An Alpha's Pride [tribal bonds 2] (8 page)

Daniel let out an anguished howl worthy of any wolf shifter when Carlton’s eyes slid closed and his body slumped against the floor. If it wasn’t for his superior hearing, he would have thought Carlton had died. But he could still hear the man’s heartbeat, even though it was sluggish.
“Electus?” one of Carlton’s wolf shifters asked.
“Someone needs to call Naheem from Electus Ucathya’s tribe and

tell him that my anamchara has been shot with silver,” Daniel said as he pulled his shirt off over his head and pushed it against the wound in Carlton’s chest. “He’s a shaman. He can help.”

“We need to get the bullet out, Electus.”
“I know.” Daniel squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. He took a deep breath then opened them again. “I need a bowl of water and a bunch of clean towels. And I need someone that isn’t afraid of a little blood.”
“Electus—”
Daniel kept one hand putting pressure on Carlton’s chest. He grabbed the wolf shifter around the throat with the other one, yanking the man within a breath of his face. “If you cause my anamchara to die from your incompetence, I will kill you slowly. Do you understand me?”
The man coughed, his eyes dominating his face, and nodded rapidly. The clawed hand Daniel had wrapped around his throat made it impossible for the man to speak.
Daniel dismissed the man from his mind the second he let go of him and turned back to Carlton. There was so much blood, and Carlton didn’t seem to be healing as he should have been.
“Why isn’t he healing?”
“Silver bullets, Electus,” someone said. “Wolves don’t heal from silver.”
Daniel refused to accept that. He was not going to lose Carlton just when they seemed to be working everything out. He glanced over his shoulder, searching the room.
“Where the hell is the water and towels I asked for?”
“Right here, Electus,” a man answered as he hurried into the room with a clear glass bowl of water in his hands. A second man hurried in behind him carrying a stack of towels.
“Who here doesn’t get queasy from the sight of blood?” “Uh, Electus? We’re wolf shifters. Blood doesn’t bother us.”
Daniel pinned the man speaking with his eyes. “Even all over your alpha?”
The man swallowed hard then shook his head. “No, sir.”
“Fine, then get your ass over here.” Daniel gestured to the spot right on the other side of Carlton with his head. He grabbed one of the towels and wiped the blood from Carlton’s chest. Just as quickly as he could wipe it away, more blood welled up to replace it. “Damn, he’s bleeding too fast.”
“What do you need me to do, Electus?”
Daniel glanced up. “What is your name?”
“Kerry, sir.”
“Okay, Kerry, you need to keep as much blood out of the way as possible. I’m going to try and dig the bullet out.”
“Silver doesn’t hurt you, Electus?”
“No.”
As Daniel wiped more blood away, he could see the hole in Carlton’s chest. Even though he knew it wasn’t, it looked like a cavern had been created in the middle of Carlton’s chest.
Carlton flicked out a claw and stuck it into the gaping hole as far as he could go. He was thankful that Carlton was passed out cold when he had to wiggle his finger around until he felt the silver bullet with the tip of his fingernail.
Daniel drew in a deep breath and pushed his finger in just far enough to dig the bullet out. Trying to be as careful as he could and not create any more damage, Daniel slowly extracted the bullet from Carlton’s chest. He dropped it on the floor the second it was free.
Kerry wiped the blood away as Daniel had directed. When Daniel looked down again, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the wound start to heal. He reached down and dipped a clean towel in the bowl of water then proceeded to clean Carlton’s chest until nothing remained but a pink, puckered scar.
Once Daniel knew that Carlton was safe, he reached down and picked up the bullet, wrapping it in one of the towels. “I need a trash can.” When one was instantly held out in front of him, Daniel dropped the towel and bullet into the trash. He didn’t want any of the other wolf shifters to be injured by the silver.
“Is he going to be okay now, Electus?”
“I believe so,” Daniel said.
“He’s so pale,” Kerry said. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“He needs some of your blood, Daniel.”
Daniel swung around when he heard a familiar voice behind him. He smiled in gratitude when he saw Luca, Manu, and Naheem Ucathya standing in the doorway with several vampires.
“Your blood will speed up the healing process, Electus Everson,” Naheem said as he hurried past Luca and Manu to kneel down next to Carlton. He started examining the healing bullet wound. “I assume you removed the silver bullet?”
“Yes.” Daniel pointed to the trash can. “It’s in there.”
Naheem grabbed Daniel’s wrist as he looked up at him. “He needs your blood, Electus.”
Daniel didn’t hesitate. He pulled his wrist free and bit into it, ripping the skin away until blood freely flowed from his flesh, and then held his wrist out to Naheem. “Take whatever you need.”
“Hold your wrist over his wound,” Naheem said. “It will help close the wound up and speed up the healing process.”
Daniel held his bleeding wrist over the puckered wound in Carlton’s chest, watching as his blood dripped down over Carlton’s flesh. He couldn’t tell if it was helping, but he trusted Naheem. The man was a shaman, respected in every single tribe no matter what.
Daniel nearly jumped out of his skin when Carlton suddenly inhaled and his eyes popped open. “Carlton?” He made sure he kept his wrist over Carlton’s body as he leaned over him. “How are you feeling, anamchara?”
“Hurt,” Carlton whispered as his eyes darted wildly around.
“I know, angel, but I got the silver out of your chest and you’re healing. The pain should go away soon.”
“Ben?”
Daniel grimaced as he glanced over at what remained of Carlton’s beta. He probably shouldn’t have ripped the guy’s throat out, but his anamchara had been injured. Daniel had been enraged and gone in for the kill, his only thought to protect what was his.
“I’m sorry, anamchara,” Daniel said as he looked back at the alpha. “I had to kill him. He shot you.”
Carlton gave off a choked chuckle. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
“You’re not mad at me then?”
“No. I needed a new beta anyway. Ben just wasn’t working out.”
“I apologize for interrupting this touching scene,” Naheem said, “but the alpha would heal faster if he ingested some of your blood, Electus.”
Daniel grinned down at Carlton. “What do you say, alpha, feel like claiming me again?”
“Always.”
Daniel carefully lifted Carlton up in his arms and then turned his head to the side, barring his throat to the alpha wolf. His heart thundered in his chest when he felt Carlton’s sharp canines sink deeply into his neck.
Daniel cradled Carlton’s head to his throat, allowing his anamchara to take whatever he needed. He knew in that moment he would give Carlton everything—his blood, his submission, his very life. Nothing was off-limits. Everything that he had, everything that he was, it all belonged to an alpha wolf named Carlton Gregory.

