know that I’ve never once looked down on you all for being different. In fact, your mother was a close friend of mine.”

Lance was shocked, but when he looked at Orion, it didn’t seem as if he was surprised at all by the news.

“She told me everything,” Lance’s mother continued, “and for a long time I really wanted to try to do something about your situation. I know your father was devastated by her passing. But don’t worry, son. You have always had a family with us and you always will.”

Lance was dumbfounded as his mother rose unsteadily from her chair and moved forward to embrace Orion. Then, she moved to Lance and hugged him tightly too.

“Why don’t you guys let me cook dinner tonight?” Orion said. “I feel really badly for putting you in danger. And besides, I don’t want to leave Lance alone in his condition.”

“You’ve always been such a sweet boy,” Lance’s mother said, touching his cheek. Orion smiled gently at her, but turned away, obviously uncomfortable with the blatant show of emotion.

“I’m just going to get started, it seems like you to probably have quite a bit to talk about.”

Lance was about to protest and offer his services in the kitchen when Orion turned to him and raised his eyebrow.

“I’m serious Lance, take a load off and sit down. We can’t have anything happening to the baby.”

“Orion is right honey.” His mother nodded gravely. “Bear shifter children grow a lot more rapidly than normal children. In fact, you can probably expect to be due within two weeks rather than nine months. We’re going to have to set up a nursery for the baby, but until then, you’re going to have to stay off your feet. They have very delicate constitutions, especially when they’re mixed with human blood. Orion’s mother had to stay in bed all two weeks. I know you’re not going to like it, but it’s important.”

Lance was shocked by just how knowledgeable his mother was about the bear shifters. She had never told him anything about it. Perhaps she had been sworn to secrecy by Orion’s mother.

“I never knew that about Orion’s mom,” Lance said, sitting down reluctantly. Orion, satisfied to see him off his feet, disappeared into the kitchen.

“I’m sure there are a lot of things neither one of us know about each other. I’m afraid that communication hasn’t always been my strongest suit. And I’m very sorry about that. Maybe we can start fresh. Right now. I know that it’s a little late in life, but it’s better now than never don’t you think?” She offered him a hopeful smile.

“Yeah Mom, I think that’s true. Thank you for being there for me. And Orion. This is kind of an overwhelming experience.”

“When you told me you were gay, I was worried that you would end up with a man who didn’t care about you. I haven’t had a great track record in that department after your father passed, and maybe I let my own personal biases get to me. A lot of the time, anger comes from fear. And let me tell you, I have always been very afraid for you. I want only was best for you and I’m sorry I didn’t always know how to show it.”

Lance was touched. He had never expected to hear anything like that from his mother before. But now that she had said it, and he was expecting a child, it seemed more natural than anything else might have. He was so grateful for her understanding.

A sudden pounding at the door startled Lance and his mother. Before Orion had a chance to come out to investigate, three men broke the door down and were standing in front of Lance.

“Time to die,” one of them sneered.

Lance was frozen in fear, even as his mother shouted at them to get out of her house and to leave her family alone. The man lunged toward Lance, and before he knew what was happening, he felt a surge of power rush from his abdomen to his fists, and sliced the man’s face with his hand. He gaped down at it, and saw that he had somehow shifted his hand into a bear paw.

The men were stunned, as their leader lifted himself from the ground, clutching his bleeding face and staring at Lance in disbelief.

“What the hell?” he murmured.

Suddenly, Orion was in the doorway of the kitchen, laughing. “That’s my boy,” he said, winking at Lance. Lance blushed, and soon, Orion was beating down the men that had entered the home while Lance helped his mother to her feet and ran with her to the back bedroom, locking them in while Orion finished off the intruders.

After about five minutes, the sounds of the fight grew silent, and they heard footsteps approaching. Lance stood in front of his mother, his bear claws out and ready to fight. His entire being was flooded with relief when he saw Orion open the door and smile at him.

“Nice job,” he said, hugging Lance. “Is everybody okay?”

“We’re going to be fine,” Lance’s mother said, getting to her feet and hugging both boys close to her. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Epilogue

“Open your eyes,” Orion finally said, releasing Lance’s hand. They had been walking through the woods for a while, and Lance was getting tired. The baby was due any moment now, and it was the most exercise he had gotten in two weeks, as his mother had tended to him during his pregnancy.

“Oh my god, Orion! What is this?”

Lance was shocked by the beauty of the cabin that stood before him, and Orion beamed proudly.

“Surprise.”

Lance was overwhelmed with emotion and tears sprang to his eyes. “I had no idea… So this is what you’ve been working on for the past two weeks!”

Orion grinned. “It’s for us. For our family.”

Lance’s heart swelled with pride and he embraced Orion. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and when they finally broke apart, Orion led Lance inside.

“Your mother thought it would be a good idea for us to have a place of our own. She knows we’ll be there to take care of her too, but since she’s gotten better and even been going on dates with Dr. Daniel, things have been looking up for her.”

“Yeah,” Lance breathed, fingering the intricate carvings that Orion had done throughout the walls of the cabin. “This is so gorgeous!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

A sudden pang in the abdomen made Lance buckle over and Orion’s eyes widened.

“Are you okay? Shit, I knew I shouldn’t have made you walk so far!”

“No,” Lance said, laughing through the tears streaming down his face. “The baby is coming.”

“Oh!” Orion’s eyes widened and he burst into a flurry of activity. He led Lance immediately to the bedroom and stripped him down, retrieving hot water and towels.

“Are you okay?” Orion asked, fear in his dark eyes.

“It will be over before we know it,” Lance said, strained with pain.

And it was.

 

After a few painful contractions, Orion was holding a beautiful baby boy in his arms. He was the tiniest baby Lance had ever seen, and soon Orion was in bed beside them, holding them both with tears of joy streaming down his rugged face.

The next few weeks were the happiest Lance had ever experienced. Orion was the perfect father, and soon brought Lance’s mother to the cabin for a visit with her new grandchild.

Lance was overwhelmed. He had spent the past ten years feeling more lonely than he had ever felt in his life. He felt like he had no family to speak of, and really struggled with the idea of having love of any kind in his life.

But now, after being back in Winston for less than two months, he was living the complete opposite. Not only was his mother more accepting and loving than she had ever been before, but he had found Orion and they had settled their differences. He was left with the most rugged and masculine of protectors, and the most tender and powerful of lovers.

Most surprising of all, he had grown life inside of his own body and brought it into the world, creating a bond unlike anything he had ever known before. He had never been more satisfied and happy in his life.

“A toast,” Lance exclaimed over dinner with his mother and lover. “To family.”

“To family,” they all agreed, raising their glasses in the air. The baby was sleeping in a bassinette beside the table and wouldn’t be due for another feeding for at least an hour.

Orion caught his eye from across the table and they shared a secret grin. As usual, he seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

“Everything is perfect,” he said softly. And it was.