A Family with His Werewolf Mate (5 page)

With his werewolf strength, Dean easily supported his mate,
and the new angle that might have been awkward otherwise provided them with an
even deeper, more satisfying penetration. Dean thrust up into Will, while his
mate moved down, assisted by gravity on top of his need for Dean. The human
held onto Dean's shoulders, shaking as Dean fucked him harder and harder. All
the while, Will's cock rubbed between their naked abdomens. This time, when
Will started to tremble, it wasn't because of nervousness, but due to his impending
climax. Dean wanted nothing more than to bite Will, despite his previous
resolve. The pleasure building up inside him threatened to sabotage his
scruples. He might have broken his self-made promise had Will not unexpectedly
bitten him instead.

Will probably had no idea of the implications of his actions,
or if he did, he hadn't actually thought about them. Dean automatically did.
For him, the bite translated into his mate claiming him, and while that wasn't
exactly the case, it still had the same effect on him. Burying himself one last
time inside Will, he came harder than he ever had in his life. Will didn't
delay in following him over the edge. His ass tightened around Dean's cock even
as his own dick spurted jets of white creamy spunk on Dean's abdomen.

If Dean had ever had a doubt that Will was his mate, it would
have disappeared in that moment. Even as Dean rode the waves of his orgasm, he
felt the head of his cock swell as his body decided it didn't want to separate
from Will. The knotting only happened between true mates, usually to encourage
procreation, and while that wouldn't happen between him and Will, Dean still
loved it.

Since Dean's knees were threatening to give out because of
the overwhelming pleasure, he set his mate down on the ground and leaned over
him, carefully since he couldn't dislodge his cock from Will's body. Will clung
to him as he trembled through the aftershocks of his orgasm. At first, he
didn't even seem to realize they were knotted together, but a few moments
later, he whimpered a lost little, "What?"

Dean brushed a breathless kiss over his mate's lips.
"It's a werewolf thing. Knotting."

Will gave him a look, then actually burst into laughter.
"You're kidding. Knotting? How is this my life? How are you even
real?"

Dean should have been offended—or would have, had it been
anyone other than Will saying that. But Will didn't mean the words in a
derisive way. If anything, there was real awe hiding behind those questions.
After Will's original reaction to Dean's revelations, it came as a huge relief
that Will had accepted him so openly.

Dean was so content that even when he finally slid out of his
mate, he couldn't quite let go of him. Their current position wasn't ideal, so
he gathered Will in his arms to keep his mate from having to lie down on the
cold ground.

"To tell you the truth, this wasn't my idea of our first
time," he confessed.

Will grinned at him. "It was perfect. Just... What are
you going to do about your clothes?"

He was right. Unlike Will, Dean hadn't fully disrobed, which
meant his clothing had received some nasty stains of Vaseline and spunk. Oh
well. He'd just have to return home in his shifted form.

"We can use my shirt to clean you up a bit. Don't worry
about me."

They had a little time since no one had come looking for Will
yet, so Dean decided to explain his plan. "I've been thinking... Remember
when I told you to run away with me? Well, there's a place we could go. In
Canada, there are communities that are more open to mixed bondings, even same
sex. I heard people talking about it in the pack. Other species—like
Sidhe—aren't so closed-minded about it. I think they would help, and I have
money set aside to get us there." He had it all worked out in his head.
There was only one issue. "But... If we do leave, if you choose this...
You might never see your family again."

It would be far too risky for them to return here anytime
soon. Not to mention that if Dean claimed Will as his own, Will's life
expectancy would surpass that of any of his human friends or family. He'd have
to watch them all die.

"You think I shouldn't go with you?" Will asked
with a frown.

"I just want you to be aware of everything before you
make a choice you can't take back." Dean tightened his hold on Will just
at the thought that his mate might decide to stay after all. "Right now,
my instincts scream at me to claim you. I could have done it—I could have
bitten you just now, and then you'd have been bound to me forever."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because it has to be your call," Dean replied.
"There's still so much we haven't spoken about. We've had so little time
together. I'm not sure it's fair of me to ask you to leave everything you've
known behind, just for me."

For the longest time, Will didn't reply. "I won't
lie," he whispered finally. "It is scary. It hurts to think that I'd
have to leave them. But, Dean, I can never be who I really am as long as I
cling to the past. I love them, yes, but... I want to be with you. Is that
crazy?"