Carlton rolled his eyes when he saw Daniel giving him another worried look. He got it that he had almost died and it had freaked Daniel out, but the anxious glances and constant hovering were driving him out of his mind.

“I’m fine, baby.”
“So says the man that almost died yesterday.”
Carlton grinned and pulled Daniel up against him. He leaned

down and rested his forehead against Daniel’s. “Didn’t I prove last night that I’m as healthy as ever?” He grinned when Daniel’s face flushed. He had fucked Daniel until neither of them could move.

“Yes.”
“Then stop worrying about me.”
“That’s never going to happen, Carlton, ever.”
Carlton chuckled. The fierce glint in Daniel’s gray eyes gave him

hope for their future, a future they hadn’t discussed yet. They had been too intent on proving Carlton was hardy and healthy last night to talk about anything.

Carlton couldn’t say he was sorry that he had fucked Daniel into the mattress instead of talking with him because he wasn’t. But he did know they needed to talk. He had questions, a lot of questions.

He grabbed Daniel’s hand and pulled him over to the edge of the bed, sitting down and gesturing to the spot next to him. “We need to talk.”

Daniel’s face instantly paled. His movements were a little stiff as he sat down on the side of the bed, facing Carlton. His hands twisted together in his lap. He looked terrified. Carlton couldn’t stand the uncertain look on his mate’s face. He reached down and grabbed both of Daniel’s hands in his.