It probably seemed that way, especially for Will who was a
human, but Dean knew exactly what Will meant, and he was over the moon that his
mate felt the same way about him. "Maybe it is," he replied,
"but we can be crazy together."

It must have been the right thing to say, because the smile
Will offered him was so bright it lit up the entire tent. Dean would have loved
to just lie there with his mate and enjoy it, but sadly, their stolen time was
running out. He sensed the approach of some people and he forced himself to
release Will.

"Okay, we gotta get ready to go," he told his mate.
"Quickly, let's clean up."

He helped Will wipe down and pull on his clothes as quickly
and efficiently as possible. His hands probably lingered a bit on Will's skin,
but he forced himself to move away. Finally, he removed his own clothing and
readied himself for the shift. "Wait!" Will told him. "What do
we do with the wolf?"

The plush toy. Right. Will couldn't take it with him, since
his brothers would ask questions, and they definitely couldn't leave it here
because someone would just walk off with it. Dean thought a bit, then finally
said, "I'll take it. It's dark enough outside that no one should see me,
even with the wolf."

That was how Dean ended up carrying a large plush toy by the
scruff as he sneaked through the shadows in shifted form. He watched Will meet
with his brothers, and experienced a pang of yearning with every step he took
away from Will. He only managed to turn away because of his new plan, and
Will's agreement to it. Soon, he wouldn't have to hide. Soon, they would be together
forever.

Chapter Four

Over the next couple of days, Dean completed the preparations
for their departure. He packed supplies—food, clothes, maps, money—and left
everything at the cabin. He ironed out every detail of what needed to be done.
He and Will even agreed on the day they would leave—the night before the ending
of the Gathering, when the rest of the werewolves would be distracted by the
unavoidable celebration and would not notice his absence. The preparations cut
into the time he could spend with his mate, and while they made love two more
times, it was rushed and frantic, the two of them taking advantage of the few
stolen moments they had at their disposal. Dean had been more than tempted to
claim Will, but in the end, he'd decided to do so once they started a life of
their own.

It was with a hammering heart that Dean went to the
celebration. He wanted to leave this all behind already, to stop being forced
to pretend, but he had to play this game up to the very last point so that his
father wouldn't realize the truth. That would be disastrous, since with the
power of the pack—and perhaps, the Gathering—behind him, he could make things
very difficult for Dean.

As such, Dean pretended. He put up the front of the perfect
born Alpha, ready to take over for his father once the man decided it was time
to step down. He listened to the proposed policy changes and provided his own
input, careful not to sound either too controversial or too approving.

It all seemed to go well—until the mingling started. It was
an unofficial tradition. After all was said and done, young unmated wolves
would wander around in search of a mate. Naturally, Dean had no interest in it,
beyond the fact that he knew it would also mark the beginning of a wild party.
Sometimes, even mated shifters were drawn in, and Dean knew of instances his
father had been among the shifters in question. In fact, he was relying on it.

It didn't happen this time around. Dean had been on the right
side of the meeting grove, deep in conversation with a young Alpha from Saigon
who was expressing his concern over the effects of the current political
climate for his pack. He'd been trying to convince the aggravated man that he
empathized with his plight when his father manifested by his side and grabbed his
elbow.

He nodded in acquiescence of the other Alpha, then said,
"Come on, Dean. I want you to meet someone."

Dean said his goodbyes and obediently followed his father. He
couldn't say he was awfully surprised the man wanted to play matchmaker, but he
had hopes it wouldn't last.

His father led him away from the crowd to the very edge of
the grove, where a group of werewolves were waiting, surrounding a dark-haired
female. Elder Terrence was with them, and when the old wolf's gaze zeroed in on
him, Dean realized he was really in trouble. He froze in his tracks, unable to
keep going.

From his place still at the female werewolf's side, Terrence
smirked. His father didn't seem surprised by this development. "Keep
walking, son, and don't make a scene. You have to meet your future mate."

 
Dean tried to find refuge in the
discipline that usually helped him rein in his wolf, but suddenly, he felt
trapped. He wanted to back out and flee, but something kept him rooted in his
place. "Father?"

The word snapped something in the older werewolf. The man
pivoted on his heel and faced Dean with blazing, angry eyes. "You will do
as you are told, Dean. You will go to that woman and claim her. Tonight."

Dean couldn't help but take a step back. "Tonight? You
can't be serious. I don't even know her."

"Her name is Maria, and she'll make a good Alpha bitch.
That's the only thing that matters. You'll have plenty of time to know her.
After all, you'll spend the rest of your life with her."

His fingernails turned into claws as he grabbed Dean's arm.
"Did you truly think I didn't know about the human, Dean? Did you think I
couldn't smell him on you? I will cure you of this abomination, if it's the
last thing I do."

He spoke softly, his words so low they would have been
inaudible even for the other werewolves in the area. Dean still heard him
clearly, though, and he felt faint. He'd thought he'd been so clever, so
careful, but apparently, he'd been oh-so-wrong. It was useless to lie, useless
to deny it, and the wolf inside Dean refused to do so, to refrain from
admitting what Will meant to him. "You have no right," he snapped at
his father. "I can take whatever mate I want. You can't—"

He didn't get to finish the phrase. Despite the fact that
they were still within clear view of the rest of the Alphas, Dean's father
raked clawed fingers over his cheek. The burning pain wasn't in itself
unbearable, but Dean was so surprised he instinctively reeled away.

"Listen closely," his father told him. "If you
even think to disobey me in this, you won't be the one to pay the price. I have
silencers waiting for my word to take out your human and his entire family. You
will obey me, Dean, one way or another. You decide if the human's life is a
price you're willing to pay for your stubbornness."

Dean's stomach roiled. He knew better than to think his
father was bluffing. The man never bluffed. It was his firm belief that a
werewolf Alpha should never make threats he wasn't fully capable of following
through. Besides, it would have been easy for him to enlist the assistance of a
group of silencers and instruct them to watch Will. With the Gathering still in
progress, representatives of the Guilds also visited, and they would not shy
away from doing the dirty work of a disgruntled Alpha.

Dean was, plainly put, stuck. "Father," he
whispered, "don't do this. You have no idea... You have no idea what he
means to me."

And that was true, because his father had never found his
true mate. Dean's mother had been chosen because the Alpha had needed pups, and
if their relationship held any affection, Dean wasn't privy to it.

For that reason, he didn't have much hope his father would be
swayed by the plea, and he was proven correct. The older werewolf just grabbed
his arm and forcibly dragged him toward the waiting group. "This is your
last chance, Dean. I could have killed your human before he even... perverted
you with his disgusting ways. I didn't, in the hope that you'd do the right
thing after you got him out of your system. You
will
do the right thing,
won't you? I believe William Mulligan would want you to."

It was the way his father spoke Will's name that finally
sealed the deal. Dean had no choice. Every fiber in his being rebelled against
going through with the older werewolf's plan, but even if he tried to break free
from here, he'd never get to his mate before the silencers did. And if by some
miracle, he managed to save Will, Will's family would not be so lucky. Dean
couldn't be in two places at the same time. Not to mention that the silencers
would be waiting for him, with weapons that could easily incapacitate him.

There was no other way. He'd made a serious mistake. He
should have left days ago instead of waiting. He'd thought he was doing the
right thing by giving Will time to say his goodbyes, but he'd underestimated
his father, and now, he was paying the price.

Dean straightened his back and braced himself for the
unavoidable. "Very well, Father. I will obey. But one day, you will regret
this."

If the older werewolf registered or cared about the threat,
he didn't show it. Instead, he led Dean the rest of the way to the waiting
werewolf female who seemed about as enthusiastic as Dean felt. That night, when
Dean claimed the woman who would be the mother of his pups, he could only thank
the moon he'd never gotten the chance to bind him and Will together. That way,
Will might, at least, forget about him. He might still love one day. He might
leave behind the memory of the werewolf who'd fallen for him so desperately and
had failed him so abysmally. On his part, Dean would never forget, and his
recollections would have to be enough to carry him through the years to come.

****

Will wouldn't lie to himself. He'd been anxious ever since
he'd agreed to leave with Dean. Still, he knew it was the right thing to do,
and that Dean would make him happy. As such, the night they'd agreed upon as
their departure date, he traveled to the cabin.

He half-expected the werewolf to already be there, but he
wasn't. It didn't unsettle him too much. Dean had taken care of everything.
They had maps and money inside, safely tucked away. But perhaps something else
had come up that had delayed him. So Will waited... and waited... and waited.
The more time passed, the less certain he felt of what he'd deemed so sure. He
took refuge behind closed doors, the shadows of the forest suddenly seeming
threatening.