Daniel’s eyes darted away. His throat moved as he swallowed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You used to be the scariest mother fucker around. Even being the alpha of my own pack, I knew not to cross you.” Carlton frowned as he looked down to where their hands were clasped together. “But you’ve changed.”
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said quickly. “Do you want me—”
“I want to know why, Daniel.”
“I thought that was what you wanted.”
“I’m glad we’re no longer fighting our mating, Daniel, but I respected the man that you were. And I just want to know what happened, why you’ve changed so much.”
A small cry fell from Daniel’s lips, and he jumped up, walking swiftly over to the window to stare out of it. He stood there silently for several moments then sighed deeply.
“I don’t know what you want, Carlton.”
Carlton stood up and started walking toward Daniel. Before he had gotten even halfway across the room, Daniel turned and went down to his knees before him, dropping his head down to his chest.
“Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
Carlton never imagined in his life that Daniel would willingly be submissive to him. The man didn’t have a submissive bone in his body. So why now? “Daniel, why are you acting this way?”
“I—” Daniel’s head came up just enough for Carlton to see the desperation on his face. “I don’t know—” Daniel reached up and started to unbutton Carlton’s pants.
Carlton’s jaw dropped as pure shock rolled through him as he wrestled away from his mate. He couldn’t deny that he wasn’t aroused by the man’s touch but…“Daniel, sex isn’t going to fix this.”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped and a single tear ran down his cheek. “What do you want me to do then?”
Carlton dropped to his knees in front of Daniel and grabbed his face between his hands, tilting it up so he could look into Daniel’s eyes. “Baby, what happened to that strong, powerful man that chained me to his bed? Where did he go?”
“What?” Daniel whispered.
“What happened to the dominant man that fucked me?”
“But you left when I—” Daniel frowned. His eyes darted around the room. They would come back to settle on Carlton’s face for a moment then quickly look away again. “I don’t understand.”
Carlton could see that Daniel was confused. It was written all over the tense lines in his face and the darkening gray of his eyes. “What don’t you understand, Daniel?”
“When I”—Daniel swallowed hard—“when I tried to dominate you, you left me. You only took me back when I submitted to you.”
“That’s what you think happened?”
“Isn’t it?”
“I took you back because you’re my mate, Daniel, not for any other reason.” Carlton licked his lips as he tried to think of how to explain to Daniel the need he had for the man. “I thought I had lost you. When you showed up on my doorstep, I—you needed me, and I thought if I could give you my blood that maybe you’d stay, maybe you needed me just as much as I needed you.”
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “You need me?” He whispered the words as if he didn’t believe them.
“More than I need air.”
“Even after the things I did to you?”
“Daniel, I loved the things you did to me, and I hope you plan to do them again.” Carlton was certainly planning on it. The pleasure he had felt at Daniel’s hands had changed the way Carlton saw the world, and for the better in his mind.
Daniel’s eyebrows drew down over his eyes in a deep frown. “But I forced you.”
“The hell you did!” Carlton snapped with amusement. “You enabled me to give up control and enjoy what you were doing to me. I could have gotten out of those chains if I had really wanted to.”
“Then why did you—”
Carlton arched an eyebrow when Daniel suddenly snapped his lips together and looked away. He grabbed Daniel’s chin and forced his head up. “Why did I what?”
Daniel shook his head as much as he could while in Carlton’s grasp. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter, Daniel, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Wha—what you did to me in the shower, you were so angry.” Daniel’s eyes grew dark and agonized. “And I understand that. I really do. Despite what you said, I know you had a right to be angry after what I did to you, but—”
“But what?”
“You were so different this time.”
“This time?” Carlton was so confused. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you used lube and you made sure I enjoyed it this time and—”