He told himself it was only a slight delay, and sat down on
the loveseat, doing his best not to think about everything that could have gone
wrong and instead focusing on the memory of Dean's voice and his touch. It
calmed him, almost ridiculously so. Dean had promised him they'd be together.
It was silly to worry.

He must have dozed off at one point, because when he stirred
again, the room was suspiciously bright. Will shot to his feet, several things
passing through his mind at the same time. He'd slept the whole night away
which meant that he could be in big trouble if his parents discovered his
absence. And maybe that would have scared him, but most importantly, his waking
up at this hour clearly pointed out Dean had never arrived.

Will very carefully didn't panic. Instead, he left the cabin
and headed back to his family's house. It was very early still, and he was
lucky in that no one had woken up yet. He cut it pretty close, because no sooner
had he stepped inside the courtyard than his brother emerged from the house.

"You're up early," Karl commented idly.

Will shrugged, affecting a nonchalance he didn't feel.
"Couldn't sleep so I figured I'd start on the chores."

If Karl found that odd, he didn't address it. Maybe he should
have, or would have, had Will been any of their other brothers. But he wasn't.
For Karl, Will remained the baby brother, the one who'd never dare to sneak out
and do something even the slightest bit unusual and improper. So Karl believed
him—and for some reason, Will resented him for it.

He resented everyone that day—resented his father for his
loud laughter and his mother for her gossiping, for the way she whispered about
'That Boy' who had been seen with a colored girl. He resented Karl for
enthusing over his fiancée and Louis and George for their leering and
encouragement. Most of all, he resented himself. He wanted to go find Dean so
badly, but he was afraid, and he didn't know how he'd be able to explain
something like that.

He hoped Dean would meet him that night, but Dean never did.
Dean's absence made Will's decision for him, and the next day, Will found his
chance when Karl went to town to buy supplies. There was a moment, though, a
moment when he wished he never would have gone.

The woman at the bed and breakfast where Dean had been
staying—an old lady Will had only ever known as Mrs. Fisher—smiled at him when
Will asked about Dean. There was no judgment in her rheumy eyes, and she seemed
to believe Will's explanation about Dean being a friend he'd met at the
carnival—believable, since it was, in a way, true. "I'm sorry," she
told him, "but he left yesterday at noon with his wife."

The latter word echoed in Will's mind, like every thought
flew out of his brain and only that concept remained, assaulting his synapses,
cutting off his breathing. He gripped the counter to keep himself from swaying
and dumbly repeated, "Wife?"

"Yes." Mrs. Fisher smiled. "Lovely young
woman, she was. And they were so in love. Don't you think love is
beautiful?"

Actually, right about then, Will thought any sort of emotion
sucked. And if he heard the word 'love' again, he'd probably scream. Since Mrs.
Fisher seemed to be particularly fond of it today, Will quickly thanked her and
stumbled out of the bed and breakfast.

A wife. God, Will felt so stupid. He'd fallen for Dean and
believed everything Dean had told him, and it had obviously been a lie. All
this time, Will had meant nothing to Dean. He'd probably been just a bit of fun
on the side, a filthy little faggot with whom Dean had scratched an itch.

He might have fallen to his knees right then and there had
Karl not walked up to him, carrying a couple of bags. This time, he did notice
something wasn't right. "Hey, are you okay?"

Will forced a smile. He wasn't. He might never be okay again.
But he could never tell Karl that. He could never reveal the fact that his
heart had shattered into a million pieces at one word from an old woman.
"I'm fine," he told his brother instead. "Come on. Let's go
home."

****

Will had hoped that, with time, he'd be able to forget about
Dean. He'd hoped that as the days passed, the memory of Dean's smile would
fade, or at least grow less painful. It never did.

If anything, Dean's absence became harder and harder to
withstand. Will almost felt like he was missing a limb, and he knew it was a
poor comparison, but he simply couldn't think of anything better. In fact, he
couldn't focus on anything at all. When he tried to read, his mind flew to the
image of stormy gray eyes. When he attempted to do his chores, he dropped the
tools and stumbled, almost expecting Dean to catch him. It would have been
laughable had it not been so sad.

His family grew concerned, but neither them, nor the doctor
could figure out what was wrong with him. His mother was happy, though, when,
after a few days of not being able to stomach much of anything, Will started to
eat everything he could get his hands on.

All things considered, when Will first noticed the lump in
his belly, he rolled his eyes at himself. Seriously, he needed to lay off on
the snacks between meals. All the meat he'd been eating was starting to show.