Carlton finally understood what Daniel was trying to say to him, and he wondered how the man could even stand his touch as he remembered taking Daniel in the shower. He dropped his hands from Daniel’s face, horror making it impossible to speak. He could barely even breathe.
He had been a monster, taking Daniel roughly as if he had no meaning.
He saw Daniel’s face fall as he scooted away from him.
“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything,” Daniel whispered as he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He buried his face against the top of his knees. “Now you don’t want me anymore.”
“Daniel, no!” Carlton started to reach out for Daniel when the man’s head suddenly snapped up and his stood. He kept his head down as he started backing toward the door.
“I’ll just go,” Daniel said in a voice devoid of life. “I’ll understand if you no longer want me to accompany you to Luca and Rowan’s commitment ceremony. I’ll…I’ll send a fruit basket or something.”
“The hell you will!” Carlton shouted as he jumped to his feet. He was across the room, grabbing Daniel’s arms so fast that his head spun. He gave Daniel a good shake, partly because he wanted the man to understand that he was serious and partly because of how angry he was that Daniel would give up on them so easily. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Carlton—”
“No, Daniel,” Carlton shouted. “You’re my mate, and we’re staying together, either here or at your hotel, but make no mistake about it, we are staying together.”
“You…you still want me?” There was a hint of wonder in Daniel’s eyes. It was mixed with a whole lot of hope and maybe just a touch of fear and disbelief.
“Of course I do.” Carlton stroked a hand down the side of Daniel’s face. “You’re my mate. I’ll always want you.” Carlton could instantly tell from the stiffening of Daniel’s body that that was the wrong thing to say. “I love you.”
Daniel seemed to fold in on himself. Carlton quickly caught the man when his body collapsed. He thought Daniel would have been happy to hear those three little words. Was he wrong?
“Please don’t lie to me,” Daniel cried out. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll stay. I’ll…I’ll…”
“Oh gods, baby, no.” Carlton kept his arms wrapped around Daniel as he lowered both of them to the floor. He pressed Daniel’s head against his chest and brushed a lock of dark hair back from his face. “I’m not lying to you, Daniel. I swear. I do love you.”
Daniel shuddered.
Carlton continued talking when Daniel didn’t move away. “I thought you were the hottest thing I had ever seen when you walked into my house while I was fighting with Luca. There was this presence about you like you’d rip out the throat of anyone that looked at you wrong.”
“And that was a good thing?” Daniel snorted.
“It was sexy as hell.” Carlton laughed. “I wanted to fuck you right then and there in front of everyone. And I didn’t even realize we were mates yet.”
Daniel tilted his head back to look up at Carlton. “When did you realize we were mates?”
“When I woke up chained to your bed and found you hovering over the top of me.” Carlton groaned in remembrance. “You smelled so damn good.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Daniel dipped his head, looking a little bashful. “I couldn’t figure out how else to get you to submit to me.”
“And that was important to you, me submitting to you?”
Daniel shrugged.
“Daniel.”
“I thought it was at the time, but now being dominant over you just doesn’t seem important anymore.”
“What does seem important to you?” Carlton had to know that they were on the same page.
“You, me…us.” Daniel smirked. “And maybe somewhere down the line, your pack and my tribe.”
“You know at some point we’re going to have to deal with them.”
“I know. It was hard enough getting people to do what I needed last night when you were shot. It was almost impossible to get them organized for a mission after we got you to bed. No one would listen to me. If Luca and Manu hadn’t been there, I’m pretty sure I would have torn someone apart.”
Carlton chuckled. “I actually would have enjoyed seeing that. My pack needs to see you as I do, and they need to be afraid of you.” Daniel’s head tilted. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
“Let’s just say that I appreciate the muscle you’re able to throw around without even trying, but no, I’m not afraid of you. Now, if you had asked me that a month ago, the answer would not have been the same, but I think I’ve learned a little more about you since then.”
Daniel suddenly frowned. “I’m sorry about Ben.”
“I am, too, baby. You never should have been put in a position where you had to kill to defend me.” Carlton kissed the side of Daniel’s head. “I guess I never realized how much prejudice Ben had against vampires.”
“There’s going to be a lot of that, you know. Ben isn’t the only one with prejudices against vampires and wolf shifters being together.”
“Then we’ll just need to be strong enough to show them the errors of their ways. And that means I need the man that chained me to his bed and ripped out the throat of my beta.” Daniel stiffened, as Carlton knew he would. He grabbed Carlton’s chin and tilted his head back. “I need you to stop hiding and be the man I know you are deep down inside.”
“What if you don’t like the man I am deep down inside?”
“Then I imagine we’ll argue a lot, but I hear makeup sex is the bomb.”
Daniel sat up straight and swung his legs over Carlton’s. “I’m serious, Carlton. What if we’re not compatible? I’m an electus. You’re an alpha. We’re both used to being in charge.”
“Daniel, we’re never going to be happy together if you continue to pretend to be something you’re not.”
“You seem to like it,” Daniel snapped, his face darkening.
Carlton couldn’t help but smile. It was the first sign of resistance he had seen in Daniel in ages. “Baby, I love you, and yes, I like it when you submit to me. It’s sexier than hell to see you on your knees before me. But I also like it when you make me submit. That’s called give and take, compromise. I think we’re two rather intelligent people. I think we can handle it.”
“I don’t know, Carlton. What if—”
Carlton pressed his finger over Daniel’s mouth. “No ‘what ifs,’ Daniel. I think fate gave us to each other because we’re exactly what the other one needs.”
“I’m not sure that makes sense, Carlton.”
“We’re both leaders in our own right. We both hold positions of power and strength where any sign of weakness could not only get us killed but get our people killed. With me so far?”
Daniel nodded.
“Okay, what people fail to realize is that underneath all of that power and strength is a man, one with wants and needs just like anyone else. Someone like Rowan wouldn’t do for either of us. We both need someone just as powerful as we are to stand at our sides.”
“I thought you were all fired up about mating Rowan. That is how we met, remember?”
“Rowan is unique.”
“I know,” Daniel grumbled. “I’ve experienced his uniqueness firsthand. I actually have a treaty with Luca that Rowan is not allowed into my territory without Luca by his side to keep him under control.”
“Smart man.” Carlton snickered.
“You were saying about Rowan?”
Carlton didn’t miss the fact that Daniel brought the conversation right back to Rowan. “Well, Rowan is unique. My pack is small and in need of fresh blood, or we’re going to start having two-headed babies.”
“Uh, you do know Rowan is gay, right?”
“Yes.” Carlton chuckled. “I didn’t really want to mate the guy. I just wanted his bloodline in my pack.”
Daniel frowned. “Then why did you focus solely on Rowan? Why not go after Seth or one of his other siblings?”
“In the beginning, I went after Rowan because he was submissive.” Carlton laughed when Daniel snorted. “Yeah, well, after that he kind of became a challenge. No one, especially an alpha, likes to be told no. I banished him because I was positive he wouldn’t want to leave his family. Imagine my surprise when they all packed up and moved with him.”
“So, it wasn’t that you
wanted
Rowan, more like you wanted his bloodline.”
“Yep.”
“I got to tell you, anamchara, that was probably the stupidest move you ever made.”
“The second stupidest move, mate. Leaving you after we mated will always hold top position.”
“Yes, that was pretty stupid.” Daniel chewed on his lower lip for a moment then pushed against Carlton’s shoulders until he fell back on the floor. Daniel moved to hover over him. “Maybe you need to be punished so you never do something like that again.”
Carlton inhaled sharply as all of the blood in his head rushed south of his waistline. “Maybe I do. Do you think you’re man enough to punish an alpha wolf?”
Carlton wanted to shout the hallelujah chorus when Daniel pinned his hands over his head. He tugged at the grip, cocking an eyebrow when he couldn’t get loose. He could see a glint of fire igniting in Daniel’s gray eyes and knew his fierce electus was back.
Daniel grinned. “I’m the perfect man.”